Steve Cherundolo grew up in San Diego and attended Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos [1]. As a youth he played for the La Jolla Nomads club team which won the California State Championship six times with him on the roster.

He then became a star on the national youth teams and was sought out by college scouts.

Before joining Hannover, Cherundolo played two years of college soccer at the University of Portland, from 1997 to 1998. In his freshman season, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.

Cherundolo joined Hannover, then playing in the 2. Bundesliga, for end the 1998-9 season, and quickly received first-team action, playing in four games his first year. Coming into the 1999-2000 season Cherundolo established himself at the right back position, starting consistently before suffering a terrible knee injury that kept him out of the end of the season, and ended his chances of playing for the U.S. Olympic team. Cherundolo continued to establish his place in the team in the 2000-1 season, earning playing time in 18 games, including 10 starts. In the 2001-2 season, he really established himself, starting 30 of 34 games for the team, as he helped the team gain promotion to the 1. Bundesliga. Cherundolo maintained his position in the 2002-3 season, starting 33 games for the team, while collecting 3 assists. In the 2003-4 season, Cherundolo continued his consistent play, appearing in 33 games for the club. Cherundolo is highly thought of at Hannover and wears the captain's armband more often than not.

Cherundolo has parleyed his role in the Bundesliga into a role with the United States national team. Cherundolo made his debut against Jamaica on September 8, 1999. Although he was on the roster for the 2002 World Cup (a late injury replacement for Chris Armas), Cherundolo himself was injured in training shortly before the event began and was unable to play. In the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Cherundolo sustained a knee injury from a flagrant foul that forced him out of the event; an injury from which he has not fully recovered as of early November 2005. When healthy, Cherundolo is widely considered the right back of choice for the national team. On 22 March 2006, Cherundolo played in a friendly match with the U.S. National Team against the German national team, including some teammates from Hannover 96. He scored the only USA goal in the (4-1) loss, and it was his first goal for USA. On May 2nd, 2006, for the second successive time, Cherundolo was named to the US roster for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.