Soccer has two parts to it. There is the club side of soccer and
then there is the national side. A soccer player’s national team is picked for
him when he is born. You represent your nation. Club gives you flexibility. You
are able to sign with any club team that will take you. There are club teams
all across the world. There are teams in Australia, Europe, South America,
North America, Africa, and even Asia. There are many well-known football clubs
around the world. Most people have heard about Manchester United, Chelsea, and
Arsenal from the Barclays Premier League; Real Madrid and Barcelona in the La
Liga. Here in the States we have the MLS which features club teams like the
Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and my favorite MLS team
to watch the Seattle Sounders. Club
allows players from around the world get the opportunity to play in different
countries with players from other countries. Every player’s dream is to play
for one top club teams in the Barclay’s Premier League or La Liga. Player’s
work their entire careers for that one opportunity to play in Europe and be in
the Starting 11 every week. Every player has to start somewhere small and then
prove himself to get offers to the bigger clubs. Clint Dempsey was the same
way. Dempsey proved himself enough at Furman University to get him a contract
with New England Revolution. The New England Revolution is an American club the
plays in the MLS but is not really known by people even Americans. Clint was an
instant success for the Revolution. In his rookie season he started 23 of 24
matches and during these matches, he was able to put seven past the keeper for
goals. The Revolution was able to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference
Finals, which is the final four by the way, on Dempsey’s back. Dempsey was
honored with his efforts with the 2004 MLS Rookie of the Year Award. In the
next two seasons, Dempsey was able to lead his team to MLS Cup Finals only to
fall short and one of those times was on a penalty shootout. His years with the New England Revolution kept
getting better and better even though he did suffer some injuries the next
couple of seasons. He was one of the top American players to ever play in the
MLS which lead to some attention from teams overseas. Dempsey only spent three
seasons in the MLS but made a huge impact on the game in America. Dempsey was
finally getting his big chance to play professional football in Europe.
Clint Dempsey was an instant sensation for the New England
Revolution that he started to catch the eyes of clubs around the world. In
Dempsey’s high school yearbook, Dempsey was asked where did he see himself
doing in the future and he answered by saying that he would be playing
professional soccer in Europe. Clubs all
around were trying to get Dempsey. A big club in the Barclay’s Premier League,
Fulham, had their eyes set on getting Dempsey from the moment he started
performing well for the New England Revolution. Fulham would go on to offer the
MLS a 4 million transfer which would send him over to Europe. When this was offered, this was the largest
amount of money offered for a player coming out of the MLS. This offer was also
not a short team deal which is uncommon for American players. Fulham set up the
transfer to where they could sign Dempsey to a long term deal and just be able
to extend his contract. This deal also made Clint Dempsey the most expensive
export US export to the Premier League. Dempsey finally reached his goal and
now is playing for one of the top clubs in Europe. Dempsey would make his debut for Fulham on
January 20th 2007, when Fulham took on the Tottenham Hotspurs. This game would end in a 1 to 1 draw but
Dempsey showed his skill on the pitch. Fulham put Dempsey out on the pitch next
game against Stoke City. This was his first appearance in the FA Cup which is
similar to the MLS Cup but with better competition. Fulham would go on to win this game against
Stoke City 3 to 0 and Dempsey got his first win with European club team. Dempsey
went on a dry spell where he couldn’t get over the mountain of scoring his
first club goal with Fulham. It would take him all the way to May for him to
finally put one behind the keeper. This goal came against Liverpool and this
was the only goal scored in the game. This goal couldn’t have come at better time
because if Fulham would have tied or lost that game, Fulham would have been
relegated to the league below the Barclay’s Premier League. Relegation is what
every club tries to avoid because that means you did not perform up to the
standard and had to be put to a sub division.