Eric Joseph Lichaj (/ˈliːhaɪ/ LEE-hy;[2] born November 17, 1988) is an American former professional soccer player, who is currently the head coach of the FC Cincinnati U19 team.

[3] Lichaj spent the majority of his professional soccer career in England, playing for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Hull City.

[16] 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.

[21] Leeds announced on their official website that Lichaj would be returning to his parent club Aston Villa at the end of his loan spell.

[22] After his loan expired, Lichaj said he wanted to rejoin Leeds the following season to help them earn promotion to the Premier League.

He told local newspaper Nottingham Post he took "great pride" in the captaincy and that he had retained the armband from his first match as captain.

[38] Lichaj received his first call-up to the United States senior team in October 2010 and was included in the squad for the friendlies against Poland and Colombia.

[citation needed] In 2013, Lichaj returned to international duty after a two-year absence, making two substitute appearances for the U.S. against Scotland and Austria in November.

[42] In May 2016, Lichaj was again recalled by the U.S., as part of the preliminary Copa América Centenario roster,[43] and for a friendly match against Puerto Rico, in which he appeared as a substitute.

[44] During a 2017 Gold Cup quarterfinal match against El Salvador on July 19, 2017, Lichaj scored his first international goal to help the United States win 2–0.