Former New England midfielder and current U.S. national team starter Clint Dempsey's return to the Boston area has been trumpeted as if a returning son was back in Beantown.
Front-page coverage welcomed home the former Revolution star as the United States national team sets up camp in Cambridge on its quest towards CONCACAF Gold Cup glory.
It has been a whirlwind year for Dempsey, who has seen change envelop his life over the past few months.
The largest shift was his transfer to Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League. Dempsey joined the Cottagers at the turn of the year after Fulham offered and MLS accepted a transfer fee reported to be between $3 and $4 million for the U.S. international.
The move evoked mixed emotions from Dempsey because of the way his MLS career had progressed and how he envisioned his career continuing to develop.
"There are certain things that are better and there are certain things that are worse," Dempsey said. "It's great to be around the level of players that I'm playing with now."
Playing was an issue for Dempsey early in his Fulham career. Despite his big money move, he found it hard to crack Fulham's starting 11.
But after struggling to earn time under former manager Chris Coleman, Dempsey was given a new opportunity to impress when interim manager Lawrie Sanchez took the helm.
Sanchez has preferred to deploy Dempsey in more advanced positions, often as an out-and-out striker rather than at right midfield.
The position shift paid off, as Dempsey scored his first and only Premier League goal of the season against Liverpool on May 5. The goal ensured the relegation-threatened club's Premier League status for another season.
"To me, it was just trying to help the team out," Dempsey said. "But it helps the city and the community as well. To go down, it would have killed them. It was great to get that love from the fans."
U.S. men's national team coach Bob Bradley believes scoring ability is what makes Dempsey a unique player for club and country.
"Regardless of where he plays, he can get on top of chances in the box," Bradley said. "It's what makes him special."
As the end of Premier League season drew near, Dempsey saw more and more time on the field for Fulham. With Sanchez being appointed full-time manager after steering the club away from relegation danger, Dempsey believes the situation worked out well for him.
"It ended up being a good situation for me," Dempsey said.
Transferring to England meant leaving New England behind, but Dempsey has no regrets about how his career developed Stateside.
"My MLS career was a successful one," Dempsey said. "It would have been great to win three MLS Cups, but it didn't happen that way. We were right in the mix."
Dempsey said that some fans did not understand why he wanted to move away from the successful situation in Foxborough.
"Some do and some don't," Dempsey said. "Some think that you should be there forever. A lot of things go into play. I was very loyal. I gave everything I had."
Change continued at the national team level with Bradley being appointed head coach prior to the Gold Cup.
While former head coach Bruce Arena liked to deploy him in midfield, Dempsey started at striker alongside former Revs teammate Taylor Twellman and scored the game's only goal from a Twellman pass in the 1-0 win against Guatemala.
Bradley believes that the progression to playing striker on the international level fits in with how Dempsey was deployed in MLS and is used at Fulham.
"I think if you go back to his first year with New England, he's been used at forward and in midfield," Bradley said. "Since he came to MLS, he played everywhere. At Fulham, he started at right mid and now he's playing up there."
One final change will occur for Dempsey off the field: he is scheduled to get married on July 28.
Dempsey will leave Fulham's preseason training to jet home to marry his fiancée, Bethany Keegan, and then quickly return to London to rejoin his club team.
The impending marriage has one thing in common with his recent Fulham adventure: there is no time for a honeymoon.
"I told her I'd make it up to her," Dempsey said.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
