By JOEY SAMUEL
CHESTER, Pa. — At the start of 2012, many people had written Eddie Johnson off. After all, he had languished for several years in Europe, moving from club to club.
But after returning to MLS with the Seattle Sounders, Johnson has found his form once again, and he proved that Wednesday night when he delivered a stoppage time winner as the MLS All-Stars defeated European champions Chelsea, 3-2, at PPL Park.
For Johnson, it was a moment he'll never forget, having struggled mightily in Europe over the last four years. Most of that time was spent at Fulham, where he failed to score in 19 league appearances. Johnson also spent time on loan at Cardiff City, Aris FC, and Preston North End.
But after failing to settle at any of those clubs, he returned to his home country, and he has finally found success. That's why he was picked to play in the All-Star Game by Ben Olsen, and in the end Johnson repaid him for the selection with the late goal.
"He was chomping at the bit," said Olsen. "He wanted to get in there and we saw holes because they were getting a bit leggy. It's nice to see, I've always known Eddie. He's a good guy who has had ups and downs. I hope he continues to succeed and he's had a great year."
After replacing Chris Wondolowski in the 60th minute, Johnson began using his speed to try and get in behind the Chelsea defense. He was on the field when Chris Pontius scored an equalizer in the 73rd minute, and it was Johnson's ability to stretch the field that allowed David Beckham to find an open Dwayne De Rosario, who eventually dished it to Pontius for the goal.
When the game entered stoppage time at 2-2 and appeared to be headed to penalty kicks, Johnson unleashed a shot that deflected off Chelsea defender David Luiz, and it got past Ross Turnbull to seal a dramatic win for the All-Stars.
But while Johnson may once again be showing the form that once made him one of the league's top young players, he doesn't think about proving anything to other people. His goal on Wednesday night was more about showing why he deserved a place on the team.
"That's what coach brought me here for," Johnson said. "I'm just trying to pay him back for selecting me to the team. I'm not really trying to prove anything to doubters. I wanted to prove it to myself. This year I want to challenge myself and try to be as consistent as I can. That’s the one thing I look back at my career and I haven't been able to really be consistent."
Johnson's dramatic winner can only serve to boost his confidence as he continues a 2012 campaign that has seen him score eight goals in 17 games for Seattle. He'll look to keep it up on Saturday, when the Sounders hit the road to face the Colorado Rapids.
That’s all lies. The “recession” is just something the liberals made up to keep us from buying guns.
*That Altidore has not been involved in*
Why is there so much hate for Altidore? Boyd is the same age and has scored all of 2 goals in a league worse than Altidore’s. Honestly can anybody think of a more accomplished 22 year old American. Altidore is at least top 3. I might be wrong but i cannot think of a single big result from the US since the 2006 world cup that Altidore has been involved in. Algeria, Spain, Italy, he played extremely well in all of them. Honestly, what do you people want to see?
+1
World class defenders a couple months off a European championship.
Eurodouchey
He would have been even better if he stayed here.
Great pace, hold-up play, finishing…If Seattle had that true #10 to feed him an Montero, they would be much stronger.
A team with that kind of money and support should go after a big-name player like Kaka.
He has progressed a lot. He is better than Lazy Out The Door right now.
Adu and Donovan where the biggest flops…but Donovan only at at Leverkusen…never really had a shot at Bayern. The difference is one of the two grew up.
+ 1
Well said…you are the Johnson of posts…not really showing me anything!
Actually he was better then Alidore when he hit the National team…then be believed the press…broke his toe and never progressed after that!!!!
Still holding out for Altidore but Boyd’s playing in Austria might make the discussion moot!!!!
Think altidore with more heart and skill = Boyd
scores goals and still can’t get the vred.. worth every penny that SSFC is paying him
I get the feeling a lot of you dislike EJ because he seems like a jerk. Well, he may be, but so is Charlie Davies and everyone loves him. Still,EJ is closer to a shot at the USMNT than he is.
EJ’s basic image as a player is based on his physical gifts, size, speed power, etc.
Yet he often plays like a weenie. So he is hard to like. But on balance,if he can be productive and it looks like he can be, then it is irrelevant if he slashes and powers his way into box or moonwalks whilst prancing into it as long as he scores.
He’s costing 100K. For an all-star forward. You can be as skeptical as you want, but the Sounders will have gotten far far more than their money’s worth.
You have too many critics who have never played the game. I have watched EJ AT fulham and cardiff where he was given limited minutes and chances or playing time. No soccer player will flourish under those conditions. Sanchez gave Dempsey minutes where he could get used to EPL and Roy did not. If the defender did not stick out his foot the ball would still go in the back of the net. These are world class defenders.
My lord, you have some serious beefs with people
what’s up with Conor Casey?
Thanks for that.
You have a point but two years ago EJ sucked. He will suck again in less than two years. I don’t believe players like EJ turn into Wondos. They turn into Ochocincos. They turn into Howards (Magic not Everton). They turn into Clint Mathis or Maestroni. People you pray your children will not turn into, marry, friend or have to work with.
What? Greece is in a depression? I had no idea.
*sad trumpet* WAW WAAAAAW
Success here was never the issue. Eddie is fine against lower competition. I still consider him a disappointment, but only because he started so promising.
‘even the losers….’
Clint did the same thing against England in the World Cup. You take a chance and you get a little lucky. Wondo had a little luck with his goal in that the ball “sat up just right” for him.
Every goal scorer needs a little luck.
If you invalidated every deflected goal that took a lucky bounce the goal scoring lists would look very different
Two years? That is an eternity in soccer.
How long did Charlie Davies great run last?
Hows long was Holden’s great run for Bolton last?
Almost two years ago Michael Bradley’s career was in ruins at Aston Villa.
Easy for you to say.
Maybe you’ve heard or not but there is thing called a recession, economic slowdown, armageddon, whatever and it just so happens Greece is in the middle of that.
I remember reading somewhere that EJ would have gone back and they wanted him back but the financials were a little tight.
And I thought I was a Debbie Downer.
I’m glad that MLS won the game, but EJ actually played pretty lazy and poorly.
He gave up the ball that led to the obvious hand ball in the box that the ref graciously let go.
He didn’t dive for the header after that wonderful run and cross by Pontius.
He is like Altidore: Lazy and a prima donna, without much skill.
Todd! Todd! Todd! Todd! Todd! Trollolololololol Good to see you’re back for more!
EJ still has speed and the ability to score goals. I always thought that he was so successful early-on because he was athletic, but lots of players are athletic, he also did manage to find himself in good spots. It is hard to tell if that was intentional or simply good luck. The early success and then later hard times might argue that it was luck, on the other hand, he was injured for over a year and didn’t get that scoring knack back until he joined Seattle. It is possible, even likely that if he stays healthy he will begin to fulfill the promise he showed over 6 years ago. Credit to him for persevering despite some withering criticism.
You are so right. He should have laid out and dove for the header. At least swung a foot at it!
I was so mad when that ball went in. I was sooo looking forward to seeing some PKs.
I don’t wish him ill. I just am not quick to look past the history of his game. He is a talented player for sure. Maybe Seattle can get some consistency out of him but no one else has been able to.
Haha I’m willing to concede that EJ could do something stupid at any given time. I’ve seen the taunting after games and some pretty ridiculous yellow cards. He has definitely transformed the Sounders’ attack though. He was incredibly rusty at the beginning, but it really seems like he has been getting better every game.
I want to hear from you in two years.
Well…beating the Crapids this year is akin to beating a rec team from the backwoods of Wisconsin.
For every hater like you, there is someone like me that is ecstatic that he is on my team. He has brought another dimension to the Sounders’ offense and has been one of the most influential players on the team.
I wish him well. But this is still the honeymoon phase of marriage number 2 with EJ and MLS. I have doubts about EJ. Just glad as hell he is not playing for my team. And, just saying, I hope there is a prenupt.
next game vs. Rapids… unfortunately, i wouldn’t bet against him…
And his jogging into the area when Pontius was sprinting to win the ball and send in a cross showed the bad EJ.
Eddie has a great attitude. Much improved…
why wasn’t he able to go back to Aris in Greece? Because although it’s ranked no10 in UEFA it’s still a pretty decent league and he was making some good coin.
IS EJ the biggest Yank to flop in Europe or is it Bedoya in Scotland or Donovan in Germany or Clark in Germany or Gooch in Italy?
been pretty indifferent about him, but watching him play last night, one word came to mind: soft
“But after failing to settle at any of those clubs, he returned to his home country, and he has finally found success.”
Interesting omission in the timeline there…
EJ has been a revelation for the Sounders this year — not just with his scoring and hold-up play on the field, but with his maturity and determination off the field in the face of a decidedly mixed initial reaction from fans (myself included). I couldn’t be happier to see him succeed this way.
To be fair, that was really more luck than anything. We’ve seen this from Eddie before – he’ll probably score a hat trick his next time out, then score 1 goal for the rest of the season.
Took a lucky deflection and he had all the time in the world..not really showing anything new…but a nice moment for him.