Eric Joseph Lichaj ( ; born November 17, 1988) is an American former professional soccer player, who is currently the head coach of the FC Cincinnati U19 team.
Club career
Eric Lichaj is the third son of Stan and Ann Lichaj, who were both from Nowy Targ, Poland. He has two older brothers, Andrew and Mark Lichaj. At the age of 14, Lichaj joined the soccer residency program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He began his youth career with the Downers Grove Roadrunners, later played with Chicago Fire's youth side, and then spent one year at the University of North Carolina. He also played four games for the Chicago Fire Premier of the USL Premier Development League. After his freshman season, Lichaj signed with English Premier League club Aston Villa. Lichaj holds a Polish passport, making a work permit unnecessary.
Aston Villa
Following a season in the Aston Villa youth side, Lichaj featured in all but two of Villa's Reserve matches during the 2008–09 season. During the 2009–10 pre-season, he was selected for the 2009 Peace Cup squad and showed glimpses of his potential during the friendly tournament. This, however, did not immediately translate into playing time for the first team.
Lichaj was loaned out to League Two club Lincoln City to gain first-team experience. He played two games for Lincoln before signing a one-month loan extension. Later in the season, Lichaj again went on a month-long loan, this time to League One side Leyton Orient. He scored the first professional goal of his career for Leyton Orient against Stockport County on April 17, 2010.
Lichaj scored his first goal for Aston Villa on July 19, 2010, in a pre-season friendly against Peterborough United. Following a successful pre-season campaign, he signed a new three-year contract with the club on August 11, 2010. He made his competitive debut for Villa on August 19, 2010, in a 1–1 draw in a Europa League qualifying match away to Rapid Vienna. He made his Premier League debut for Aston Villa on November 10, 2010, against Blackpool. Lichaj made his first start for Aston Villa on December 11, 2010, in a 2–1 win against local rivals West Bromwich Albion. He also started for Villa at right back against Tottenham Hotspur, where he put in an impressive performance against in-form Spurs winger Gareth Bale.
Leeds United (loan) On February 9, 2011, Lichaj joined Leeds United on a one-month loan deal. Lichaj made his Leeds debut in a 2–0 victory against Bristol City. On March 14, Leeds extended Lichaj's loan for the rest of the season. He scored an own goal in Leeds' match against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United, who went on to win the match 2–0. After playing all of his games at right back in place of the injured Paul Connolly, Lichaj was moved to left back when George McCartney was injured. On May 9, Lichaj played the last game of his Leeds United loan spell in Leeds' 2–1 win over Queens Park Rangers. Leeds announced on their official website that Lichaj would be returning to his parent club Aston Villa at the end of his loan spell. After his loan expired, Lichaj said he wanted to rejoin Leeds the following season to help them earn promotion to the Premier League.
Back at Villa
After impressing during his loan spell, in July 2011 Leeds manager Simon Grayson said he was interested in re-signing Lichaj on loan as long as new Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish did not plan to use Lichaj in his first team. Lichaj scored his first goal for Aston Villa in their 2–0 win over Hereford United in the League Cup on August 23, 2011. On March 31, 2012, having already assisted Villa's first goal by throwing the ball long for James Collins to score from a header, Lichaj scored his first Premier League goal in a 4–2 defeat at home to Chelsea. After the 2012–13 Premier League season, Aston Villa decided not to renew Lichaj's contract, releasing him on a free transfer.
Nottingham Forest
Lichaj signed a two-year contract with Championship club Nottingham Forest on June 19, 2013. He made his debut in a 1–0 win against Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the season. In December 2014, he extended his deal until the summer of 2017. On October 20, 2015, Lichaj scored his first Nottingham Forest goal in a 1–1 draw with Burnley at the City Ground. Lichaj captained Forest for the first time on September 27, 2016, for a home game against Fulham and scored his second goal for the club in his next home game, opening the scoring in a 3–1 win over Birmingham City.