Born and raised in Arlington Heights, Illinois, McBride’s passion for football was stirred while he was at Buffalo Grove High School, where he savoured success by winning the Illinois State Championship in 1988. His reputation for scoring grew during his time at St Louis University where he smashed scoring records and was one of three candidates for the coveted Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Award.
Like many of his contemporaries, McBride sought to further his career abroad once he had finished his studies and he signed for German club Wolfsburg. He spent the 1994\/95 season playing in the German second division before returning home in 1996 to join Ohio-based Columbus Crew for the inaugural year of Major League Soccer. Once back on home territory, McBride blossomed into one of the deadliest strikers around, netting 17 goals during his first season.
He stayed in Ohio until September 2000 when he accepted a new challenge by joining English lower-league side Preston North End on loan. McBride made just nine appearances for Preston before returning to Columbus Crew for two more seasons. However, he had got a taste of English football and in January 2003, he crossed the Atlantic again to join Premiership side Everton on loan. He made an auspicious start, scoring on his debut against Tottenham Hotspur and it was the first of four goals he scored for the Merseysiders in eight appearances.
Although he returned to Columbus once again, other English clubs had taken note and Fulham made a move for the striker in January 2004. McBride left Columbus as their all-time top scorer (with 50 goals in 137 games) and he has continued finding the net regularly while at Fulham.
At international level, McBride served his time with the USA’s B team, leading the scoring charts for three successive seasons before making his senior debut on 25 March 1993 against Honduras. He had to bide his time before claiming his first goal however, against Guatemala on 3 November 1996. He played a crucial role for the team at both the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups™, scoring in both tournaments – the only US player to have done so. ‘Bake’, as he is nicknamed, struck against Iran at France 98, and then found the net against Portugal and Mexico in Korea\/Japan to help the US advance to the last eight.
McBride is the USA’s fourth-top all-time scorer and is fast approaching his 100th cap. Coach Bruce Arena’s has placed undying faith in this archetypal centre forward and he will not be the only one hoping that his scoring form continues on the big stage at Germany 2006. The Central Ohio Diabetes Association will be cheering extra hard for McBride, who turns 34 during the finals, as both for every goal he scores and game his team wins, he donates 100 dollars to them.
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