Dempsey scores goals. It's what he does. Take a look at the top five he's scored in his career.
New Sounders FC midfielder Clint Dempsey is known for a lot of things. He’s the captain of the U.S. Men’s National Team. His signature buzzed haircut. The playing style that exudes passion and unrelenting determination. Most notably though, Dempsey has been known for scoring some fantastic goals in his career, goals that came at extremely important times.
From his caps with the USA to his time in MLS with the New England Revolution to the years he spent in the EPL with Fulham and Tottenham, Dempsey has racked up a number of impressive goals. Let’s take a look back at (arguably) the top five in his career. Feel free to leave your suggestions on those that didn’t make the list in the comments box below.
Let us begin…in descending order, of course.
5. January 5th, 2010 – Fulham at Stoke City
A regular contributor to Fulham’s performance in the English Premier League, Dempsey was asked to do quite a bit in the attacking third for the Cottagers. Playing against Stoke, a team in the same tier as Fulham, Dempsey, from absolutely nothing, took the ball on the volley…and well, just watch.
4. June 22nd, 2006 – United States vs. Ghana, 2006 FIFA World Cup
Coming to the end of the USA’s disappointing World Cup campaign, the Red, White and Blue wasn’t yet eliminated from the tournament despite not scoring a goal in the first two matches. Down 1-0 to Ghana in the final group match, Dempsey and co. knew a win could potentially see them advance to the next round. Deuce then stepped up and scored this beauty to tie the match. The USA would eventually lose the 2-1.
3. June 12th, 2010 – United States vs. England, 2010 FIFA World Cup
Matched with one of the country’s historical rivals in the opening match of the 2010 World Cup, the USMNT’s plan was to not sit by and let England run it over, but rather to stamp it’s mark on the soccer world for the second consecutive summer (more on that below). The man to do that? Who else but Clint Dempsey. The point taken from this match was vital in the USA topping the group and moving on to face old foes Ghana in the next round.
2. March 10th, 2010 – Fulham vs. Juventus, 2009/2010 FIFA Europa League
2010 was a magical year for Fulham. The Cottagers' amazing run through the Europa League to the final was highlighted by knocking off the likes of Wolfsburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, and in this particular case, Italian powerhouse Juventus. Down 3-1 after the first leg of the Round of 16, Fulham managed to work its way back into the tie in the second leg, bringing the aggregate score to a level 4-4. In the 82nd minute, to knockout the 29-time Serie A champions, Dempsey did this:
1. June 24th, 2009 – United States vs. Spain, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
The USA limped into the semifinals of the 2009 Confederations Cup on the back of a lone goal in the goal difference tiebreaker over Italy. It’s opponent: the 2008 European Champions, Spain. Universally dubbed the top national team in the world, Spain previously set the world record for 15 consecutive wins and tied the record for 35 consecutive without losing a match. Already up 1-0 in the match, Dempsey sealed the berth in the final (and a meeting with Brazil) with this 74th minute strike. The victory would go down as one of the biggest upsets in soccer history. (Goal is one minute in)
