'You best believe I had a chip on my shoulder': An American legend comes to Austin
Clint Dempsey shared some thoughts on the current U.S. players and on his past World Cup exploits on Wednesday night.
The way Clint Dempsey tells it, there was a little more than luck involved in one of his trademark goals — the equalizer that allowed the U.S. to "win" a 1-1 contest against favored England in the 2010 World Cup — even though he considers it one of his luckiest goals ever.
"My mentality was always empty the clip," he said. "Gotta get some shots off every game. It wasn't the best shot, but the thing about those Jubilani balls, you hit them, different things would happen than normal. So if you don't buy a lottery ticket, you'll never win.
"Honestly, to be to be real with y'all, throughout my career, there wasn't a lot of lucky goals that I had, and I feel like that was the most lucky. And it was almost felt like it was my sister helping me out. You know what I'm saying? I had a sister who passed away" – Jennifer, at age 17 in 1995, of a brain aneurysm — "It was honestly, that's what I felt on that goal, that ... there was some help. So for me, that that was a special moment."
Roger Bennett, interviewing Dempsey at B.D. Riley's Irish Pub in Mueller ahead of the U.S. men's national team match vs. Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening for a Men In Blazers special, marveled at that revelation, noting, "Every goal is more than the goal. The best moments in football is when all of humanity is represented in."
(Bennett also had some nice things to say about fan culture in Austin, saying at one point about watching Austin FC play on TV, "You want to leap through the television set and be there.")
Dempsey also noted that his perspective playing in England, and how he and his fellow Americans were regarding leading up to the match, gave them a sense of determination – or, as he put it, "You best believe I had a chip on my shoulder."
The hour-plus conversation involved some other interesting insights on the U.S. team as it plays a Gold Cup without some of its best players, as a tune-up for a World Cup it's co-hosting next year — with fellow co-host Canada looking like a better bet to make a deep run in the global tournament even though the actual odds don't reflect it yet.
On how players are being developed
"You don't have enough kids playing freestyle like pickup or street soccer," Dempsey observed. "Sometimes you can't be coached. You need to just be out there and try stuff. But at the same time, there's always something you can learn from someone about certain runs that you can make, how you can position your body.
"I understand the concussion protocol and not being up with the head to a certain age, but they need to make sure they teach these kids how to head properly, using your forehead. And it's just such a tool on set pieces, corner kicks, crosses. And I just think it's kind of a lost art."
On the joy of nutmegging
"That's what I love the most ... watching Ronaldinho, Denilson, watching players like that take people on and meg them ... you always want to talk trash to somebody. I mean, scoring goals was great. Getting assists was great, but I don't think I realized until I got into the professional league that, like, that's how you make your money. If you're someone who puts a biscuit in the basket or helps create goals, that's how you're going to have a long career. So I kind of switched my mentality to trying to meg people less and score more."
On Malik Tillman's importance in the Gold Cup run
"When you're a starter, you kind of feel that the coach respects you and has got your back. Also, getting goals ... I mean, there were certain stages throughout my career when I scored, I kind of felt that I belonged, and I think that's what he's feeling right now. You saw what he did at PSV, how well he plays, and the swag that he has when he plays over there.
"And now getting those two goals, it's kind of like, all right, I'm doing my thing, and he can get that confidence, and you can see more of like his true talent that he has, and he can start to express himself. Because it's always different when you're someone that's coming into a team and maybe a little bit new, to try to fit in. And I think now he's taking that opportunity with both hands, of having some of the other players that are out, and has a chance to really step up and be one of the biggest players for us in this Gold Cup."
He added, "Everything is calculated when it comes from a coach, in terms of how he can get his best out of his players. And you've got to build up the players that are there, that are fighting for you, and then you also got to make the players that are not in. It's next man up, and you being out of the team is just kind of like being injured or not having an opportunity to play. Someone else can come in and take your spot.
"And that's any team that I've been a part of. The best teams that I've been a part of, you always feel like you could be on the chopping block, and if you don't play well in training, then you're not going to get into the starting lineup. So if you can create a culture through training that there's always a chance to fight to get into the starting lineup, and the roster is just not set from the start. Those are the best teams I was a part of."
Praising Diego Luna
"The thing I like about Diego is he's got a nose for the game," he said, eliciting laughs as he perhaps unwittingly alluded to Luna's broken nose during a January friendly against Costa Rica that grew his legend. "In the Trinidad game, knowing that the defender was getting his head down, playing it back, he was able to sniff that out, pick the pass off, but also keep cool, calm, and collected, make the pass to Tillman and get the goal.
"The other thing I like about him, he fights hard, he presses, he tries stuff, you know, he's not someone that is afraid to do a drag scissor, chop somebody up, or do behind the leg pass. That's the things that you kind of need. You need to mix up your game, and you need to keep the other team off balance. So those are some of the things that stood out to me. And also what stands out is when times are darkest, light shines brighter, and he's one of those lights."
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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The way Clint Dempsey tells it, there was a little more than luck involved in one of his trademark goals — the equalizer that allowed the U.S. to "win" a 1-1 contest against favored England in the 2010 World Cup — even though he considers it one of his luckiest goals ever.
"My mentality was always empty the clip," he said. "Gotta get some shots off every game. It wasn't the best shot, but the thing about those Jubilani balls, you hit them, different things would happen than normal. So if you don't buy a lottery ticket, you'll never win.
"Honestly, to be to be real with y'all, throughout my career, there wasn't a lot of lucky goals that I had, and I feel like that was the most lucky. And it was almost felt like it was my sister helping me out. You know what I'm saying? I had a sister who passed away" – Jennifer, at age 17 in 1995, of a brain aneurysm — "It was honestly, that's what I felt on that goal, that ... there was some help. So for me, that that was a special moment."
Roger Bennett, interviewing Dempsey at B.D. Riley's Irish Pub in Mueller ahead of the U.S. men's national team match vs. Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening for a Men In Blazers special, marveled at that revelation, noting, "Every goal is more than the goal. The best moments in football is when all of humanity is represented in."
(Bennett also had some nice things to say about fan culture in Austin, saying at one point about watching Austin FC play on TV, "You want to leap through the television set and be there.")
Dempsey also noted that his perspective playing in England, and how he and his fellow Americans were regarding leading up to the match, gave them a sense of determination – or, as he put it, "You best believe I had a chip on my shoulder."
The hour-plus conversation involved some other interesting insights on the U.S. team as it plays a Gold Cup without some of its best players, as a tune-up for a World Cup it's co-hosting next year — with fellow co-host Canada looking like a better bet to make a deep run in the global tournament even though the actual odds don't reflect it yet.
On how players are being developed
"You don't have enough kids playing freestyle like pickup or street soccer," Dempsey observed. "Sometimes you can't be coached. You need to just be out there and try stuff. But at the same time, there's always something you can learn from someone about certain runs that you can make, how you can position your body.
"I understand the concussion protocol and not being up with the head to a certain age, but they need to make sure they teach these kids how to head properly, using your forehead. And it's just such a tool on set pieces, corner kicks, crosses. And I just think it's kind of a lost art."
On the joy of nutmegging
"That's what I love the most ... watching Ronaldinho, Denilson, watching players like that take people on and meg them ... you always want to talk trash to somebody. I mean, scoring goals was great. Getting assists was great, but I don't think I realized until I got into the professional league that, like, that's how you make your money. If you're someone who puts a biscuit in the basket or helps create goals, that's how you're going to have a long career. So I kind of switched my mentality to trying to meg people less and score more."
On Malik Tillman's importance in the Gold Cup run
"When you're a starter, you kind of feel that the coach respects you and has got your back. Also, getting goals ... I mean, there were certain stages throughout my career when I scored, I kind of felt that I belonged, and I think that's what he's feeling right now. You saw what he did at PSV, how well he plays, and the swag that he has when he plays over there.
"And now getting those two goals, it's kind of like, all right, I'm doing my thing, and he can get that confidence, and you can see more of like his true talent that he has, and he can start to express himself. Because it's always different when you're someone that's coming into a team and maybe a little bit new, to try to fit in. And I think now he's taking that opportunity with both hands, of having some of the other players that are out, and has a chance to really step up and be one of the biggest players for us in this Gold Cup."
He added, "Everything is calculated when it comes from a coach, in terms of how he can get his best out of his players. And you've got to build up the players that are there, that are fighting for you, and then you also got to make the players that are not in. It's next man up, and you being out of the team is just kind of like being injured or not having an opportunity to play. Someone else can come in and take your spot.
"And that's any team that I've been a part of. The best teams that I've been a part of, you always feel like you could be on the chopping block, and if you don't play well in training, then you're not going to get into the starting lineup. So if you can create a culture through training that there's always a chance to fight to get into the starting lineup, and the roster is just not set from the start. Those are the best teams I was a part of."
Praising Diego Luna
"The thing I like about Diego is he's got a nose for the game," he said, eliciting laughs as he perhaps unwittingly alluded to Luna's broken nose during a January friendly against Costa Rica that grew his legend. "In the Trinidad game, knowing that the defender was getting his head down, playing it back, he was able to sniff that out, pick the pass off, but also keep cool, calm, and collected, make the pass to Tillman and get the goal.
"The other thing I like about him, he fights hard, he presses, he tries stuff, you know, he's not someone that is afraid to do a drag scissor, chop somebody up, or do behind the leg pass. That's the things that you kind of need. You need to mix up your game, and you need to keep the other team off balance. So those are some of the things that stood out to me. And also what stands out is when times are darkest, light shines brighter, and he's one of those lights."
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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