Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey
Dempsey playing for Seattle Sounders FC in 2016
Personal information
Full name Clinton Drew Dempsey[1]
Date of birth (1983-03-09) March 9, 1983[2]
Place of birth Nacogdoches, Texas, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3]
Position(s) Forward, midfielder
Youth career
1998–2001 Dallas Texans
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Furman Paladins 62 (17[4])
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 New England Revolution 71 (25)
2007–2012 Fulham 189 (50)
2012–2013 Tottenham Hotspur 29 (7)
2013–2018 Seattle Sounders FC 115 (47)
2014 → Fulham (loan) 5 (0)
Total 409 (129)
International career
2002–2003 United States U20 13 (21)
2004–2017 United States 141 (57)
Medal record
Men's soccer
Representing  United States
FIFA Confederations Cup
Runner-up 2009 South Africa
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Winner 2005 United States
Winner 2007 United States
Winner 2017 United States
Runner-up 2011 United States
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Clinton Drew Dempsey (/ˈdɛmpsi/; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who is a sports analyst on the television program Soccer on CBS Sports. He played as a forward and midfielder for Premier League clubs Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer for clubs New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders FC. Often debated as the greatest American player of all time, he is one of the most successful American players in Europe, and is tied with Landon Donovan for the record of most international goals scored by an American player (57).[5][6][7][8][9]

A native of Nacogdoches, Texas, Dempsey spent his youth career with the Dallas Texans before joining Furman University's men's soccer team in 2001. In 2004, he was drafted by the New England Revolution, where he scored 25 goals in 71 appearances. In 2007, Dempsey signed for Premier League club Fulham for £2 million. With Fulham, he was an integral part of the team that were runners-up to Spanish club Atlético Madrid for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. He was awarded Fulham Player of the Season for 2010–11 and 2011–12, where he was the club's top scorer for both. In 2012, Dempsey became the first American player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League.[10]

In 2012, Tottenham signed Dempsey for a fee of $9.6 million, then a record signing for an American. He scored 12 goals in his only season with Tottenham, giving him 72 goals across all competitions for Premier League clubs—the most by an American in a top-tier European league.[11] He was signed by the Seattle Sounders the following year, and played 115 matches for the club, scoring 47 goals, and leading the club to win the 2014 Supporters' Shield. During the 2016 season, Dempsey was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and missed the team's run to the MLS Cup. He returned the following season, before announcing his retirement from professional soccer in 2018.

Dempsey represented the United States at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and made his first appearance with the senior team on November 17, 2004. He earned more than 140 caps and scored 57 international goals, making him the nation's fourth-most capped player and tying him with Landon Donovan as the top all-time scorer with 57 goals. Dempsey represented the United States at four CONCACAF Gold Cups (winning three), helped them to the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup, and scored in each of the three World Cups he attended.[12][13] In 2022, Dempsey was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[14]

  1. ^ "Clint Dempsey". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on June 8, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  2. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  3. ^ "Clint Dempsey - Premier League". Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "Clint Dempsey". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Seltzer, Greg. "Top 10 US national team players of the modern era". mlssoccer.com. MLS. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  6. ^ "Clint Dempsey is Mr. Clutch and USMNT's greatest-ever player". ESPN FC. March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "The top 50 players in USMNT history". FOX Sports. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  8. ^ "Clint Dempsey was the greatest USMNT player of his generation". NBC Sports. August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "Fulham's Greatest Scorer: Dempsey". Fulham FC. July 27, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  10. ^ "Fulham 5–2 Newcastle". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. January 12, 2012. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  11. ^ Tomaszewicz, Matthew (August 7, 2013). "Why would Clint Dempsey move from Spurs to the Seattle Sounders?". The Guardian.
  12. ^ "Team USA's Clint Dempsey Scores 5th-Fastest Goal in World Cup History". Bleacher Report. June 17, 2014.
  13. ^ Mayers, Joshua (June 16, 2014). "Clint Dempsey becomes first American to score in three World Cups, has nose broken". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  14. ^ Johnathan Wright (May 22, 2022). "Clint Dempsey thanks family in emotional Hall of Fame acceptance speech". MLS.
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