Clint Dempsey Responding to Loss of USMNT Captaincy in Ideal Fashion
Before the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup began, it wasn't entirely clear that Clint Dempsey would shine. Following an ugly incident with a referee during a recent U.S. Open Cup match and a subsequent suspension, the Seattle Sounders forward lost the captaincy of the United States men's national soccer team.
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said the decision was designed "to take the heat off of" Dempsey, as Kyle McCarthy of Fox Sports reported. But if anything, it seems to have lit a new competitive fire under the Texan, who has provided the perfect response to losing the armband by turning the Gold Cup into a personal goalscoring showcase.
After scoring twice in the opener against Honduras and once more against Group A runners-up Haiti, Dempsey netted a fine hat trick on Saturday as the U.S. routed an overmatched Cuba side 6-0 in Baltimore.
The Cubans, who were missing multiple players due to a spate of defections, will likely prove to be the Americans' weakest opponents at the Gold Cup, but it was hard to find fault with anything Dempsey did at M&T Bank Stadium.
The 32-year-old opened the scoring in the fourth minute, rising highest to head in a Timmy Chandler cross from an unmarked position close to goal. He doubled his tally with a confident 64th-minute penalty, stroking the ball calmly down the middle as Cuba goalkeeper Diosvelis Guerra dived to his right.
Dempsey then completed his hat trick 14 minutes later with an outside-of-the-boot finish from a tough angle on the left side of the box.
All in all, it was an impressive scoring performance, and it placed Dempsey atop the Gold Cup scoring list with six goals—three ahead of his nearest rival, Mexico's Oribe Peralta. At this rate, the U.S. forward is a strong favorite to finish as the tournament's top individual scorer.
“He’s hungry for goals,” Klinsmann said, per Goal.com. “So he has two more meals.”
Klinsmann added, "Right now he seems happy, he seems balanced, he seems to be all right with himself as well; he’s in a good physical shape."
Klinsmann is right to be so optimistic. Despite enduring a difficult moment in relation to the U.S. Gold Cup incident, Dempsey has been playing some of the best soccer of his career this season for Seattle, and his good form has translated to the international level this summer.
In addition to scoring six goals, Dempsey has linked well with his teammates and provided an attacking threat whenever he's been on the pitch. Having moved past his suspension and the episode that caused it, Dempsey has been free to focus on his form this summer for the U.S. As for losing the captaincy, that was apparently a bit of a relief.
"I always kind of struggled a little bit with being captain sometimes, because sometimes you feel like you have to be someone that you're not," Dempsey told Doug McIntyre at ESPN FC. "That weight's been lifted."
But could that really be true? Could a player as competitive as Dempsey actually thrive without the armband? One thing is for sure: Dempsey has been the best U.S. player—and possibly the best player overall—at this tournament, as Brian Sciaretta noted at American Soccer Now:
"[W]hether liberated from a captain's responsibilities or determined to demonstrate his value to the team, the Texan is playing some of the best soccer of his career.
He has been consistently dangerous and his third goal Saturday night showcased his tremendous skill. So far, he is the best player at the Gold Cup.
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Next up for Dempsey is the chance to become the top-scoring American player of all time. After netting his first career international hat trick on Saturday, he now has 47 goals for the U.S., 10 behind record-holder Landon Donovan.
At 32, time is not on Dempsey's side if he wants to break the record. When Donovan retired last year, he was the same age Dempsey is now.
But as this tournament is showing, Dempsey still has plenty left to offer the U.S. Though he no longer serves as captain, he remains indispensable to the team and Klinsmann.
Rather than the U.S. Open Cup incident, Dempsey's 2015 could be remembered for some of the best football of his career.
Follow @MiguelCominguez
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