Cobi Jones statue provides physical proof of USMNT legend's legacy

“Legacy is built over time. People start to recognize. I start realizing legacy is something more when I hear people that watch their kids tell kids about me. That knocks me to the floor. When an eight-year-old comes up to me and says, ‘You’re Cobi Jones! I’ve watched you!’" he recalls. "And I’m like, 'How?' They Googled,” Jones said. “It tells me it has meant something.

“Now, if we talk about the recognition factor, we’re a different country than England or Italy. It’s a different sport than American football or basketball, but we’re building and establishing those legacies, those traditions, those histories year after year.”

Jones currently is working as an ambassador for the Los Angeles World Cup host committee but also does media work, where he’s part of a boom of past national team players regularly commenting on the current squad.

That is de rigueur in England, where Jones played with Coventry City, in Brazil where he signed with Vasco de Gama after turning heads during the 1995 Copa América, and other countries around the world. But it’s still a relatively new phenomenon in the American soccer world where veterans often haven’t had enough name recognition for broadcasters to hire them to opine.

He is honest in his critiques but also understands that his experience may be less relevant to current players than that of some of his media colleagues. Jones’ first pro contract was signed with the U.S. Soccer Federation itself, which brought players together as a type of club team leading into the 1994 World Cup in hopes the team would have a good showing in its first home World Cup.

It might have worked. The U.S. got out of the group and fell to eventual champion Brazil 1-0 in the round of 16. But Jones noted “you will never see anything like again” because of the growth of the sport in the U.S. and the business realities of the global game. Only after the home World Cup ended did Jones, well into his mid-20s, sign his first pro contract abroad. The 2002 World Cup, which saw Jones come in to help close out a 2-0 round of 16 win over Mexico, is the best modern showing at the World Cup.

1 (tie). Clint Dempsey - 57 goals (2004-2017)

1 (tie). Landon Donovan - 57 goals (2000-2014)

3. Jozy Altidore - 42 goals (2007-2019)

4. Eric Wynalda - 34 goals (1990-2000)

5. Christian Pulisic - 32 (2016-present; through Nov. 18, 2024)

7. Joe-Max Moore - 24 goals (1992-2002)

8. Bruce Murray - 21 goals (1985–1993)

9. Eddie Johnson - 19 goals (2004–2014)

10 (tie). DaMarcus Beasley - 17 goals (2001-2017)

10 (tie). Michael Bradley - 17 goals (2006-2019)

10 (tie). Earnie Stewart - 17 goals (1990-2004)

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USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

1 (tie). Clint Dempsey - 57 goals (2004-2017)

1 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

1 (tie). Clint Dempsey - 57 goals (2004-2017)

2 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

1 (tie). Landon Donovan - 57 goals (2000-2014)

3 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

3. Jozy Altidore - 42 goals (2007-2019)

4 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

4. Eric Wynalda - 34 goals (1990-2000)

5 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

5. Christian Pulisic - 32 (2016-present; through Nov. 18, 2024)

6 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

7. Joe-Max Moore - 24 goals (1992-2002)

7 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

8. Bruce Murray - 21 goals (1985–1993)

8 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

9. Eddie Johnson - 19 goals (2004–2014)

9 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

10 (tie). DaMarcus Beasley - 17 goals (2001-2017)

10 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

10 (tie). Michael Bradley - 17 goals (2006-2019)

11 / 11

USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

10 (tie). Earnie Stewart - 17 goals (1990-2004)

Rather than being a cranky old man with a microphone wondering why the current squad isn’t getting as far as the team did back in his day, Jones hopes to become known as a mentor figure. Whether a young Black kid trying to find his way in soccer or a retiring pro who represented the national team, Jones has served as a sounding board for athletes navigating what comes next.

“t’s putting myself out there and making sure people know I’m open to help,” Jones said. “People will say I’m a pioneer within soccer. I’d say that, because of that, I’m a pioneer in other ways. I’m one of the first in my generation playing soccer professionally that supported you and then what do you do after that’s done? That’s something we’re just starting to get into within in the U.S.”

He also wants young players to understand something he didn’t when he played, that every decision, every moment of their career — and the decisions they make in their private life — are the building blocks of their careers.

“The LA Galaxy has their school, and I’ve gone in and talked to the kids to let them realize that it starts now, starting to build your legacy and how you want to be represented. Nowadays, it starts earlier and earlier, so they have to be aware of that,” he said.

Without that foreknowledge and with far fewer forefathers, Jones still built a career now being celebrated for what he was able to achieve with the Galaxy and the U.S., and assembled a legacy the Galaxy have decided is worth commemorating in their Legends Plaza.

The Galaxy have documented the process of creating the Jones statue, from January 2025’s announcement to designs being approved in April of that year to Jones flying to the Rotblatt Amrany studio in Chicago in June 2025 to see the progress.

“We’re hoping it’s not like the Ronaldo statue, number one,” Jones joked of the viral 2017 bust. “It definitely hits you emotionally at the first instance. Over time, you start thinking about what it means not just for myself, my family and my kids — which is most important for me — but what it means beyond.

“I’m not ignorant to the fact there have been a lot of people that have looked up to me for a variety of reasons. I understand that and hope that can be something represented by the statue going up.”

The statue will forever stand outside Dignity Health Sports Park as a reminder that Jones did it, going from a young Black player pushing for college minutes to a professional still shocked by his luck to a U.S. and Galaxy icon, immortalized in bronze. He hopes it will convince others that they can do it, too.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USMNT record-holder Cobi Jones reflects on legacy as statue unveil approaches