Pronunciation: SAW-shuh KLESS-chin

With the ability to operate anywhere in the midfield, Kljestan's range and versatility make him an enticing option in a variety of scenarios. Excellent vision and passing technique are his strengths, and both were apparent in his first ever cap with the U.S. team. In that game against China, he threaded the opposing defense to set up fellow MNT rookie Benny Feilhaber for his first ever goal for the U.S.

Started his MLS career under now-U.S. head coach Bob Bradley at Chivas USA, where he was selected fifth overall in the MLS Superdraft by Bradley in 2006.
Was third on the assists charts for MLS during the regular season, setting up 13 goals as Chivas captured their first ever Western Conference title.

U.S. National Team - 2007: Earned his first cap with the U.S. MNT when he started against China in June of 2007 ... Also tallied an assist in that game when he played Benny Feilhaber through for the second goal of a 4-1 victory ... Part of the team for the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela, he earned two caps with starts against Paraguay and Colombia ... Appeared as a sub in a friendly against South Africa in November ...Under-23s: Captained Peter Nowak's U-23 squad in a December 2007 trip to China ... Appeared in both games during the trip and was controversially shown a red card in injury time of the second game ... Under-20s: Was a part of the U-20 World Cup team that competed in Holland in 2005 ... Played in two of three qualifying matches, starting and registering an assist against Costa Rica in 2005 ... Played in 12 matches, starting nine ... Five appearances for the team were in international matches, with two of them being starts ... Registered two international assists over the course of the year, tying him for the most on the team ... Scored a goal against Borussia M'gladbach ... Came into camp for the first time with any youth national team for the U-20s in July 2004 for the Ballymena International Tournament in Northern Ireland ... Got his first U-20 cap coming on as a sub against Denmark on July 17 in 1-1 draw ... Started first match against Wales in a 1-1 draw on July 21 ... Also invited into the final camp of 2004 at The Home Depot Center ... Started against Canada on Dec. 20 ... Got first goal against Mexican first division club team Necaxa on Dec. 18 ... First Appearance: June 2, 2007, vs. China ... First Goal: None.

Professional - 2007: Started all 25 games in which he appeared for Chivas USA, playing 2,186 minutes ... Scored four goals for the team as Chivas captured their first Western Conference title in club history ... Was third in Major League Soccer with 13 assists during the regular season... 2006: Appeared in 32 regular-season games for Chivas USA ... In 31 starts, he played 2,676 minutes and contributed seven assists, the highest number among MLS rookies ... In Chivas first ever trip to the postseason, he played in both games in the conference semifinals, logging 112 minutes, registering 1 assist.

College - 2004: Preseason All-BIG EAST Selection at Seton Hall... Played and started in all 22 games for the Pirates ... Finished second in scoring with 21 points (seven goals, seven assists) ... Had five game winning goals ... Named First Team All-Region ... Named First Team All-American ... 2003: Made 18 starts in the midfield for Seton Hall ... Finished second on the team in points (14), assists (six) and goals (four)... Earned All-BIG EAST Third Team honors, one of only three league freshmen to earn all-conference honors ... Garnered back-to-back Big East Rookie of the Week honors in September ... Recorded a goal and two assists in 4-2 win over No. 6 St. John's on Sept. 24 ... Awarded College Soccer News All-Freshman Third Team honors... Seton Hall Freshman Male Athlete of the Year ... Named to Big East Academic All-Star Team.

Personal

Full name is Sacha Bryan Kljestan ... Has an older brother, Gordon, who plays indoor soccer for the New Jersey Ironmen along with Tony Meola ... Describes himself as an avid golfer ... Music is a big part of his life.

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