Leonard Krupnik

Infobox Football biography
playername = Leo Krupnik


fullname = Leonard Krupnik
Леонид Крупник
ליאוניד קרופניק
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1979|07|15
cityofbirth = Khmelnytskyi
countryofbirth = Soviet Union
height = Height|meter=1.91
position = Defender
currentclub = Flagicon|ISR Maccabi Haifa
clubnumber = 5
youthyears =
youthclubs = Flagicon|USA San Francisco Vikings
years = 1997–2001 2002 2002 2002–2003 2003–2005 2005–2006 2006 2007-2008 2008-present
clubs = University of California, Berkeley Des Moines Menace MetroStars Wilmington Hammerheads Charleston Battery Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Herzliya Bnei Sakhnin Maccabi Haifa
caps(goals) = 36 (1) - (-) 0 (0) - (-) - (-) 24 (1) 7 (1) 43 (2) 5 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 02:59, 25 October 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Leonid Krupnik ( _ru. Леонид Крупник, _he. ליאוניד קרופניק; born July 15, 1979 in Khmelnytskyi) is an American football player who currently plays for Maccabi Haifa in Israel.

Childhood and early career

Leonid was born in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, the son of Mark and Rita, and brother of Vladimir. The family left the Ukraine during the 1990s for the United States of America.

By age six, Leonid was an active gymnast and football was only a hobby. One day while playing football with some friends in the San Francisco neighborhood, he was spotted by the manager of the San Francisco Vikings. Little did young Leonid know that football would become his destiny.

High School

Leonid was the team captain and guided George Washington High School to their greatest achievement in forty years, first place.

University

University of California, Berkeley was the next stop for Krupnik. He majored in Social welfare and continued to play football. Though in his junior year of university he injured his ankle and was 'red shirted' for the entire season.

Krupnik was also strong academically, and was on the Dean's Honor List in Fall of 2000 [cite news
title=Dean's Honor List:Fall 2000
url=http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/honorlist/00fall.html
publisher=
date=
accessdate=2007-03-02] .

Professional career

Major League Soccer and the United Soccer Leagues

On February 10, 2002 he was drafted with the 69th pick by the MetroStars of Major League Soccer in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft. He did not make the squad and 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. That is the last team he has played for in the US.

2005 Maccabiah

In 2005, Lev Kirshner picked Leo Krupnik for the US Maccabiah squad (a national team composed of Jewish players). Kirshner brought a talented squad with the most professional experience ever. They reached the final but lost to the host Israeli team which was comprised of Israel's Under-18 national team players.

Aliyah

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.

Maccabi Netanya

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 Israeli 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 [he icon cite news
title=הרכש הראשון של עטר: הבלם קרופניק
url=http://www.one.co.il/c.aspx?target=%2Fnext%2Easp%3Fid%3D79014%26Bz%3D9%26categoryid%3D1%26tableid%3D1%26nocache%3D1
publisher=One.co.il
date=04 October, 2006
accessdate=2006-12-09] .

Maccabi Herzliya

On July 20, 2006 Reuven Atar was appointed as manager of newly promoted Ligat ha'Al (Premier League) club, Maccabi Herzliya. His first action was to sign Leonard Krupnik to a contract with the club [he icon cite news
title=עטר וקרופניק ישתפו פעולה גם בהרצליה
url=http://www.sport5.co.il/articles.aspx?FolderID=64&docID=8565&lang=he
publisher=Sport5.co.il
date=04 October, 2006
accessdate=2006-12-09] . 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.

Maccabi Haifa

At the 17th of June, 2008, Leonid Krupnik signed a contract with Maccabi Haifa for 3 years. [he icon http://maccabi-haifafc.walla.co.il/ts.cgi?tsscript=player&id=3780]

Notes