About Clint Dempsey
Clinton Drew Dempsey (; 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. Widely considered as one of the greatest American players of all time, he was one of his country's most important trailblazers in Europe, and is tied with Landon Donovan for the record of most international goals scored by an American player (57). 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 was named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2004 and named to the MLS Best XI in 2005 and 2006. 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 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. He is Fulham's all-time top Premier League goalscorer with 50 goals. In 2012, Tottenham Hotspur signed Dempsey for a fee of $9.6 million, then a league record signing for an American. He scored 12 goals across all competitions in his one season with Tottenham including 7 league goals, which Dempsey holds the all-time American goalscoring record for a single top tier European league with 57. 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, winning the 2017 MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award 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 is the only American to have scored in three different FIFA World Cups; 2006, 2010, and 2014; with the latter edition he scored the 5th fastest goal in World Cup history. He was runner-up of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he received the Bronze Ball. Dempsey won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2005, 2007, and 2017; also winning the Golden Boot of the 2015 edition. Individually, Dempsey won both the U.S. Soccer Player of the Year award three times, and the Fútbol de Primera Player of the Year three times. In 2022, he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2012, Tottenham signed Dempsey for a fee of $9.6 million, then a record signing for an American. 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).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.