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After a regional U.S. youth soccer evaluation camp in 1997, Clint Dempsey revealed to coaches that he aspired to one day play for the United States men’s national team.
The then 14-year old from Nacogdoches, Texas, who was all elbows and knees, listened to the message he received from them: “That’s probably not going to happen.”
On Wednesday, Dempsey announced his retirement from the professional game as one of the most decorated players in American soccer history.
Dave Simeone was the North Texas State Director of Coaching from 1993-99 and oversaw the Olympic Development Program that included Dempsey.
“I said that they just don’t see it,” Simeone told Pro Soccer USA of his response to the regional staff’s evaluation. “You can’t tell a kid at that age that he can’t play on the national team. He had an appetite and a strong interest in getting better every day.”
Simeone, who eventually worked for U.S. Soccer as a youth national team coach, recognized the immense craving to succeed in a kid from a family of little means living in a tiny, rural town in East Texas.
“I remember talking with Clint because I didn’t want him to think about anyone telling him what he can or can’t do,” Simeone said. “I told him, ‘It’s about what you think and your plan.’”
Simeone was delighted with the future Hall of Famer’s response.
“He said, ‘I’m planning on making it, and I’m going to ride the pony as far as it goes,’” Simeone said. “And that’s a kid that came from a town we called Naco-nowhere.”
Five days each week, Dempsey and one of his parents would take the five-and-a-half hour round trip from his village of 33,000 people to the Dallas metropolis for club training, weekend matches and ODP practice.
“Then I heard that he would drive back home from either his club game on Saturday or ODP on Sunday and would play in a Hispanic men’s league,” Simeone said. “They roughed him up. He got his hair messed up a bit in that league.”
Dempsey played with and against a blend that could include a hardened 28-year-old steelworker or a technically clever Latino.
“I attribute his development in part to doing those things outside the context of youth,” said Simeone, who had a 13-year-old named Mia Hamm play ODP for him in 1984. “The more you could challenge him, the better he liked it. It was a great learning experience and it left an impression.”
Simeone said the soccer landscape in Texas had unique dynamics, which led to the development of players like Dempsey and Daniel Hernandez, who grew up in a city called Tyler. Hernandez played nearly 300 professional matches in Liga MX and MLS, concluding his career with FC Dallas in 2012.
“We would try to vet out all these areas,” Simeone said. “Sometimes these guys were a little rough around the edges. Sometimes you would find a phenom like Clint. The ability to adjust was a challenge for all these guys from places like Midland, Odessa, Nacogdoches and Tyler. It spoke to Clint’s adaptability, and once you saw him over a period of days, he stood out.”
Simeone estimated that in addition to ODP play, he observed Dempsey another 120 dates with the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Texans youth soccer clubs.
“In five days of regional camp, you would never see the quintessential ‘Wow, look at that’ moment,” Simeone said. “But he had an unbridled enthusiasm and a desire to be challenged. … His parents weren’t like others who were pushing their kids to do things.
“If he was a pianist, he’d be performing at Carnegie Hall.”
Glenn Crooks
Wondo remembers Deuce
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The reaction to Dempsey’s retirement from around the globe was immediate, as gratitude poured in from former teammates at the club and country level. For many, Dempsey, who is tied with Landon Donovan for the most goals scored for the United States, is the greatest male soccer player this country has ever produced.
In San Jose, Dempsey’s sometimes U.S. teammate Chris Wondolowski was also appreciative of the impact he had on the national team as well as his own career.
“He has influenced my game and my life a great deal,” Wondolowski told Pro Soccer USA. “He goes down as one of the best of all time. I consider myself fortunate to have been his teammate and seen him do some amazing things.”
The pair of forwards, two of the most prolific goal scorers of their generation, played together only a handful of times, most notably in the Round of 16 game against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup, but they have shared plenty of time on the training field. Wondolowski was always impressed with the manner in which Dempsey went about his business.
“One of the biggest qualities he had was that he was always able to be himself,” Wondolowski said. “It didn’t matter the situation, he had such a strong belief in himself, and that is something I always look to have in my game as well. To be honest, it really helped at the national team level, to have that belief and to trust in yourself.”
Dempsey played his last professional game for Seattle back on July 25, against Wondolowski and the San Jose Earthquakes. The Quakes captain never imagined that night would be the last time anyone would get to see him play, but he wished him all the best in his next ventures. Barely a month separates them in age — they are both 35 — so Wondo knew retirement was inevitable. He texted his well-wishes to Dempsey just moments after the announcement.
The national team star also boasts another milestone moment at the home of the Quakes. On March 27, 2017, Dempsey scored a hat trick for the U.S. at Avaya Stadium as part of a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Honduras in the Hex qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup that brought him to within one goal of Landon Donovan’s career mark of 57. It was a masterful display from the magician, one that Wondolowski watched from the substitutes bench in awe.
Dempsey got his 57th goal four days later, and he retires tied with Donovan for the most in U.S. history.
Wondolowski is, himself, currently chasing a mark of soccer immortality, as he is only four goals away from breaking Donovan’s all-time MLS scoring record. Having the experience of learning from Dempsey as a role model, he hopes to carry that winning spirit with him to his own impressive achievement.
Robert Jonas