Earnie Stewart facts for kids
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | March 28, 1969 | ||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is a former American soccer player. He played as a forward or midfielder. His soccer career lasted 17 years, from 1988 to 2005. He spent most of his playing time in the Netherlands, where he was born. Earnie also played for the U.S. National Team.
After he stopped playing, Earnie Stewart became a soccer executive. He worked in different important roles for many organizations. Today, he is the director of football for PSV Eindhoven. In 2011, he was honored by being added to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Contents
Earnie Stewart's Early Life
Earnie Stewart grew up in Uden, Netherlands. His father, Earnie Stewart Sr., was an airman in the U.S. Air Force. His mother's name is Annemien.
Playing Career Highlights
Earnie Stewart started his professional soccer journey in 1988. He began playing in the Netherlands for a team called VVV-Venlo. By the end of 1990, he played his first game for the U.S. National Team against Portugal.
Success at Willem II
Earnie joined Willem II in 1990. In his first season there, he scored 17 goals. This made him one of the top scorers in the Dutch First Division. Over six seasons with Willem II, he scored 49 goals.
During this time, he also became a regular player for the U.S. National Team. He played in all four games for the United States in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. A very memorable moment was when he scored the winning goal against Colombia. This was the first World Cup game the U.S. had won since 1950!
Moving to NAC Breda and World Cups
In 1996, Earnie moved to NAC Breda. He played there for more than six seasons. In 1999, NAC Breda was moved down to a lower league. But Earnie helped the club win the First Division in 2000. This win helped them get promoted back to the top league, the Eredivisie.
While at NAC Breda, he also played in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup for the U.S. team. This made him one of only five American men to play in three World Cups.
Playing in Major League Soccer
In January 2003, Earnie left the Netherlands to play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. He joined D.C. United. In his second season with D.C. United, he helped them win the MLS Cup. He scored four goals in the regular season and one in the playoffs for D.C. United.
After the 2004 season, he left D.C. United. He went back to the Netherlands and played for his first club, VVV-Venlo. He retired from playing in 2005. After retiring, he became the technical director for VVV-Venlo.
International Achievements
In 2004, Earnie Stewart played his 100th international game for the U.S. This happened during a World Cup qualifier against Grenada. He is the eighth American man to reach 100 international appearances.
He scored 111 goals as a professional player in the Netherlands. This makes him the American player with the most goals in international club play. In 2001, he was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year.
Life After Playing Soccer
After retiring from playing, Earnie Stewart moved into management roles in soccer.
Technical Director Roles
On May 14, 2006, Earnie Stewart became the technical director of NAC Breda. In June 2010, he was named director of football affairs for AZ Alkmaar. He took over from Marcel Brands, who moved to PSV Eindhoven.
Earnie always wanted to return to the United States to work in soccer management. He said, "One ambition I do have is to go back to the United States and to be of importance to soccer."
Working with U.S. Soccer
He achieved this goal on October 26, 2015. The Philadelphia Union announced that Earnie would be their sporting director.
On June 6, 2018, he was named general manager of the U.S. men's national team. Then, on August 12, 2019, he was promoted to sporting director of the United States Soccer Federation.
On January 26, 2023, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that Earnie would be leaving. He would join PSV Eindhoven as their new technical director. He stayed with U.S. Soccer until February 15, 2023, to help with the change to a new sporting director.
Career Statistics
International Goals
Earnie Stewart scored 17 goals for the United States National Team. Here are some of his goals:
| 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 |
