Leonard Krupnik
Encyclopedia
Leonard Krupnik (born July 15, 1979 in Khmelnytskyi
) is a Soviet
-born American
soccer player who currently plays for Maccabi Netanya in the Israeli Premier League.
to the United States in the 1990s, settling in San Francisco, California
. Initially a promising gymnast, Krupnik was spotted playing football with some friends by the manager of the San Francisco Vikings youth team, and the youngster quickly changed sports.
Krupnik attended and was the team captain of George Washington High School
, graduating in 1997, and played four years of college soccer
at the University of California, Berkeley
, majoring in social welfare. Krupnik was also strong academically, and was on the Dean's Honor List in Fall of 2000.
by the MetroStars
, but did not make the squad, and instead spent the 2002 season with the Des Moines Menace
of the Premier Development League. He was signed by the MetroStars late in the season, again without seeing any first-team action, and was then released on free transfer to the Wilmington Hammerheads
. After winning the 2003 championship with Wilmington, Krupnik was signed by Charleston Battery
.
During his time in Israel with the US Maccabiah team, Krupnik caught the eye of a scout from Maccabi Netanya
. Manager Reuven Atar
asked Krupnik if he could join the team for training but Krupnik had a contract in the US. It was his sister, Svetlana, who kept in touch with Reuven Atar and immediately after finishing his contract, Krupnik immigrated to Israel
. Krupnik was attractive to Israeli club teams because he was eligible to receive Israeli citizenship and not count as a foreigner.
During the 2005–06 season he got into a contract dispute with the management. After the conclusion of the season, ownership of the club changed hands, and the Israel
i manager, Reuven Atar, who brought Krupnik to the club, was fired. Krupnik was expected to return to the United States. Talks ensued between him and Major League Soccer
but nothing became final.
On July 20, 2006 Reuven Atar
was appointed as manager of newly promoted Israeli Premier League club, Maccabi Herzliya
. His first action was to sign Leonard Krupnik to a contract with the club. Krupnik stayed with the club until the winter recess when he decided not to continue after Maccabi Herzliya would not agree to a new contract.
After leaving Maccabi Herzliya, Krupnik joined Bnei Sakhnin for the second half of the 2006–07 season and helped the club gain promotion to the Israeli Premier League. The following season Krupnik helped the newly promoted side to a fourth place finish and qualification to the Intertoto Cup.
On June 17, 2008, Krupnik signed a contract with Maccabi Haifa
for 3 years worth $360,000. During his first season with the club Krupnik was a fixture in central defense appearing in 30 league matches, and helped Maccabi Haifa clinch their 11th Israeli Premier League title.
Krupnik returned the New York Red Bulls, known as the MetroStars during his first stint with the club, in July 2009. Krupnik made his MLS debut in a 4–0 loss to Colorado Rapids
on July 25, 2009, and played in three games for the team before returning to Israel in November, when he was signed for a second stint with Maccabi Netanya
.
picked Krupnik for the United States squad for the 2005 Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics held in Israel every four years. Kirshner brought a talented squad with the most professional experience ever. The American team reached the final but lost to the host Israel
i team, which was composed of Israel's Under-18 national team players.
|2002
||Des Moines Menace
|||USL PDL
||11||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||12||0
|-
|2002
||rowspan="2"|Wilmington Hammerheads
||USL D3 Pro League
||rowspan="2"|27||rowspan="2"|1||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||rowspan="2"|30||rowspan="2"|1
|-
|2003||USL Pro Select League
||3||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|2003
||rowspan="3"|Charleston Battery
||rowspan="2"|A-League
||rowspan="3"|27||rowspan="3"|0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||rowspan="3"|27||rowspan="3"|0
|-
|2004
||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|2005
||USL First Division
||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|-
|2005–06||Maccabi Netanya||rowspan="2"|Israeli Premier League||24||1||1||0||4||0||0||0||29||1
|-
|2006–07||Maccabi Herzliya||7||1||0||0||2||0||0||0||9||1
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="2"|Bnei Sakhnin||Liga Leumit
||10||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="2"|Israeli Premier League||31||0||1||0||6||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2008–09||Maccabi Haifa
||30||0||4||0||5||0||0||0||39||0
|-
|-
|2009
||New York Red Bulls||Major League Soccer||3||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||3||0
|-
|-
|2009–10
||Maccabi Netanya||Israeli Premier League||12||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2010–11
||Maccabi Netanya||Israeli Premier League||31||0||4||0||7||0||0||0||42||0
|-
|2011–12
||Maccabi Netanya||Israeli Premier League||13||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||16||0
|-
65||1||4||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||69||1
158||2||10||0||29||0||0||||196||2
192||3||10||0||29||0||0||0||224||3
Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Khmelnytskyi is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillia. It is located on the Southern Buh River and about from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The town's original name was Płoskirów, later Proskurov, but in 1954 was renamed Khmelnytskyi. It is the center of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western...
) is a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soccer player who currently plays for Maccabi Netanya in the Israeli Premier League.
Youth and College
Krupnik moved with his parents, Mark and Rita, and brother Vladimir, from his native UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
to the United States in the 1990s, settling in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Initially a promising gymnast, Krupnik was spotted playing football with some friends by the manager of the San Francisco Vikings youth team, and the youngster quickly changed sports.
Krupnik attended and was the team captain of George Washington High School
George Washington High School (San Francisco)
George Washington High School is a public high school in Richmond District, San Francisco, California. The school is a part of the San Francisco Unified School District...
, graduating in 1997, and played four years of college soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, majoring in social welfare. Krupnik was also strong academically, and was on the Dean's Honor List in Fall of 2000.
Professional
Krupnik was drafted with the 69th pick of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft2002 MLS SuperDraft
The 2002 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6:...
by the MetroStars
Metrostars
Metrostar may refer to:*New York Red Bulls, formerly called the "MetroStars", a soccer team from New York*Manila Metro Rail Transit System, popularly called "The Metrostar Express", a part of the metropolitan rail system in Manila...
, but did not make the squad, and instead spent the 2002 season with the Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference.The team plays its home games at Valley...
of the Premier Development League. He was signed by the MetroStars late in the season, again without seeing any first-team action, and was then released on free transfer to the Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads is an American professional soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
. After winning the 2003 championship with Wilmington, Krupnik was signed by Charleston Battery
Charleston Battery
Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer team based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
.
During his time in Israel with the US Maccabiah team, Krupnik caught the eye of a scout from Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Netanya F.C. is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club were founding members of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1970, the club's golden period lasted until the late 1980s, including four more league titles and a double...
. Manager Reuven Atar
Reuven Atar
Reuven Atar is a former Israeli football player, and currently the manager of Maccabi Netanya.-Early years:A first generation Israeli to Moroccan immigrants who settled in Tirat Carmel. During his adolescence, he played for Maccabi Haifa youth club...
asked Krupnik if he could join the team for training but Krupnik had a contract in the US. It was his sister, Svetlana, who kept in touch with Reuven Atar and immediately after finishing his contract, Krupnik immigrated to Israel
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
. Krupnik was attractive to Israeli club teams because he was eligible to receive Israeli citizenship and not count as a foreigner.
During the 2005–06 season he got into a contract dispute with the management. After the conclusion of the season, ownership of the club changed hands, and the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i manager, Reuven Atar, who brought Krupnik to the club, was fired. Krupnik was expected to return to the United States. Talks ensued between him and Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
but nothing became final.
On July 20, 2006 Reuven Atar
Reuven Atar
Reuven Atar is a former Israeli football player, and currently the manager of Maccabi Netanya.-Early years:A first generation Israeli to Moroccan immigrants who settled in Tirat Carmel. During his adolescence, he played for Maccabi Haifa youth club...
was appointed as manager of newly promoted Israeli Premier League club, Maccabi Herzliya
Maccabi Herzliya
Maccabi Herzliya F.C. is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in Liga Leumit and plays at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium.-History:...
. His first action was to sign Leonard Krupnik to a contract with the club. Krupnik stayed with the club until the winter recess when he decided not to continue after Maccabi Herzliya would not agree to a new contract.
After leaving Maccabi Herzliya, Krupnik joined Bnei Sakhnin for the second half of the 2006–07 season and helped the club gain promotion to the Israeli Premier League. The following season Krupnik helped the newly promoted side to a fourth place finish and qualification to the Intertoto Cup.
On June 17, 2008, Krupnik signed a contract with Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Maccabi Haifa Football Club is an Israeli football team from the city of Haifa, a section of Maccabi Haifa sports club. The club has won 12 championships, 5 State Cups and 4 Toto Cups...
for 3 years worth $360,000. During his first season with the club Krupnik was a fixture in central defense appearing in 30 league matches, and helped Maccabi Haifa clinch their 11th Israeli Premier League title.
Krupnik returned the New York Red Bulls, known as the MetroStars during his first stint with the club, in July 2009. Krupnik made his MLS debut in a 4–0 loss to Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...
on July 25, 2009, and played in three games for the team before returning to Israel in November, when he was signed for a second stint with Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Netanya F.C. is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club were founding members of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1970, the club's golden period lasted until the late 1980s, including four more league titles and a double...
.
International
In 2005, Lev KirshnerLev Kirshner
Lev Kirshner is the head coach for the men's soccer team San Diego State University.-High school and college:Kirshner attended Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, California where he played soccer, badminton and ran cross country. He graduated in 1987 and was inducted into the school’s Hall...
picked Krupnik for the United States squad for the 2005 Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics held in Israel every four years. Kirshner brought a talented squad with the most professional experience ever. The American team reached the final but lost to the host Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i team, which was composed of Israel's Under-18 national team players.
Statistics
|-|2002
2002 PDL Season
The 2002 USL Premier Development League season was the 8th PDL season. The season began in April 2002 and ended in August 2002.Cape Cod Crusaders finished the season as national champions, beating Boulder Rapids Reserve 2-1 in the PDL Championship game...
||Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference.The team plays its home games at Valley...
|||USL PDL
USL Premier Development League
The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...
||11||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||12||0
|-
|2002
2002 USISL D-3 Pro League
-League standings: GP W L D GF GA BP Pts Northern Conference Western Mass Pioneers 20 14 5 1 44 24 5 62 Connecticut Wolves 20 10 8 2 32 31 4 46...
||rowspan="2"|Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads is an American professional soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
||USL D3 Pro League
USL Second Division
The United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid...
||rowspan="2"|27||rowspan="2"|1||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||rowspan="2"|30||rowspan="2"|1
|-
|2003||USL Pro Select League
USL Second Division
The United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid...
||3||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|2003
2003 A-League
-Northeast Division:-Southeast Division:-Central Division:-Pacific Division:-Northeast Division:-----Southeast Division:-Central Division:-Pacific Division:-Eastern Conference final:-Western Conference final:-----Final:...
||rowspan="3"|Charleston Battery
Charleston Battery
Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer team based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the American Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
||rowspan="2"|A-League
A-League (1995–2004)
The A-League was a professional men's soccer league which featured teams from both the United States and Canada. The A-League emerged out of the restructured American Professional Soccer League in 1995 and operated until 2004, after which it was re-branded the USL First Division...
||rowspan="3"|27||rowspan="3"|0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||rowspan="3"|27||rowspan="3"|0
|-
|2004
2004 A-League
-Western Conference:-Eastern Conference:-Playoffs:...
||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|2005
2005 USL First Division
-League standings: GP W L D GF GA Pts Montreal Impact 28 18 3 7 37 15 61 Rochester Raging Rhinos 28 15 7 6 45 27 51 Vancouver Whitecaps 28 12 7 9 37 21 45...
||USL First Division
USL First Division
The United Soccer Leagues First Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico....
||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|-
|2005–06||Maccabi Netanya||rowspan="2"|Israeli Premier League||24||1||1||0||4||0||0||0||29||1
|-
|2006–07||Maccabi Herzliya||7||1||0||0||2||0||0||0||9||1
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="2"|Bnei Sakhnin||Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit is the second tier in the Israeli football league system below the Premier League.-Structure:There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the lowest-placed team are relegated to Liga Alef while the highest-placed team from Liga Alef are promoted in their place...
||10||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="2"|Israeli Premier League||31||0||1||0||6||0||0||0||38||0
|-
|2008–09||Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Maccabi Haifa Football Club is an Israeli football team from the city of Haifa, a section of Maccabi Haifa sports club. The club has won 12 championships, 5 State Cups and 4 Toto Cups...
||30||0||4||0||5||0||0||0||39||0
|-
|-
|2009
2009 Major League Soccer season
The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
||New York Red Bulls||Major League Soccer||3||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||3||0
|-
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Israeli Premier League
The 2009–10 Israeli Premier League was the 11th season since its introduction in 1999 and the 68th season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 22 August 2009 and ended on 15 May 2010 with the last matches of the playoff round....
||Maccabi Netanya||Israeli Premier League||12||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||12||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Israeli Premier League
The 2010–11 Israeli Premier League was the twelfth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 69th season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 21 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. Hapoel Tel Aviv were the defending champions....
||Maccabi Netanya||Israeli Premier League||31||0||4||0||7||0||0||0||42||0
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Israeli Premier League
The 2010–11 Israeli Premier League is the thirteenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 70th season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 20 August 2011 and will end on 12 May 2012...
||Maccabi Netanya||Israeli Premier League||13||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||16||0
|-
65||1||4||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||69||1
158||2||10||0||29||0||0||||196||2
192||3||10||0||29||0||0||0||224||3