Stuart Holden
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart Holden | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Houston Dynamo | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 July 2006 | |||
Stuart Holden (born August 1, 1985 in Aberdeen, Scotland) is a Scottish/American football player who currently plays midfielder for the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.
After playing two years at Clemson University, Holden signed with English club Sunderland in March 2005. Shortly after, Holden suffered a brutal attack[1] in which his left eye socket was fractured outside a bar in Newcastle March 12, 2005.
Capped eleven times as a United States youth international at the U-20 level (he scored a sensational goal against Brazil), Holden returned to the U.S. to play in MLS with hometown team Houston for the 2006 season and made his MLS debut May 27, 2006. Holden scored his first professional goal July 22, 2006 in a 1-1 home draw against New England. He appeared thirteen times in the 2006 regular season and twice as a substitute in Houston's run to the MLS Cup 2006 championship. In the championship penalty shootout, Holden took the Dynamo's second shot and scored to the top right corner. Early in 2007, Holden was called in to the U.S. U-23 squad for a camp in California and in December for a camp and trip to China to play matches against the China U-23 team.
Holden's playing time increased in 2007, and he made the most of it as an outside midfielder, starting on the left when teammate Brad Davis went down with injury. In July, Holden scored goals on consecutive Thursday night games televised by ESPN2 and added three assists in league play and another in SuperLiga play, as of July 25.