PROFILER; Meet Edu Maurice Edu, Jr.

Edu Maurice Edu, Jr.

Edu Maurice Edu, Jr. (born April 18, 1986) is an American soccerplayer. A highly touted prospect, Edu was the first overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft and won the MLS Rookie of the Year Awardwith Toronto.
His performances for Toronto earned him international call ups to the United States national team and the attention of clubs in Europe. He signed with Scottish powers Rangers, winning the Scottish Premier League three times. Following Rangers' financial problems, he joined Stoke City; however, failing to make an impact, he spent time on loan with Turkey's Bursaspor before returning to MLS with Philadelphia Union.

Edu was born and raised in Fontana, California. Edu played college soccer at the University of Maryland, College Park from 2004 until 2006 and played three years for the Maryland Terrapins, including a role on the 2005 squad which won the NCAA College Cup national championship. He forfeited his final year of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2007 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation Adidas player. He was named a first-team All-American in 2006.

Edu cut short his time at college to join Major League Soccer and was drafted by Toronto as the first overall pick of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. He made his MLS debut on April 25, 2007, against Kansas City Wizards, and he scored his first professional goal in the seventy-fifth minute of a game against Chicago Fire on May 12. During that first season he made twenty-five appearances in MLS and scored four goals. He ended his debut season by winning the MLS Rookie of the Year award and earning his first senior national team cap.

On August 16, 2008, Edu flew to Glasgow to hold talks with Scottish Premier League team Rangers after a fee of £2.6 million, was agreed with MLS. Edu signed a five-year contract with Rangers on August 17, 2008, but had to wait until five days later to officially join after successfully gaining a work permit.

After recovering from his injury, Edu returned for Rangers as a 74th-minute substitute in a 4–1 win against Hibernian on December 27, 2009, but only played four games before being sidelined for another month with an ankle problem. He had complained of racist abuse from two Rangers supporters after the club's 4–1 home defeat to FC Unirea Urziceni in October 2009. Rangers came to the defense for Edu, condemding the Rangers supporters as 'moronic' and 'disgusting'.Edu made his debut for Rangers in a league match against Kilmarnock on September 13, 2008. The team won 2–1 thanks to a Kris Boyd double. Edu scored his first goal for Rangers on April 8, 2009, in a league match against St Mirren and then followed his goal up with another against Hibernian in a 3–2 win at Easter Road eleven days later. He went on a run of games towards the end of the season including his Old Firmdebut against Celtic on May 9 at Ibrox in a 1–0 Rangers win. He ended his first season in Scottish soccer by winning a league championship medal – having played in twelve of Rangers' thirty-eight games in the 2008–09 SPL season. However, a torn cruciate knee ligament saw him miss out on the Scottish Cup final.

A turnaround in his fortunes began when he came off the bench to score a 93rd minute stoppage-time winner against Old Firmrivals Celtic on February 28, 2010, as Rangers won 1–0. On March 21, 2010, Edu came on as a half-time substitute when Rangers beat St Mirren to win the League Cup Final. His domestic season ended with him being awarded a second league medal having appeared in fifteen of the thirty-eight games. During the 2010–11 season, Edu made his Champions League debut against English giants Manchester United at Old Trafford and drew plaudits for his performance.

On October 20, 2010, he scored his first Champions League goal against Spanish side Valencia, converting from a Vladimír Weiss corner, but scored an own goal to equalize for Valencia minutes after the restart in a game that finished 1–1. After the match, Edu told Sky Sports that he has a mixed emotion and said:The first goal I didn't have time to celebrate because I took a knock on the head and was laid on the ground for a while. The own goal, I saw it late and the next thing I know it hit me and it was in. I was trying to mark the guy in front of me and it looked like he was going to get it and at the last minute it hit me. That was obviously disappointing but we kept going and created more chances."

Edu made his 100th appearance in all competitions for the Gers on November 5, 2011 in their 3–1 win over Dundee United.During the season, Rangers where placed into administration over financial problems and a dispute with HMRC, leading a 10-point deduction. As months passed, manager Ally McCoist announced Edu and Alejandro Bedoya would possibly both leave the club Edu was linked with a move to Ipswich Town but both claims was denied from the club and himself, claiming he was unaware with a move to Ipswich.