| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward James Lewis | ||
| Date of birth | May 17, 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Cerritos, California, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Left Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1995 | UCLA Bruins | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1999 | San Jose Clash | 115 | (9) |
| 2000–2002 | Fulham | 16 | (0) |
| 2002–2005 | Preston North End | 111 | (15) |
| 2005–2007 | Leeds United | 85 | (8) |
| 2007–2008 | Derby County | 24 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 48 | (3) |
| Total | 399 | (35) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1996–2008 | United States | 82 | (10) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 25, 2010. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Edward James "Eddie" Lewis (born May 17, 1974 in Cerritos, California) is a former American soccer player.
During his 14-year professional career he played extensively in both the United States and England, notably for San Jose Clash, Preston North End, Leeds United and Los Angeles Galaxy. He was also a veteran member of the United States national team throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s; he acquired 82 caps, scored 10 goals, and represented his country at the 1999 Confederations Cup, 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2003 Confederations Cup, 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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Lewis attended Cerritos High School, and played college soccer at UCLA, leading his team in scoring in 1995. He was drafted by the then-San Jose Clash in the third round of the 1996 MLS College Draft. He would spend the next four years in San Jose, becoming a full-time starter in his second season. Originally a forward, the lefty moved to the midfield early on in his pro career. In his time with the Clash, he scored nine goals and added 35 assists in 115 games and was named to the MLS Best XI in 1999.
Lewis signed with England's Fulham, then in the Football League First Division, in 2000. He spent three seasons there, but did not see much playing time, especially in his last year, when the club was promoted to the Premiership. He only played one game for his club in 2001-02, the meaningless season finale. Overall, he appeared in 14 total games for the London club, scoring just one goal against one of his future employers, Derby County, in the League Cup.[1]
Lewis made a move to Preston North End in 2002 and spent the next three years there.
In June 2005, Leeds United signed Lewis from Preston on a free transfer.[2]
A set piece specialist, he scored memorable free-kicks against Burnley and against his former club, Preston North End. Lewis was the subject of a transfer bid from Wolverhampton Wanderers just before the transfer deadline in Summer 2006, but the bid was instantly rejected by chairman Ken Bates.[3] Lewis was a regular in the 2006-07 Championship season with Leeds, once again playing left wing. In the first few matches of Dennis Wise's reign at the club, Lewis was played at left back, but after that he was put back to his favoured left wing, but rotated between the positions as the season progressed. He scored three times for Leeds in the 2006-7 season.
In the May issue of Leeds magazine 'Leeds Leeds Leeds', Lewis suggested that he would be willing to stay at Elland Road even if Leeds United were to drop down to League One. At the end of the 2006-07 season Lewis was voted Leeds' fans Player of the Year[4] being only the fourth non-British player in the club's history to receive the award. After Leeds were relegated Lewis signed a new one year contract at Leeds, and Lewis stayed at Leeds for the first few games in League 1, where he was given the number 3 shirt and was Leeds' regular left back. When Derby County came in for him Dennis Wise decided he could not stand in the way of Eddie playing Premiership Football. Lewis left Leeds as a cult hero amongst the Elland Road fans.
Derby County signed Lewis to a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored an own goal against West Ham United in a Premiership match on 10 November 2007 at Pride Park.[5] Before the start of the 2008-09 season, Eddie agreed to be released from his contract with Derby County to play in Major League Soccer.[6]
Lewis rejoined Major League Soccer on August 21, 2008[7] and was reunited with recently hired Bruce Arena, under whom he served on the U.S. men's national team. After two and a half season with Los Angeles, Lewis announced he would retire at the end of 2010 MLS season.[8]
Lewis made his debut with the U.S. national team on October 16, 1996, against Peru, a game boycotted by almost all regular U.S. players because of salary concerns. Unlike most of the other players to appear in that game, Lewis went on to have a long national career, appearing in a total of 82 games. He played an important role for the U.S. in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starting both elimination games, and delivering a cross to Landon Donovan for the team's second goal in their 2-0 victory over Mexico.
With increasing competition at left midfield, most notably from DaMarcus Beasley, Lewis began a transition to left back in late 2005, debuting in that slot in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago on August 17, 2005. Although he continues to play left midfield for his professional club, Lewis welcomed the move to left back for the national team.
On May 2, 2006, for the second successive time, Lewis was named in the U.S. squad for the FIFA World Cup in Germany. Lewis started the American's first World Cup game against the Czech Republic at left back, but lost that spot after their disappointing 3-0 loss. After sitting out the U.S. draw with eventual champions Italy in their second game, he rejoined the starting lineup at left midfield against Ghana. His inspired play nearly helped the U.S. team to equalize, but his ball to Brian McBride glanced off the goal post. The United States were eliminated from the competition after suffering a 2-1 defeat. His last goal was in a 1-0 win ( 9-0 on aggregate) in Barbados.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999-02-01 | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | Chile | N/A | 2-1 | Friendly match |
| 2 | 2000-01-16 | Coquimbo, Chile | Chile | N/A | 2-1 | Friendly match |
| 3 | 2002-03-10 | Birmingham, Alabama | Ecuador | 1-0 | 1-0 | Friendly match |
| 4 | 2003-05-26 | San Jose, California | Wales | 2-0 | 2-0 | Friendly match |
| 5 | 2003-07-12 | Foxboro, Massachusetts | El Salvador | 1-0 | 2-0 | Friendly match |
| 6 | 2004-07-02 | Foxboro, Massachusetts | Honduras | 3-0 | 4-0 | Friendly match |
| 7 | 2005-02-09 | Port-of-Spain, Trinidad | Trinidad and Tobago | 2-0 | 2-1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying |
| 8 | 2005-03-27 | Mexico City, Mexico | Mexico | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying |
| 9 | 2008-05-26 | Kraków, Poland | Poland | 3-0 | 3-0 | Friendly match |
| 10 | 2008-06-22 | Bridgetown, Barbados | Barbados | 1-0 | 1-0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Eddie also scored an "eleventh" international goal on 7/17/1999; however, this goal does not count towards international statistics because it was scored against Derby County, an English Club Team.[9]
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