Clint Dempsey Does Tricks; Makes Spurs Fans Miss Him
By Ryan Wrenn
Though he was only with a club for a season, many Spurs fans – particularly American ones – hold a special place in their hearts for Clint Dempsey.
Thankfully, there are ways to rekindle those fond memories of Dempsey’s brief stint at Spurs. You could check your local listings to watch the Seattle Sounders play in the MLS. You could catch Dempsey continue to be a huge presence in the US men’s national team, where he scored nine goals in as many appearance in 2015.
Or you could watch him kick some balls at, into and around some fine Lexus automobiles, right now.
Sports Illustrated teamed up with Lexus recently to put Demsey’s considerable skillset to the test. The results are surprisingly entertaining.
“Wait,” you’re saying to yourself. “They wouldn’t allow a car – even a Lexus – onto the football pitch. These videos are impractical at best, dangerous at worst.”
Calm down. For one thing, who knows what the future of the sport holds? Cars could be incorporated sooner than any of us think.
More importantly: you just got a chance to see Clint Dempsey do Clint Dempsey things. Remember what it was like when he did all that – minus the cars of course – for Spurs?
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The American international’s England farewell tour largely took place in Tottenham’s lilywhites. After four and a half storied years with Fulham FC, Dempsey spent his last year in the Premier League after making the move to Spurs on the last day of the transfer window in the summer of 2012.
Dempsey was rumored to be unsettled at Fulham for a while before the move happened, especially after his teammate Mousa Dembélé had secured a move to Spurs earlier in the summer. Several clubs were linked with the American as the summer began to wind down, but in the end he got the best deal he could have gotten – a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Over the course of the next season, Dempsey would register 43 appearances for Spurs, score 12 goals and set up seven assists. While never prolific even in his best days with Fulham, what he lacked in numbers he made up for in obvious technical ability – see above – and a great sense of timing.
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Spurs’ historic 3-2 victory over Manchester United – its first at Old Trafford in 23 years – came thanks largely to Dempsey’s perfectly timed run into the box to latch onto Gareth Bale’s deflected shot. That goal was emblematic of almost all of his goals at Spurs. He always found a way to find the right goal at the most crucial time.
Of course, Spurs aren’t alone in recognizing Dempsey’s knack for the spectacular. Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders have been reaping the Dempsey benefits since they bought him from Spurs in 2013. Who knows what he’ll end up doing next? Should Lexus one day decide to push some boundaries and get their cars in the game, you can be darn sure Dempsey’s name is at the top of their wanted list.