Eddie Johnson (American soccer) facts for kids
Johnson playing for Seattle Sounders FC in 2013
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Edward Abraham Johnson | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | March 31, 1984 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bunnell, Florida, United States | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | IMG Soccer Academy | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2005 | FC Dallas | 84 | (24) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Kansas City Wizards | 43 | (17) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Fulham | 19 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 30 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | → Aris (loan) | 14 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | → Preston North End (loan) | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Seattle Sounders FC | 49 | (23) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | D.C. United | 26 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 281 | (78) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | United States U17 | 25 | (23) | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | United States U20 | 21 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | United States U23 | 7 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2014 | United States | 63 | (19) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Edward Abraham Johnson (born March 31, 1984) is a former American soccer player. He was known as a striker, which means he played in an attacking position. Eddie played for many years in the U.S. with teams like FC Dallas, the Kansas City Wizards, Seattle Sounders FC, and D.C. United. He also spent some time playing for clubs in Europe.
Johnson also played for the United States men's national soccer team from 2004 to 2014. He was part of the U.S. team that went to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. When he stopped playing, he was one of the top goal-scorers for the U.S. national team, with 19 goals.
Contents
Playing Career
Early Days in MLS
Eddie Johnson was one of the youngest players to join Major League Soccer (MLS). He was chosen by Dallas Burn in 2001. In his first few years, he didn't play much. He scored seven goals for Dallas during these seasons. He also missed some games while playing for U.S. youth national teams.
In 2005, a team from Portugal, Benfica, wanted to buy Johnson for a lot of money. But both Johnson and the MLS said no to the offer. Later that year, he got a toe injury that kept him from playing for several months.
Kansas City Wizards
In 2006, Johnson moved to the Kansas City Wizards. He had a tough time at first, scoring only two goals in 2006. But in 2007, he got back into great form. He scored twelve goals and made three assists in his first eleven games!
On June 2, 2007, Eddie made history. He became the first player in MLS to score three goals in two games in a row. He scored a hat-trick against the New York Red Bulls after scoring another hat-trick the week before against the New England Revolution.
Playing in England
In 2008, Eddie Johnson moved to England to play for Fulham in the Premier League. He signed a contract to play there until 2011.
Loan to Cardiff City
In August 2008, he was loaned to Cardiff City, a team in a lower league. He played his first game for them in a cup match. He found it hard to score goals at first, but he kept working.
On March 7, 2009, he scored his first goal in English soccer. It was in a 3–0 win against Doncaster Rovers. A month later, he scored another goal for Cardiff. This goal was special because it was the last goal scored by a Cardiff City player under the lights at their old stadium, Ninian Park.
After his loan, Johnson returned to Fulham. He played in some pre-season games and even scored a goal in Australia.
Playing in Greece
On December 31, 2009, Eddie joined a Greek team called Aris Thessaloniki on loan. He played his first game for them in January 2010. He scored five goals for Aris and was one of the top scorers in the Greek league playoffs.
Loan to Preston
In January 2011, Johnson was loaned to another English team, Preston North End. He played 16 games for them.
Seattle Sounders FC
In 2012, Eddie returned to MLS and signed with Seattle Sounders FC. He quickly started scoring goals for Seattle. He scored two goals in games against the Chicago Fire and the LA Galaxy.
He was chosen for the 2012 MLS All-Star Team. He even scored the winning goal against the famous English club Chelsea in a 3–2 victory! During the 2012 season, he was named MLS Player of the Week twice.
Eddie was the top scorer for the Sounders in 2012, with 14 goals. Nine of these goals were headers, which was the most in the league. Because of his great performance, he was named "Comeback Player of the Year" in MLS for 2012. This was the second time he won this award!
In 2013, Johnson scored a very important goal for the Sounders. It was against a Mexican team called Tigres de la UANL in the CONCACAF Champions League. His goal helped the Sounders become the first MLS team to beat a Mexican club in this tournament.
D.C. United and Retirement
In December 2013, Johnson moved to D.C. United. He scored his first goal for them in May 2014.
In November 2015, Eddie Johnson announced that he was retiring from soccer due to a medical condition.
International Career
Eddie Johnson had a lot of success playing for the U.S. national youth teams. For the Under-17 team, he scored 23 goals in 25 games. At the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, he was the top scorer, winning the Golden Shoe award.
He played his first game for the senior U.S. team on October 9, 2004, against El Salvador. He scored a goal in that game! Just four days later, he scored three goals (a hat-trick) against Panama in only seventeen minutes. He scored seven goals in his first six World Cup qualifying games, which was amazing.
Johnson played in two matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which the U.S. team won.
In 2012, Johnson returned to the U.S. team for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He scored both goals in a 2–1 win against Antigua and Barbuda. He also helped set up a winning goal against Guatemala.
On June 11, 2013, Eddie scored another winning goal for the U.S. against Panama. This goal was scored at CenturyLink Field, his home stadium in Seattle. He said it was "a dream come true" to score in front of his home fans. He also scored the winning goal against Mexico that helped the U.S. team qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Life After Soccer
After retiring from playing, Eddie Johnson started working on getting his coaching license. He has even coached younger American players, like Christian Pulisic.
Personal Life
Eddie Johnson became a Christian when he was 18 years old. He has talked about how his faith helped him think positively and be more patient. He believes that his faith taught him to forgive others.
When he was a kid, Eddie's favorite player was Romário, a famous Brazilian soccer star. Eddie also supports the English club Manchester United.
Honors and Awards
United States National Team
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2007, 2013
Individual Awards
- MLS Comeback Player of the Year: 2007, 2012
- FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Boot: 2003
Images for kids
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Eddie Johnson warming up for Fulham
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Eddie Johnson as a player of Cardiff City
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Johnson training with the United States national team
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Johnson playing for the United States against Belgium in May 2013
See also
In Spanish: Eddie Johnson (futbolista) para niños
