Trailer park kid Dempsey puts Brazil on the ropes

United States’ winger Clint Dempsey has enjoyed a momentous Confederations Cup with two man of the match awards and a starring role in Sunday’s final against Brazil.

The Fulham forward conjured up his side’s first goal after ten minutes at Ellis Park with Landon Donovan adding a second only for Brazil to roar back in the second half and win 3-2.

Raised in a trailer park on a border town in Texas the 26-year-old cut a distraught figure in the immediate aftermath of the Ellis Park loss but after gaining his composure he told AFP: “It didn’t work out as we wanted it to but we’ve still accomplished a lot and it was great to be part of it.”

The Americans looked set for an early flight home after a wretched start saw the CONCACAF Gold Cup winners suffer heavy losses to Brazil and Italy in the group stage, those defeats compounded by two successive red cards.

But a turnaround in their fortunes led to momentous wins against Egypt, 3-0, and then against Spain, 2-0, in the semi-finals.

Dempsey, who first honed his footballing skills with the immigrant Mexican population in his home town of Nacogdoches, scored the third goal in the Egyptian match and the decider in the semi-final after setting up Jozy Altidore for the first.

Those displays from the sharp shooter earned him two man of the match awards.

Reflecting on the remarkable US run in South Africa he said: “You know we were out of it in the Egypt game and showed a lot of character to come back.

“We got a result against them and a result against Spain and in the first half here we thought we’d get a result in the final.

“But that’s what people come to see and watch, it was exciting.”

Off the pitch the tough winger, whose life has been touched by tragedy after his sister suffered a fatal brain aneurysm at the age of 16, is better known as a hip hop rapper under the alias “Deuce”.

He was named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2004 and in 2006 was signed for an American league record fee of four million dollars to his west London Premier League side.

Dempsey perfectly embodies the United States’ never-say-die spirit, having once played two games with a broken jaw.

Sunday’s goal, which came about after a pass from another London-based teammate, West Ham’s Jonathan Spector, was his 16th on his 56th appearance for his country.

A true battler he was once suspended for a fortnight after a fist fight with a New England Revolution teammate.

With the Confed Cup over he and his colleagues have their sights set on a return to South Africa in 2010 for the World Cup.

“We’ll see what happens but hopefully we’ll qualify, we’re in a good position and we’ve got to stay on top of things and get the right results.”