Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey
Personal information
Full name	Clinton Drew Dempsey
Date of birth	March 9, 1983 (1983-03-09) (age 26)
Place of birth	Nacogdoches, TX, United States
Height	1.85.5 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Winger, Attacking midfielder, Striker
Club information
Current club	Fulham
Number	23
Youth clubs
2001–2003	Dallas Texans Furman Paladins
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2004–2007 2007–	New England Revolution Fulham	71 0(25) 55 00(8)
National team2
2004–	United States	46 0(13)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 November 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Clinton Drew "Clint" Dempsey (born March 9, 1983 in Nacogdoches, Texas) is an American football player who plays midfield for Fulham of the Premier League and the United States national team.

Youth

Clint Dempsey's exposure to competitive youth soccer began in Dallas, a three-hour drive from his hometown. His older brother Ryan initially went to a tryout for the Dallas Texans, but Clint was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball.^[1]

Dempsey began playing competitively at an early age, but had to curtail his team play, due to family time and money constraints as eldest sister Jennifer was on her way to becoming a ranked tennis player.^[2] He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with MVP in the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl.

Dempsey studied the play of Argentina, especially Diego Maradona. Clint was heartbroken when the news came to Nacogdoches that Maradona would not be playing in the 1994 FIFA World Cup game played in the Cotton Bowl^[3]

Dempsey attended Furman University as a health and exercise major and a key player for the Paladins. In his three seasons at Furman, Dempsey started 61 out of 62 games and scored 17 goals.

Club career

New England Revolution

Dempsey was drafted eighth in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution. Playing as an attacking central midfielder, he scored seven goals in his rookie season and was named MLS Rookie of the Year, despite missing time due to a broken jaw. He missed the decisive penalty kick in a shootout against D.C. United that denied the Revolution a trip to the MLS Cup. In 2005, he scored 10 goals and had nine assists, including five game-winning goals (third best in MLS). Dempsey also contributed in the MLS All-Star Game by assisting on the game-winning goal against Fulham F.C. Dempsey scored the vital goal against the Chicago Fire to put the Revs into MLS Cup 2005. He was named to the MLS Best XI.

In 2004, Dempsey played two games with a broken jaw before the team trainer diagnosed it, and upon his return he played through the pain of a sprained ankle. He has scored repeatedly with diving headers in crowded situations and his quickness in midfield results in defenders frequently fouling him. He was suspended by the Revolution for two weeks in March 2006 for a fist fight with teammate Joe Franchino during a practice game,^[4] and was twice suspended by the league during the 2006 season for violent conduct against opponents.^[5]

It was widely rumored that Clint would leave New England for a European team.^[6] He trained with Dutch team Feyenoord Rotterdam^[7][8] and stated that "there are some teams interested in the EPL." In August 2006, Charlton Athletic offered a transfer fee for Dempsey of $1.5 million.^[9] The offer was rejected by MLS, disappointing Dempsey who felt the move was necessary for him to continue improving.^[10][11] Dempsey stated that he would not stay in MLS when his contract ran out in late 2007, regardless of salary.

Dempsey playing for Fulham in 2007.

Fulham

In December 2006, Fulham F.C. offered MLS a $4 million transfer fee for Dempsey, then the largest amount ever offered for an MLS player.^[12][13] The league agreed to the transfer; however, Dempsey still needed to receive a work permit from the United Kingdom Home Office. On January 10, 2007, the Home Office granted Dempsey the work permit, thus allowing him to play in England.^[14]

Dempsey made his first appearance for Fulham shortly thereafter, coming on as a late substitute in Fulham's match against Tottenham Hotspur on January 20, 2007.^[15] However, for the remainder of the spring of 2007 Dempsey was used only sparingly by a relegation-threatened Fulham. On May 5, 2007, Dempsey scored his first and only goal of the 2006-07 season for Fulham after coming on as a 54th minute substitute against Liverpool, in a vital match which Fulham won 1-0. The goal ensured Fulham's top flight status for the 2007-08 season.^[16][17]

Dempsey was a key part of the starting squad for Fulham during the 2007-08 Premier League season. His six goals, all scored in the Premier League, made him Fulham's top scorer in league play and tied for the club lead in all competitions. In May 2008, Dempsey received an automatic contract extension from Fulham that will keep him at the club through 2010.^[18]

Dempsey scored his first goal on the 2008-2009 campaign on October 26th, 2008 against Portsmouth. Coming on as a 70th minute sub, Demspey volleyed home an Erik Nevland cross past David James to tie the game at 1-1.

Career statistics

^[19]

International career

Dempsey first played for the United States team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He made his first appearance with the senior team on November 17, 2004 against Jamaica. On May 2, 2006, he was named to the U.S. roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament in Germany. He currently has played over 20 games with the senior team and has recorded six goals and two assists, including the lone goal in the United States' 1-0 victory over Poland in March 2006 and the only goal by a U.S. player in the 2006 World Cup (an equalizing goal in the Americans' eventual 2-1 loss to Ghana). In the United States' first World Cup 2010 Qualifier, Clint recorded what is considered to be the fastest goal in U.S. World Cup Qualifier History with his chest trap and sliding shot 53 seconds into the game versus Barbados. Dempsey has been an instrumental player in many of the United States international matches.

Dempsey won United States men's soccer's highest individual honor when he was named Honda Player of the Year for 2006, beating Kasey Keller and Brian McBride in a poll of sportswriters. Dempsey received 237 points in voting by 207 sports journalists to claim the award.

Music

One of Dempsey's passions outside of soccer is hip hop music. Using the alias "Deuce", he, along with fellow Texas rappers XO and the late Houston rapper Big Hawk from the Screwed Up Click, are featured rapping the song "Don't Tread" in a Nike football advertising campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup intended to showcase both the sport's working-class roots and the United States team ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.^[20] The song's video is dedicated to his sister Jennifer, who at age 16 was suddenly struck with a fatal brain aneurysm. At Dempsey's request, the video ends with a shot of him placing a flower at her grave.^[2]

International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2005-05-28	Chicago, Illinois	England	1-2	1-2	Friendly match
2	2005-07-07	Seattle, Washington	Cuba	1-1	4-1	2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3	2006-02-10	San Francisco, California	Japan	2-0	3-2	Friendly match
4	2006-03-01	Kaiserslautern, Germany	Poland	1-0	1-0	Friendly match
5	2006-05-26	Cleveland, Ohio	Venezuela	2-0	2-0	Friendly match
6	2006-06-22	Nuremberg, Germany	Ghana	1-1	1-2	2006 FIFA World Cup
7	2007-06-02	San Jose, California	China PR	3-1	4-1	Friendly match
8	2007-06-07	Carson, California	Guatemala	1-0	1-0	2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
9	2007-09-08	Chicago, Illinois	Brazil	2-2	2-4	Friendly match
10	2008-06-15	Carson, California	Barbados	1-0	8-0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
11	2008-06-15	Carson, California	Barbados	5-0	8-0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
12	2008-09-06	Havana, Cuba	Cuba	1-0	1-0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
13	2008-09-10	Bridgeview, Illinois	Trinidad and Tobago	2-0	3-0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

References

External links

• Clint Dempsey career stats at Soccerbase
• Official Fulham FC profile of Clint Dempsey
• Clint Dempsey articles on Yanks Abroad
• Clint Dempsey's career timeline and detailed statistics

United States squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Howard • 2 Albright • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Reyna • 11 Ching • 12 Berhalter • 13 Conrad • 14 Olsen • 15 Convey • 16 Wolff • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Hahnemann • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Onyewu • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena

United States squad – 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Howard • 2 Hejduk • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 Feilhaber • 6 Bradley • 7 Beasley • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Donovan • 11 Ching • 12 DeMerit • 13 Bornstein • 14 Ralston • 15 Simek • 16 Parkhurst • 17 Spector • 18 Keller • 19 Clark • 20 Twellman • 21 Mapp • 22 Onyewu • 23 Guzan • Coach: Bradley