Clint Dempsey biography
Date of birth : 1983-03-09
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Nacogdoches, Texas, United States
Nationality : American
Category : Sports
Last modified : 2010-06-24
Credited as : Football striker USA team, plays for Fulham soccer club, FIFA World Cup
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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. He 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.
In December 2006, Fulham offered MLS a $4 million transfer fee for Dempsey, then the largest amount ever offered for an MLS player. 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.
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. 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.
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 would have kept him at the club through 2010.
Dempsey scored his first goal on the 2008–2009 campaign on October 26, 2008, against Portsmouth. Coming on as a 70th-minute sub, Dempsey 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 Čech that put Fulham ahead, and the other an 89th-minute equalizing header off a Simon Davies corner. On April 12, 2009, Dempsey was voted Man of the Match in a 3–1 win over Manchester City at Eastlands, in which he scored two goals.
On August 13, 2009, Dempsey signed a contract extension to remain with Fulham through 2013. On August 20, 2009, he scored his first goal in European competition, in the newly formed Europa League, netting Fulham's second goal in a 3–1 win against Amkar Perm in the play-off round. On December 30, 2009, La Gazzetta dello Sport named Dempsey as one of the top eleven Premier League players of the season. On 17 January, 2010, Dempsey suffered a suspected cruciate knee ligament injury in a 2–0 away defeat to Blackburn Rovers. On March 11, 2010, Dempsey returned, coming on in the last minute of Fulham's loss away to Juventus and then completed 72 minutes of their away loss to Manchester United in the league. On March 18, 2010, Dempsey came off the bench against Juventus in their second leg last 16 tie in the Europa League and scored the winner on a long chip shot. The Guardian suggested that the goal "might become the most famous goal in Fulham's history". On 12 May 2010, Dempsey replaced Bobby Zamora in the 55th minute of the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final, thus making history in becoming the first ever American to appear in a major European final. In the end, Fulham lost the match, as Atlético Madrid's Diego Forlan scored in the 116th minute of extra-time, giving Madrid a 2-1 win. His performances throughout 2009–10 earned him the designation of Most Valuable Player amongst Americans in Europe by SoccerOverThere.com, among other sources.
