Brian Dunseth Looks Back on Legendary Soccer Career in America

"I had this death of ego, the death of the sport that I loved. I had no idea who I was, and I thank God that my wife and I had gotten married, because without her, I would have been completely lost."

Photo Courtesy of New England Revolution

This article originally appeared on R.org Sports. The Blazing Musket would like to thank Zach for allowing us to share his interview with our audience. Make sure to give him a follow on social media and read more of his work at R.org Sports as well as on Breaking The Lines.

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Before he captained his country in the Summer Olympics, before he won the oldest sports trophy in the United States of America, before he became one of the most renowned MLS commentators in the nation, Brian Dunseth was just a kid from Southern California with a dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

Born in Upland, California, on March 2, 1977, Dunseth started playing for Upland Celtic, who proceeded to dominate other teams across the Golden State and earn an invitation to a tournament in England. At 12 years of age, Dunseth was going to be playing on a different continent and facing off against England, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

“My soccer trajectory started with my stepdad and mom getting married and just kicking a ball at the park with them…all of a sudden, he was telling my mom, ‘Hey, I think you need to sign him up to Upland Lightning Bolts. I loved being outside, I was your typical ‘80s kid on my bike, doing stupid stuff like rollerblading up the mountains or lemon groves, I was just perfect for that timeline because I wanted to be outside all the time,” stated Dunesth in an exclusive R.Org interview. “I played every other sport, but for some reason, soccer was just something that I loved. I don’t know how to categorize it correctly or separate it from the other sports, but it was just that one thing that I really enjoyed.”

Laying the Foundations in California

After getting his first-ever experience of playing abroad, Dunseth was told immediately after the tournament that he was getting cut from the squad. Forced to put his soccer ambitions on the back burner, Dunseth started working alongside two ex-convicts and making $2.75 an hour as a dishwasher at a convalescent hospital, but he never strayed too far away from his lofty playing ambitions. He became a key figure as Damien High School’s #10 before being one of the last players recruited to Cal State Fullerton, who agreed to pay for his parking, books, and one meal per day, but not his school expenses. It was here that Dunseth made the transition from attacking midfielder to center back, where he remained for the entirety of his professional playing career.

“I was 14 when I got my first job washing dishes at a hospital, and then graduated into maintenance, and in both of those moments, I was a busser at a steakhouse and also picked up a couple of shifts as a server at a community residence. My world in high school was just hustling to make money. For me, it was all about hard work and having a job. Having money was freedom, and that was the freedom that I wanted. I always looked at myself as being mature, so how could I continue to accelerate the ability to be successful by myself and not have to lean onto my parents for things? The summer heading into college, I’d be training every morning by myself at Claremont McKenna College, so I’d be up on the field until the early afternoon and then working one of my four jobs for the rest of the day.”

Dunseth’s first big break came in the summer of 1997, when he was called up to represent the United States in Malaysia and compete in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship (now the U-20 World Cup), with the USA beating China before losing their next three to Ireland, Ghana, and Uruguay. Shortly after returning, Dunseth became one of the first players to sign a Project-40 (now Generation Adidas) contract, a joint venture between MLS and U.S. Soccer and sponsored by Nike (now Adidas) that offers professional-ready players in the U.S. developmental system who aren’t yet eligible for the MLS SuperDraft with the opportunity to take a shortcut and enter MLS ahead of time.

These players do not count against the MLS senior roster and often earn a far higher salary than the league minimum, and they are also guaranteed scholarships in the case that their soccer career doesn’t pan out. Rather than having his name picked in a normal draft, Dunseth was instead assigned to the New England Revolution on July 5, 1997. One day later, he was making his professional debut in an MLS match vs. the San Jose Clash (now the Earthquakes).

“As soon as my tournament in Malaysia was over, I was back home for two days before meeting up with the New England Revolution, and the schedule gods were just looking down on me. New England was playing against the LA Galaxy in the Rose Bowl on July 4th, so on July 3rd, I went down the 210 freeway and joined up with Thomas Rongen and all the guys on the Revs at the team hotel. I’d watched so many sporting events at the Rose Bowl like U.S.-Mexico and the very first game of the Galaxy against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now Red Bulls), so to be there with a bunch of ex-Cal State Fullerton guys, and to be sitting on the bench in the 98-degree heat, it was amazing.”

“Two days later, I got my first start at San Jose, and in the first half, I took a shot to the temple from Jeff Beicher. I remember the ball coming at my face, and from that point on, I don’t remember anything else. I woke up the next day, I look around, open the window, and see New York City right outside, and I’m like, ‘What in the flying squirrel is going on? Unbeknownst to me, I sat on the bench for the second half, and the team administrator took me to the airport, put me on a flight, and somehow, I had a layover in LA to catch a flight to New York City. I partook in all the festivities surrounding the All-Star Game because I was being heavily pushed and hyped for the Olympic team and being captain of the team heading into 2000. And then I got to Boston a couple days later, and had this whirlwind of, ‘Where the hell am I?”

Bouncing Around Major League Soccer

Whilst Dunseth’s start to his professional career was far from propitious, he gradually became an increasingly important figure in New England’s backline, going from seven appearances in his maiden campaign to 18 appearances in 1998 to 29 appearances in 1999. 2000 would see him score his first-ever senior goal against Miami Fusion, whilst it also saw him fly to Australia, where, after riding the bench in their first five matches of the Summer Olympics, he played the full 90 and wore the captain’s armband in a 2-0 loss to Chile in the bronze medal match in Sydney.

On June 20, 2001, Dunseth was traded to Miami for Jay Heaps and a second-round pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, but his South Florida would come to an end after just a couple of months after the Fusion dissolved in January 2002. Dunseth was selected by Columbus Crew in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft, making 33 appearances as the Crew came within inches of making the MLS Cup Final. They did, however, make it to the 89th edition of the U.S. Open Cup Final, where Dunseth excelled in central defense to lead them to a 1-0 victory against the Galaxy to win his first and only professional trophy.

Dunseth’s Ohio journey came to an end after being traded to Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) in September 2003, where he spent just a few months before making the move to Europe and playing for Swedish side Bodens BK in Sweden, only to return home after a year abroad. This time, Dunseth landed on Utah, playing 24 times for Real Salt Lake across the 2005 campaign before being traded to Chivas USA for Douglas Sequeira and Christian Jimenez.

He hadn’t played a single match for Chivas before being sent across the LA area and traded to the Galaxy for a draft pick at the precipice of the 2006 campaign. In doing so, he became the first-ever player in MLS history to be on the roster of seven different teams. Dunseth made his Galaxy debut on March 8, 2006, playing 54 minutes in an extra-time defeat at Costa Rican behemoths Saprissa in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Excelling in the Broadcasting Game

Little did he know it, but that would be the last match of his professional career. Two months after being waived by the Galaxy, Dunseth announced his professional retirement from the beautiful game in July 2006. After a decade-long playing spell that saw him make 185 appearances for MLS clubs in Massachusetts, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Utah, California, in addition to a brief chapter in Scandinavia, it was time to find a new gig.

“I appreciate you saying it seems like it’s been a seamless transition, because it certainly wasn’t. I went from making $120,000 in 2006 to $12,000 in 2007, and I never went back and finished my education. I had my real estate license because I was helping my friends buy property, but then all of a sudden, I had a crisis of confidence…I had this death of ego, the death of the sport that I loved. I had no idea who I was, and I thank God that my wife and I had gotten married, because without her, I would have been completely lost. But I knew that I knew that I had to get over it pretty quickly. I could have gone to a bunch of different places and continued my career, but instead, I just decided to go back to Salt Lake so that my wife could be with her father, who was terminally ill.

I decided to shut it all down, because I didn’t want to take her away from the last six months of his life. I had to get it out of my system and realize I was no longer a player, so I drove to the stadium to watch Real Salt Lake play and was listening to Spencer Checketts and someone else do the RSL pregame show…and it was bad. They weren’t talking about the match-up, or the strengths or weaknesses of each team.”

“I saw Trey Fitzgerald, who I’ve known forever, who’s a great friend, and who is one of the best media members in Major League Soccer. We were busting each other’s balls, and I was teasing him, ‘Let me know when you want someone who knows what they’re talking about, because I listened to your pregame, oof!’ He was like, ‘You’d really want to do that?’ I was always savvy media-wise; I was always doing media stuff as a player and captain, so I ended up doing pre-match and post-match radio for free just to get my feet wet. The start of the next year, Robin Frazier, who was doing television for RSL, was hired by Jason Kreis to become his first assistant when he got hired as RSL’s head coach. I then got a call from Trey saying, ‘Hey, can you do TV for us,’ which started my TV career, and my first game was RSL vs. Dallas. The first conversation was: Breaking News – Bob Bradley had just left Chivas for the U.S. Men’s National Team, what are your thoughts Brian? I had no idea what was happening, so I just faked it until I made it.

It’s been a wild ride with a lot of hiccups, from the quiet, behind-the-scenes stories of me driving from Salt Lake to Los Angeles to call CONCACAF Champions League games for $275, sleeping on friends’ couches, during UEFA Europa League on a Thursday morning, and as soon as that’s over, you know, driving another 10 hours back to Salt Lake. I was doing that for two years, where nobody knew I was going back and forth, not even those who were hiring me at Fox Soccer Channel. I was just hustling and figuring out a career, and to this day, I still don’t have an agent. Everything I do is based on name, reputation, and relationship. That was the idea, to make it seem like I was worthy enough of those opportunities to continue calling games.”

Similarly to other MLS veterans like Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty, Tesho Akindele, Benny Feilhaber, and Bradley Wright-Phillips, Dunseth did make a fleeting return to soccer in order to play in the U.S. Open Cup, representing Los Angeles–based amateur team Hollywood United in the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. However, for the most part, Dunseth has spent the past two decades raising his three boys in Salt Lake and grinding away in his mission to become one of the best soccer broadcasters in the game. He’s worked for major outlets like Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN, SiriusXM, and NBC Sports, and after calling Real Salt Lake games for his local channel, Dunseth made the transition to Apple TV in 2023, where he has remained ever since. And this past summer, Dunseth was part of DAZN/TNT’s U.S. broadcasting team for the FIFA Club World Cup, where he provided color commentary alongside Luke Wileman for major matches, including the final between PSG and Chelsea.

“It’s been a hell of a year, man. I was convinced that I’d never have the opportunity to be part of Club World Cup coverage and be on the call for the final in New Jersey…that was something that came out of nowhere, so I was so incredibly privileged to be a part of that. I’m blessed that my family is good, I’ve got three little knuckleheads, a beautiful life, and a fun little Australian Cattle Dog who sometimes barks too loud and annoys me. My cup is full for 2025. 2026? I’d love to be a part of the FIFA World Cup, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen; nothing is suggesting that I’m going to be able to be a part of that. But in the meantime, I’m gonna try to manifest the strongest possible destiny for me to be the best version of myself as a human being, as a father, as a husband, and as a friend, and in this broadcasting world.”

“Wherever the cards fall, hopefully they’re in my favor, and I can continue to learn every single day how to be better, how to hold myself accountable to be the best version of me as a broadcaster, father and husband. We’ll see what it looks like, but in the meantime, I’m gonna come home for a couple of days, and then for the last days of 2025, we’re about to jump on a cruise ship. I’m gonna treat my kids to a little vacation in Cabo San Lucas and try to give them memories over things, the gift of travel, and be as bonded as the Dunseth family possibly can be.”