Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Dempsey's Chip Against Juventus

On This Day in 2010, Deuce Chipped in the Winner from Distance in the Europa League Semifinals

Sometimes, the most significant moments in football come from taking an impossible risk. "Nine times out of ten, you won't make it," Clint Dempsey would later reflect, "but sometimes you've got to take a risk." Standing at the edge of the penalty area at Craven Cottage, with Fulham's epic Europa League battle against Juventus hanging in the balance, the American midfielder attempted the unthinkable.

The path to this historic moment had begun with promise. Fresh off signing a contract extension through 2013, Dempsey had started the 2009-10 season brilliantly, scoring his first European goal against Amkar Perm in August and performing so well that Italy's prestigious La Gazzetta dello Sport named him among the Premier League's top eleven players of the season by December.

But then came the setback. On January 17, 2010, Dempsey suffered a cruel blow when he sustained knee ligament damage in a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. The injury threatened to derail not just his season with Fulham but also his World Cup preparations with the United States. True to his tenacious nature – forged in the small town of Nacogdoches, Texas, where he had once played MLS games with a broken jaw – Dempsey fought back to fitness in seven weeks.

His return came in the first leg against Juventus in Turin, where he appeared as a late substitute in a 3-1 defeat. A week later, on March 18, with England manager Fabio Capello watching from the stands, Dempsey would transform from a first-team regular to a club legend.

The night had started disastrously for Fulham when David Trezeguet scored after just 90 seconds, putting Juventus ahead 4-1 on aggregate. But the momentum shifted after Bobby Zamora's quick response seven minutes later and Fabio Cannavaro's red card midway through the first half. Zoltan Gera scored twice to level the tie, setting the stage for Dempsey, who had come off the bench.

With eight minutes remaining and extra time looming, the American received the ball on the edge of the area. What followed was pure inspiration – a perfectly weighted chip that floated over the stranded Antonio Chimenti and into the far corner. The audacious strike completed one of the most remarkable comebacks in European soccer history. Fulham overcame Italian giants Juventus 4-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate in the Europa League Round of 16.

The Guardian would suggest it "might become the most famous goal in Fulham's history," and it's hard to argue otherwise. The strike not only completed an impossible comeback against one of Europe's most storied clubs but also propelled Fulham toward their first European final.

Dempsey's season culminated in another piece of history: He became the first American to appear in a major European final when he came on as a substitute in the Europa League final against Atlético Madrid. Though Fulham ultimately lost 2-1 in extra time to Diego Forlán's winner, the campaign—particularly that magical night against Juventus—cemented both Fulham's and Dempsey's place in soccer history.

For the man, they called "Deuce," the goal against Juventus represented everything that made him special – the audacity to attempt the impossible, the skill to execute it, and the determination to return from injury and make his mark on the biggest stage. In one sublime moment, he had turned what his manager Roy Hodgson called "an uphill task" into an unforgettable triumph.