Panayotis Alexander Lalas (Greek: Παναγιώτης Αλέξανδρος Λαλάς; born June 1, 1970) is an American former soccer player and executive who is currently an analyst for Fox Sports.
A former center-back, Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where his distinctive long hair and beard made him a conspicuous player on the team. After the World Cup, he went on to become the first American in Italy's Serie A as a member of Padova.
In 1996, Lalas would return to the United States to take part in the newly formed Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the New England Revolution. He also played with Emelec of the Ecuadorian Serie A, and the MLS squads New York Red Bulls and Kansas City Wizards.
Nonetheless, his most successful time was with the Los Angeles Galaxy, with whom he won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, U.S. Open Cup, and MLS Cup before retiring in 2003. His playing style was characterized by physicality and endurance.
Following his playing career, Lalas served as general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, and Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS. He was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.
Lalas was born in Birmingham, Michigan to a Greek father, Demetrios Lalas, and an Anglo-American mother, Anne Harding Woodworth. His father was a professor who later became the director of Greece's national observatory, while his mother is a widely published poet. His younger brother, Greg Lalas, was a former professional soccer player and previously the Chief Marketing Officer at United Soccer League.
Lalas attended Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Even though he did not begin playing soccer until he was 11, he had developed enough skills by his senior year to be named the 1987 Michigan High School Player of the Year. In addition to playing soccer, he was captain of his high school hockey team, which won the state championship.
Lalas attended Rutgers University, where after trying out, and playing some spring matches, and an indoor tournament in 1988, he played on the men's soccer team from 1988 to 1991. During his four seasons with the Scarlet Knights, he reached the NCAA Final Four in 1989 and the National Championship Game in 1990.
Lalas was named a third-team All-American in 1989 and 1990. In 1991, he gained first-team All-American recognition and was selected for both the Hermann Trophy and the Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year award. As he did in high school, Lalas played hockey in college, leading the team in scoring in 1989.
Lalas left Rutgers in 1991 to focus on the U.S. national team despite being interested in finishing his degree. He resumed his education in 2013, when Rutgers began offering enough online classes, to fulfill what was required of Lalas to graduate. Lalas took 12 classes and 36 credits over 10 months to finish what he jokingly called "a 26-year plan", earning in 2014 a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in music.
After college and the 1992 Summer Olympics, Lalas trained with former Arsenal player Bob McNab in California. This led to a trial with Arsenal during the winter of 1992. It was quickly determined that Lalas did not have the quality that was needed for a first-team spot. As a result, Lalas only had a few training sessions with the reserve team before being cut. Lalas then returned home to Detroit and spent a month thinking about his future in soccer before coach Bora Milutinovic invited him for a United States tryout in Mission Viejo, California.
After the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Lalas signed with Italian Serie A club Padova. Padova finished the 1994–95 season 14th in the table. Only after winning a relegation play-off on June 10, 1995, did the team ensure its survival in the top ranks for the next season. On June 25, 1995, Major League Soccer (MLS) signed Lalas to play for one of the new teams. While MLS had intended to begin playing in 1995, it had run into difficulties which delayed the first season until 1996. In order to allow Lalas to maintain his match fitness, MLS loaned him back to Padova for the 1995–96 season. Lalas last played for Padova in a home game against Lazio on February 25, 1996.
Before the inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) draft in February 1996, the league allocated high-profile players throughout the league's ten teams (except for the Dallas Burn, which alone amongst all MLS sides never received a U.S. national team allocation from the 1994 World Cup era). As part of this process, MLS placed Lalas with the New England Revolution on October 7, 1995.
Lalas was a regular on the Revs backline during the 1996 and 1997 seasons, starting 25 matches in 1996 and 29 in 1997. Lalas made his Revolution debut in the club's first-ever match, against Tampa Bay Mutiny on April 13, 1996, and recorded the first assist in Revolution history (in conjunction with Wélton), setting up Robert Ukrop for the team's first-ever goal, in the 20th minute. Lalas made his home debut on April 27 against D.C. United. He scored his first Revolution goal in the team's 4–2 win over Tampa Bay on August 26.
Lalas was named an MLS All Star in both 1996 and 1997, but famously clashed with Revolution head coach Frank Stapleton during the 1996 season, which ultimately resulted in being benched in August following a 6-1 drubbing to the San Jose Clash. Tensions arose after Lalas' Revolution teammate (and friend from his time in Padova) Giuseppe Galderisi was traded after only four games. Lalas referred to his Revolution tenure under Stapleton as a "joke" and a "nightmare from the beginning." At his request, the Revolution tried to trade Lalas during the summer transfer window, but could not find an interested party.
In November 1997, the Revolution loaned Lalas to Ecuadorian First Division Club Emelec for a month. He returned to New England at the end of December only to find himself traded to the MetroStars on February 4, 1998, in what would become the first three-team trade in MLS history.
The deal saw New England acquire Raúl Díaz Arce from D.C. United in exchange for Lalas and a second-round pick in the 1999 MLS College Draft, which were traded to the MetroStars, with the MetroStars’ second-round pick in the 1999 MLS College Draft and future considerations going to
D.C. United along with New England's first-round pick in