Jump to content

Clint Dempsey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 78.105.29.125 (talk) at 06:10, 29 June 2009 (→‎Music). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Clint Dempsey
Personal information
Full name Clinton Drew Dempsey
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Winger / Striker
Team information
Current team
 Fulham
Number 23
Youth career
Dallas Texans
2001–2003 Furman Paladins
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 New England Revolution
2007– Fulham
International career‡
2004– United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 May 2009 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 June 2009

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

Youth career

Dempsey was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, a small town roughly halfway between Dallas and Houston. For much of his childhood, Dempsey's family lived in a trailer park, where Clint and his siblings grew up playing soccer with the local Mexican immigrant children. His older brother Ryan was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, one of America's elite youth soccer clubs, but young Clint, who had come along, was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines.[1] Dempsey became a standout on the team at an early age, but had to quit due to his poor family's time and money constraints as his eldest sister Jennifer was becoming a ranked youth tennis player.[2] But several parents of his teammates with the Texans offered to assist the Dempseys with expenses and travel, allowing him to rejoin the club. He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with MVP in the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament.

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 in central midfield 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 that year's MLS All-Star Game by assisting on the game-winning goal against his future club, Fulham. 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.

It was widely speculated that Dempsey would eventually leave New England for a European club.[4] He trained with Dutch team Feyenoord Rotterdam[5][6] 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.[7] The offer was rejected by MLS, disappointing Dempsey who felt the move was necessary for him to continue improving.[8][9] 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 offered MLS a $4 million transfer fee for Dempsey, then the largest amount ever offered for an MLS player.[10][11] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14][15]

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.[16]

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. On December 28, 2008, Dempsey started in the SW6 Derby against Chelsea and scored both goals for Fulham, one a chest and flick past Petr Cech that put Fulham ahead, and the other an 89th-minute equalizing header off a Simon Davies corner.[17] On 12 April 2009, Dempsey was voted Man of the Match in a 3-1 win over Manchester City at Eastlands, in which he scored two goals.[18]


International career

Dempsey first played for the American national 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 55 caps with the senior team and has recorded 15 goals, including the only goal by a U.S. player in the 2006 FIFA World Cup,[19] an equalizing goal in the Americans' eventual 2-1 loss to Ghana. In the United States' opening 2010 World Cup qualifier, Dempsey recorded the fastest goal in U.S. World Cup qualifying history with a chest trap and sliding shot 53 seconds into a 8-0 defeat of Barbados.

Dempsey has established himself as a first-choice player with the national team when healthy and is frequently lined up as a striker due to his scoring threat and heading ability. He won the highest individual honor in American soccer when he was named Honda Player of the Year for 2006, beating Fulham teammates Kasey Keller and Brian McBride in a poll of sportswriters. Dempsey received 237 points in voting by 207 sports journalists to claim the award.

In the final group stage match of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup against Egypt, Dempsey scored a trademark diving header off a Jonathan Spector cross, making the final result 3-0, which, combined with Brazil's 3-0 victory against Italy in the other group match that was being played simultaneously, put the U.S. through to the semifinals.[20] In the semifinal match against Spain, Dempsey scored to put the USA up 2-0 and send them to the finals, he was awarded as the Man of the Match for his performance.[21] Dempsey scored in his third straight game in the Confederations Cup final against Brazil, volleying home a Jonathan Spector cross in the tenth minute to open the scoring.[22] He was awarded the Bronze Ball for his performance in the tournament.

Playing style

Known for his toughness, 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. Despite usually playing in wide positions, he frequently scores close-range goals and has scored repeatedly with diving headers in crowded situations. His tenacity in midfield combined with his audacious dribbling skills frequently results in opponents 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[23] and was twice suspended by the league during the 2006 season for violent conduct against opponents.[24]

Career statistics

Last updated February 2, 2009.

[25] Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2004||rowspan="3"| New England 
Revolution||rowspan="3"|Major League
Soccer||24||7|||||||||||||||| |- |2005||26||10|||||||||||||||| |- |2006||21||8|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2006–07||rowspan="3"|Fulham||rowspan="3"|Premier League||10||1||2||0||0||0||0||0||12||1 |- |2007–08||36||6||2||0||2||0||0||0||40||6 |- |2008–09||35||7||5||1||1||0||0||0||41||8 Template:Football player statistics 371||25|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 481||14||9||1||3||0||0||0||93||15 Template:Football player statistics 5152||39||||||||||||||| |}

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 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 5–0
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
14 2009-06-21 Rustenburg, South Africa  Egypt 3–0 3–0 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
15 2009-06-24 Bloemfontein, South Africa  Spain 2–0 2–0 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
16 2009-06-28 Johannesburg, South Africa  Brazil 1–0 2–3 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

International

Individual

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 On Me" 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.[26] 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]

References

  1. ^ Hairopoulos, Kate (June 8 2006). "Quite a trip for U.S. midfielder". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Drehs, Wayne (June 8, 2006). "No ordinary background". ESPNSoccernet. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
  3. ^ Connolly, Marc (February 7 2005). "Rookie of the year is still a rookie". ESPNSoccernet. Retrieved 2006-07-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Holmes, Stanley (June 5, 2006). "Soccer's American Idols". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
  5. ^ Hush, Andrew (November 30 2005). "No Toffee for Dempsey". Soccer New England. Retrieved 2006-08-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ O'Conor, Sean (March 7, 2006). "Dempsey feeling continental pull". Yanks Abroad. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
  7. ^ Cohen, Steven & Geber, Nick (2006-08-29). "World Soccer Daily (0:36:00-0:57:00)". http://www.worldsoccerdaily.com (Podcast). {{cite podcast}}: External link in |website= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Dell'Apa, Frank (August 16, 2006). "Twellman says he's underpaid". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-08-16.
  9. ^ Bell, Graham & Richards, Gary (2006-08-07). "[[The 2 G's]] (@ 0:27:20)". www.the2gs.com (Podcast). Retrieved 2006-08-14. {{cite podcast}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Frank Dell'Apa (January 7, 2007). "Dempsey could set the tone for future MLS transfers". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  11. ^ Frank Dell'Apa (February 27, 2007). "Transfer of power for Revolution". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  12. ^ New England Soccer (January 10, 2007). "Dempsey work permit approved". Soccer New England. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  13. ^ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
  14. ^ "Fulham 1-0 Liverpool". Fulham Football Club. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  15. ^ "Dempsey's Golden Goal". Fulham Football Club. 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  16. ^ "Podcast Interview with Clint Dempsey". U.S. Soccer. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
  17. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (2009-04-12). "Fulham 2-2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  18. ^ Bevan, Chris (2009-04-12). "Man City 1-3 Fulham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  19. ^ Blum, Ronald (2009-06-02). "Dempsey a rare American soccer attacker". AP. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  20. ^ "Egypt 0-3 USA". BBC Sport. 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  21. ^ "Spain 0-2 United States". BBC Sport. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
  22. ^ "USA 2-3 Brazil". BBC Sport. 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  23. ^ "Fight injury delays Franchino from taking Costa Rica flight with Revs". Soccer Times. March 17 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Dempsey suspended two games for violent conduct". Associated Press via ESPNSoccernet. August 15 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Clint Dempsey". fulhamfc.com. Fulham F.C.
  26. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (February 7, 2006). "Don't Tread on Clint". ESPNSoccernet. Retrieved 2006-07-14.
Preceded by U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year
2007 		Succeeded by

Template:Fb start

Template:Fb end

Template:Persondata {{subst:#if:Dempsey, Clint|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1983}} 

|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:LIVING}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1983 births

}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:LIVING}} 

|| LIVING  = 
| MISSING  = 
| UNKNOWN  = 
| #default =

}}

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clint_Dempsey&oldid=299259772"