Brian Dunseth during an appearance on the U.S. Soccer Podcast.

If you’re old enough to have witnessed Major League Soccer’s first-ever decade, you’ll remember Brian Dunseth for his game-saving tackles, his cultured passing, and his courageous physical interventions. If you’re only old enough to have witnessed the past two decades of MLS, you’ll remember Dunseth for his smooth commentary style and his carefully constructed punditry. Whatever your age is, one thing’s for sure: Dunseth has played an indelible role in American soccer’s modern history.

Born in Upland, California, on March 2, 1977, Dunseth started playing for Upland Lightning Bolts and Upland Celtic, who emerged as one of the top teams in the region and earned an invitation to a tournament in England. At 12 years of age, Dunseth was able to compete against teams from England, Denmark and the Netherlands, but when he got back home, he was informed that he was the sole player who would not be continuing with Celtic. Dunseth focused his attention on making money, working alongside two ex-convicts and making $2.75 an hour as a dishwasher at a convalescent hospital, as well as on other odd jobs like a busser at a steakhouse and a server at a community residence. However, he never allowed soccer to drift too far into the rearview mirror, and after emerging as the creative attacking talisman at Damien High School, Dunseth was 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.

Dunseth move from No. 10 to center back and emerged as a vital cog in defense for the Titans before getting his big break in 1997 after being selected to represent the United States in Malaysia in the 1997 U-20 World Cup, with the USA beating China before losing their next three to Ireland, Ghana, and Uruguay. 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) to enable players to enter MLS ahead of schedule without having to wait to become eligible for the MLS SuperDraft. Dunseth was assigned to the New England Revolution on July 5, 1997, where he played 84 times before being traded to Miami Fusion, lasting just a few months before being forced to depart following the club’s dissolution. He moved to Columbus Crew and established himself as a stalwart member of their backline, helping them win the 2002 U.S. Open Cup, before being traded to Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) in September 2003.

After just a handful of months in Texas, Dunseth decided to test his skills abroad at Swedish side Bodens BK in Sweden, only to return home after a year and join Real Salt Lake, where he played 24 times in 2005 campaign before being traded to Chivas USA.

He did not make an appearance for the now-extinct club before being traded across Los Angeles and joining the Galaxy, thus becoming 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 overtime defeat at Costa Rican behemoths Saprissa in the Concacaf Champions Cup, which would prove to be the 185th and final professional appearance in U.S. professional soccer.

Brian Dunseth (left) and Max Bretos. (Apple TV/MLS)

Fast-forward two decades, and he’s now balancing his time between raising his three sons in Salt Lake City, commentating MLS matches alongside Apple TV broadcaster Max Bretos, and serving as the co-host of Counter Attack on SiriusXM FC and the Week In The Tackle podcast. We spoke to Dunseth about:

SA: How important was your time in collegiate soccer in terms of shaping your career?

BRIAN DUNSETH: I was a No. 10 in high school and won a bunch of awards with a team that was really good, but then, effectively, when I got to college, it was as a center back, and I was one of the last guys to show up at Cal State Fullerton. They paid for my parking, my books, and one meal per day, and I still had to pay for school and all the other stuff. I realized, within the first three months, with the amount of time that I was spending on the freeway, driving down to the 10 freeway – 210 didn’t exist at the time – and going down the 57 and making my way down to Fullerton, without traffic, it was 30 minutes, but with traffic, it could be an hour and 45 minutes. The amount of time I was sitting in the car, I’m thinking to myself, ‘How much money could I be making?’ I’d effectively been working since I was 14 years old, I’d saved up a bunch of money, I had $3,000 or $4,000 in my account, I moved out of my parents’ house at 16 to take care of my grandma after my grandpapa died, and he was kind of like my father. I was like, ‘You know what? Screw it. I’m just gonna get an apartment.’ I convinced a couple of guys to get an apartment, and in that time when I would sit in the car, I just ended up getting a job and working one little shift from 6 in the morning to 8:30, and then I’d go to school, I’d go to class, and then I’d work until 6 or 7 o’clock at night and then get all my schoolwork done, and just continue the hustle.