Kelly Smith

For other people named Kelly Smith, see Kelly Smith (disambiguation).

Kelly Smith

Personal information
Full name	Kelly Jayne Smith
Date of birth	29 October 1978 (1978-10-29)
Place of birth	Watford, England
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Boston Breakers
Number	10
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1996	Wembley L.F.C.
1996–1997	Arsenal L.F.C.
1997–1999	Seton Hall Pirates
1999–2000	New Jersey Lady Stallions
2001–2003	Philadelphia Charge	?	(9)
2004	New Jersey Wildcats	8	(8)
2005–2009	Arsenal L.F.C.	66	(73)
2009–2012	Boston Breakers	45	(18)
2012–	Arsenal L.F.C.
National team‡
1995–	England	111	(45)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 29, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 February 2012

Kelly Jayne Smith, MBE (born 29 October 1978, in Watford) is an English football forward currently playing for Arsenal L.F.C. in the English FA WSL and is a member of the England women's national football team.

Playing career

Youth and university

While growing up in the Garston area of Watford, Smith regularly played football on boys' teams. She developed her skills at Wembley Ladies, making her debut for the squad in season 1994–95. After moving to Arsenal Ladies during 1996–97, she scored two goals and assisted on the third in a 3–0 win over Liverpool which secured the Premier League title that season. She spent that year at West Herts College, but transferred to Seton Hall University in the United States in 1997.

Smith enrolled at the university and was a student-athlete. She played for Seton Hall Pirates from 1997 through 1999. In her first year at Seton Hall in 1997, Smith set scoring records for the Big East Conference and became the first athlete in any sport to be the conference's (Offensive) Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. In the following two seasons, she was the leading scorer not only in the Big East, but in the whole of NCAA Division I, and was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year in both years. At the end of her university career, the school retired her uniform number (6) — she became the first Seton Hall athlete in any sport other than basketball to have a number retired. In her 3 years at Seton Hall, she set school records with 76 goals and 174 points while playing in just 51 matches.

Professional club

Life in America

At the culmination of her studies Smith remained in America, remarking: "women's football in England is a joke." Smith's first professional club was New Jersey Lady Stallions of W-League, for which she played on from 1999 through 2000. However, a new top-flight women's league was about to start in the United States and Smith stayed in the country to participate in the project.

The Women's United Soccer Association was formed in early 2000. Smith was drafted 2nd overall in the 2001 WUSA Foreign Allocation Draft by Philadelphia Charge. Smith played all 3 seasons with Philadelphia and was named to the 2001 WUSA Global 11 All-Star Team. 2001 was her only full season in the league; in 2002, Smith missed most of the season after tearing her ACL in her right knee, and missed much of 2003 after re-injuring the same knee. Unfortunately following the 2003 season, the WUSA ceased operations.

Smith decided to keep playing in the United States following the collapse of the WUSA. In 2004, she played for the New Jersey Wildcats in the W-League, but she was injured yet again, breaking her leg. She ended up appearing in 8 games for the club (563 minutes) and scored 8 goals and 6 assists.

Back to England

Smith in the 2007 FA Women's Cup final

Depressed and with a nascent drink problem, Smith returned to England and Arsenal in the Autumn of 2004. She officially rejoined in 2005 after being treated at the Sporting Chance clinic. However, she was yet again hampered by injury, this time by a stress fracture in her foot. She returned to action at the end of the 2004–05 season, scoring a goal from 30 metres out against Charlton Athletic L.F.C. which clinched the Premier League title for Arsenal.

In Arsenal's "Quadruple" winning season of 2006–07, Smith scored 30 goals in 34 games across the four competitions. However, she missed both legs of the 2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup final through suspension, after being sent off for gesturing to opposition fans in the semi-final.

Over the duration of Smith's Arsenal career since rejoining in 2005, she appeared in 66 Premier League games scoring 73 goals, 16 FA Cup games scoring 13 goals, 10 League Cup games scoring four goals, 18 UEFA Women's Cup games scoring nine goals, and two Community Shield games scoring one goal for a total of 112 appearances and 100 goals. In her last competitive game for Arsenal, Smith scored a hat-trick to help Arsenal to a 5–0 win over Doncaster Belles in the FA Women's Premier League Cup. She won the FA Women's Players' Player of the year in 2006 and 2007.

Return to the United States

Upon the creation of a new women's league in the United States, Women's Professional Soccer, many teams were interested in Smith's services. She was chosen by Boston Breakers 2nd overall in the 2008 WPS International Draft, above Marta and under only Formiga.

Smith against Saint Louis Athletica

Despite being drafted by Boston, she was still under contact with Arsenal. However, Smith decided to leave Arsenal to join Boston Breakers on 18 February 2009, one of a number of English players to join the new Women's Professional Soccer League.

In the inaugural 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season, Smith appeared in 15 games (13 starts, 1170 total minutes) and scored 6 goals with 2 assists.

International

Smith debuted for the England National Team on 1 November 1995, three days after turning 17. The 1-1 draw against Italy was played at Roker Park and Smith won Player of the Match from her position on the left-wing.

Her first international goal came on the occasion of her second cap, against Croatia on 19 November 1995. Smith scored an injury-time penalty in England's 5-0 win at the Valley. The FA later complained to FIFA when Smith's American college team refused to release her for national team duty.

When healthy, she is generally considered to be one of the world's top female players; former United States head coach April Heinrichs asserted that Smith would be an automatic choice for the United States Women's National Team if she had been eligible, and Vera Pauw, the Dutch coach, called Kelly "the best player in the World" after she scored a hat-trick against the Netherlands in a 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier in 2006.

She has competed in the 2001, 2005, and 2009 editions of the UEFA Women's Championship, as well as the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup with England. She also played in the 2007 China Cup against the United States, Germany and China where she was named the player of the tournament.

Smith was voted third in the 2009 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, fourth in 2007 and fifth in 2006 and 2008.

In 2011, she competed in the FIFA World Cup, where she scored from the spot in England's quarterfinal match with France, to give England a 1–0 lead in the penalty shootout (England would go on to lose the shootout 4–3). Smith, hindered by an achilles injury, was dissatisfied with her own performances at the tournament: "I have to acknowledge that I didn't play well and I have to live with that." She returned to the England squad for a UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying tie with Serbia after missing the first three matches of the campaign.

Honours

Smith was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.

Wembley

• Premier League Cup: 1995/96

Arsenal

• Women’s Premier League: 1996/97, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08
• UEFA Women’s Cup: 2006/07
• FA Cup: 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08
• Premier League Cup: 2005/06, 2006/07, 2008/09
• Community Shield: 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09

External links

• Kelly Smith – FIFA competition record
• Football Association player profile
• Boston Breakers player profile
• New Jersey Wildcats player profile
• WUSA player profile