{"id":1732,"date":"2018-08-08T20:56:30","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T01:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pauleide.com\/?p=1732"},"modified":"2024-01-13T13:44:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T19:44:39","slug":"clint-dempsey-art-of-goal-scoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i80sportsblog.com\/clint-dempsey-art-of-goal-scoring\/","title":{"rendered":"US Soccer Captain Clint Dempsey On The Art Of Goal Scoring"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Clint Dempsey is the former captain of the US Men’s National soccer team. The 34-year-old is tied with Landon Donovan for the all-time USMNT goal record with 57 career goals. He is also a trailblazer in terms of Americans playing overseas, particularly in the Premier League, where US players have not gotten much respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The $4 million dollars English club team Fulham offered Major League Soccer (MLS) for his services in 2006 was the highest amount ever offered for an MLS player. Dempsey went on to score the most goals in the Premier League in franchise history, including becoming the first American player to score a hat-trick in the English Premier League.<\/p>\n

In 2012, he was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur for $6 million dollars and made the highest salaried US soccer player of all-time.\u00a0Dempsey has scored the fastest goal in World Cup qualifying history (53 seconds) and is one of only two American players (along with Brian McBride) to score goals in multiple World Cup tournaments.<\/p>\n

I asked Clint about this career and playing in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Does it feel different to score a goal in a league game compared to the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, because of the buildup and it\u2019s such a difficult process to try to qualify for the World Cup. And when you\u2019re there, you don\u2019t know if you\u2019re going to play three games or have the opportunity to play more. And then once you\u2019re there, you advance out of the group, and then when you\u2019re out of the group, then anything can happen and you got to the playoffs so you go farther and farther. You work so hard for four years leading up to three games, and you have to make the most of those three games, so that\u2019s why you feel so much emotion when you do score and know the fans are behind the team, because you\u2019ve waited for this moment for so long and you don\u2019t know if you\u2019ll ever get back again.<\/p>\n

Is scoring a goal the hardest thing to do in sports?<\/strong><\/p>\n

At times, it feels like that, but other times, it feels like luck is on your side. It is a great feeling. For me growing up, whether I scored a touchdown or hit a home run, or scored a goal, scoring a goal is the greatest feeling to me. It gave me such a rush you want to keep doing it over and over again. That\u2019s the reason I love the game. I love that it\u2019s continuous, there aren\u2019t that many stoppages, and scoring a goal is why I fell in love with it.<\/p>\n