On this day in 2010, one of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s all-time greatest players delivered a wonder goal in the UEFA Europa League.
Clint Dempsey’s chip goal against Serie A side Juventus helped Fulham eliminate the Old Lady 5-4 on aggregate in the Round of 16 of the competition. It was a once-in-a-lifetime strike for Dempsey who sent Craven Cottage bonkers in a 4-1 second leg triumph.
Dempsey came off the bench, collected a pass from midfielder Dickson Etuhu, and chipped goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti from 20 yards out, leaving the Italian speechless.
Fulham would continue their dream run in the competition, advancing all the way to the 2010 Final after eliminating Bundesliga sides Hamburg and Wolfsburg along the way. However, the London club fell just short of the Europa League title, losing to La Liga side Atletico Madrid 2-1 in extra time.
Dempsey scored 60 goals in 232 combined appearances with Fulham, which also included a loan spell back at the club from London rivals Tottenham.
He would finish his career tied for the USMNT all-time goalscoring lead with teammate Landon Donovan, scoring 57 goals in 141 caps. Dempsey also won three Concacaf Gold Cups and one MLS Cup during his illustrious career before announcing his retirement in Aug. 2018.
What was your favorite Clint Dempsey moment? Should he have stayed in England longer? Does he get the nod over Donovan as the best goalscorer the USMNT has ever seen?
Share your thoughts below.
One of the things about Dempsey is not just that he was good, at times superb, but that he was at his best when it counted the most. The goal vs. Ghana in the 2014 WC is another example. Being a fan of his from early on, I have some great memories of his career. In the case of the relegation saving goal vs. Liverpool, which was almost as dominant then as they are now, he had joined Fulham during the January transfer window and I don’t think he had played much. I watched that game and before Dempsey’s run and score Fulham had hardly even threatened to score. With the Juventus goal, what is amazing to me is the vision to even see that was possible and then the precision of the shot was amazing. Ironically, as I remember, even after that goal, Dempsey didn’t start the next Europa game. He had not started against Juventus either, even though he was one of their best players that season. Strange managerial decision. And talking about strange managerial decisions, Arena not starting Dempsey against T&T must be included. Then, Arena waited until about the 70th minute to bring Dempsey on. Even in that limited time Dempsey hit the post once and was just an inch or two wide on another, coming closer than Altidore or Wood did the whole game. Finally one of his best goals came in an EPL game against a mid-level team when he hit a rocket from about 30 to 35 yards out. However, it came when Fulham was down 2-0 and they didn’t score again.
Its amazing to me. Probably the two most significant goals ever scored by an American (outside international play) were both by Dempsey. You are missed!
His first goal for Fulham kept them from relegation.
https://youtu.be/m6di6dGL6Uk
I so wish he would have stayed at Fulham…. Stay safe out there!