Absence makes goals fonder
Dempsey returns from health scare with inner resolve
Beginning in his childhood home of Nacogdoches, Clint Dempsey’s soccer career has taken him around the world. He has played in big games and scored goals at every stop.
In 2007, he virtually saved Fulham from English Premiership relegation with a goal against Liverpool. In 2010, he used a deft chip from outside the penalty area to clinch Fulham’s round of 16 Europa League series against Italian giant Juventus.
In 2014, he scored one of his U.S. national teamrecord 57 goals in the first minute of a World Cup match against Ghana.
Dempsey hopes his next big goal comes Tuesday, when he returns to Texas as a member of reigning MLS champion Seattle Sounders FC. They face the Dynamo in the first leg of the Western Conference finals at BBVA Compass Stadium.
It will be another chance for Dempsey to cement his name in American soccer lore, but simply being on the field is a big deal by itself. Last year at this time, Dempsey, 34, wondered if his career might be over.
In August 2016, Dempsey was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. He missed the rest of the season and watched from afar as his Seattle teammates lifted the MLS Cup trophy for the first time.
After two heart procedures, Dempsey returned to competition during the 2017 preseason and scored in the regular-season opener when Sounders FC faced the Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. The success did not end there. He led Seattle with 12 goals during the regular season and scored both goals in the Sounders’ victory over Vancouver in the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals.
Comeback honor
This week, he was named the league’s Comeback Player of the Year.
“I just wanted to get back to playing, get on the field and help my team,” Dempsey said this week. “It’s tough being on the sidelines not being able to contribute and help your
teammates when they are battling in games. (I wanted to) Get back in, compete and be someone who can make a difference. Hopefully people feel like I did that this year.”
Dempsey has a monitor in his chest that collects data, which is then transmitted to doctors who read the results to determine if his heart is functioning properly. He used to put his hand on his chest to see if his heart was beating regularly. Not anymore.
He said he felt a turning point in May and June. He had four goals and one assist during a three-game winning streak in August that vaulted Seattle into good position for the stretch run.
Sounders FC finished second in the West and earned a first-round bye — an important step as the club tries to win it all for a second consecutive season.
“(The Comeback Player Award) is a good award,” Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said. “It is a personal award. He went through a personal challenge that none of us can imagine. But he will tell you that his reward — his best reward — will be helping this team win a championship. That’s what he wants to do.”
Not calling it quits
Win or lose this season, Dempsey told reporters he didn’t know how long he would keep playing, though an ESPN FC report this week said Dempsey and Seattle had reached a deal for him to return to the club in 2018.
The most important thing for Dempsey is he thinks he can make a difference. Judging from his performance during his comeback season, his career might not end soon.
“I’m enjoying it,” he said. “Any time you’re scoring goals, you’re having fun. Playing in big game and being part of a team that’s doing well, it makes the weeks go by quicker.”