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Earnie Stewart
Personal information
Full name Earnest Lee Stewart Jr.
Date of birth (1969-03-28) March 28, 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Veghel, Netherlands
Height 5ft 9in
Playing position Forward, midfielder
Club information
Current club PSV Eindhoven (director of football)
Youth career
1980–1987 UDI '19
1987–1988 VVV-Venlo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1990 VVV-Venlo 62 (15)
1990–1996 Willem II 170 (49)
1996–2002 NAC Breda 189 (50)
2003–2004 D.C. United 47 (4)
2005 VVV-Venlo 6 (1)
Total 474 (119)
National team
1990–2004 United States 101 (17)
Honours
Representing  United States
Men's soccer
Third CONCACAF Gold Cup 2003
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward or midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in 2005, with the majority of the years spent in the Netherlands, the country of his birth. Stewart also represented the United States in international soccer.

Since his retirement from professional soccer, Stewart has served as a soccer executive in various positions for multiple organizations. He is currently the director of football for PSV Eindhoven.

In 2011, Stewart was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Earnie Stewart is the son of U.S. Air Force airman Earnie Stewart Sr. and his wife Annemien, Stewart grew up in Uden, Netherlands.

Playing career

Stewart began his professional career in the Netherlands in 1988 with VVV-Venlo. By the end of 1990, he made his first appearance for the United States national team against Portugal.

In his first season at Willem II, he finished third on the goal-scoring list for the Dutch First Division with 17. He went on to score 49 goals in six seasons there. In the meantime, he became a regular for the United States national team, starting all four games that the United States played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Most notably, he scored the goal that gave the United States its winning margin against Colombia in the group stage, the first World Cup game won by the United States since 1950.

By 1996, Stewart had moved to NAC Breda, eventually spending more than six seasons there. NAC was relegated in 1999, but Stewart helped the club win the First Division in 2000, thereby earning promotion back to the Eredivisie. During his years at NAC, he also played in all of the United States team's matches at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, becoming one of only five American men to play at three World Cups.

In January 2003, he left the Netherlands to play in Major League Soccer, and was allocated to D.C. United, where he won the MLS Cup in his second season. His scoring numbers did not equal his earlier high standards, as he tallied just four regular season goals and one playoff goal in MLS. He left D.C. after the 2004 season, coming back to the Netherlands and his original club, VVV-Venlo, where he became technical director following his retirement in 2005.

Stewart became the eighth American man to make his 100th international appearance in a 2004 World Cup qualifier against Grenada. His 111 goals as a professional in the Netherlands makes him the highest-scoring American in international club play. He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2001.

Post-playing career

On May 14, 2006, Earnie Stewart was named technical director of NAC Breda.

He was appointed as AZ Alkmaar's director of football affairs in June 2010. The 41-year-old succeeded Marcel Brands, who left AZ for PSV. Stewart left his post as technical director at NAC Breda by mutual consent.

One of Stewart's long-term goals was to return to the United States as a soccer executive: "One ambition I do have is to go back to the United States and to be of importance to soccer."

Stewart accomplished that goal on October 26, 2015, when the Philadelphia Union officially announced that Stewart would take on the role of sporting director for the club.

On June 6, 2018, Stewart was named general manager of the United States men's national team.

On August 12, 2019, Stewart was promoted to the position of sporting director of the United States Soccer Federation.

On January 26, 2023, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that Stewart would be departing and would be joining PSV as the new technical director for the club. Stewart remained with U.S. Soccer until February 15, 2023, to assist with a smooth transition to the next sporting director.

Career statistics

Club

As of March 29, 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
VVV-Venlo 1988–89 Eredivisie 27 3
1989–90 Eerste Divisie 35 12
Total 62 15
Willem II 1990–91 Eredivisie 33 17
1991–92 33 8
1992–93 22 4
1993–94 32 7
1994–95 32 10
1995–96 18 3
Total 170 49
NAC Breda 1996–97 Eredivisie 28 9
1997–98 30 6
1998–99 28 7
1999–2000 Eerste Divisie 29 8
2000–01 Eredivisie 28 8
2001–02 31 10
2002–03 15 2
Total 189 50
D.C. United 2003 Major League Soccer 21 1
2004 26 3
Total 47 4
VVV-Venlo 2004–05 Eerste Divisie 6 1
Career total 474 119

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 1990 1 0
1991 0 0
1992 7 0
1993 6 2
1994 7 1
1995 9 1
1996 5 0
1997 7 1
1998 9 1
1999 5 0
2000 8 4
2001 10 5
2002 10 0
2003 13 2
2004 4 0
Total 101 17
Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Stewart goal.
List of international goals scored by Earnie Stewart
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 June 13, 1993 Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, United States  Germany 2–4 3–4 Friendly
2 August 31, 1993 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  Iceland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
3 June 22, 1994 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, United States  Colombia 2–0 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup
4 March 25, 1995 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas, United States  Uruguay 2–0 2–2 Friendly
5 March 16, 1997 Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, California, United States  Canada 3–0 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
6 May 24, 1998 Providence Park, Portland, Oregon, United States  Kuwait 1–0 2–0 Friendly
7 June 3, 2000 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States  South Africa 4–0 4–0 Friendly
8 July 23, 2000 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José, Costa Rica  Costa Rica 1–1 1–2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 August 16, 2000 Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States  Barbados 6–0 7–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 November 15, 2000 Barbados National Stadium, St. Michael, Barbados  Barbados 2–0 4–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 February 28, 2001 Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, United States  Mexico 2–0 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
12 March 28, 2001 Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras  Honduras 1–0 2–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
13 June 20, 2001 Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States  Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
14 September 1, 2001 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States  Honduras 1–0 2–3 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
15 2–3
16 July 6, 2003 Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, United States  Paraguay 2–0 2–0 Friendly
17 July 26, 2003 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, United States  Costa Rica 2–2 3–2 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Earnie Stewart para niños

  • List of United States men's international soccer players born outside the United States
  • List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
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