Clint Dempsey isn't the fastest player on the US roster. He isn't the most technically gifted. He's not he tallest, the strongest, or the most successful. But come the World Cup this summer, he just might prove to be the most important. As a whole, the United States is a hardworking, difficult to break down team. Landon Donovan is the epitome of that mentality. Industrious without the ball, purposeful and direct with it, he's the player around which the American attack has been built around. But I have an inkling that if any American player is going to leave his mark on this World Cup, it will be the one we call "Deuce."


For me, Dempsey is the most intriguing of the USMNT core. He has a frustrating tendency to drift out of games, especially against so-called "weaker" opposition, and a thrilling habit of performing when he's needed most. He's unpredictable, mercurial, intense, volatile. He's a skillful winger with a bag of tricks and penchant for the kind of audacious goals which get you out of your seat and shaking your head in disbelief. "Did he just DO that?" could be Deuce's tagline. His recent wonder strike for Fulham to knock Italian giants Juventus out of the Europa League was widely proclaimed as the greatest goal ever scored by an American in European competition, rivalled only by his goal against Liverpool that saved Fulham from relegation. If you remember, Dempsey was the only American player to score at the last World Cup, thumping a rifled volley home from a perfect DaMarcus Beasley cross, when the US was, for all intents and purposes, out of the competition already.


That single-minded, never-say-die attitude is a constant feature of Deuce's career. His ability got him out of the Nagodoches, Texas trailer park of his childhood and opened doors which led to college and Major League Soccer. He was drafted by the New England Revolution, and won the Rookie of the Year award. During his time with the Revolution, MLS turned down several lucrative offers for him from Europe. Not happy with playing the big fish in the small pond, Deuce spurned MLS's offers of contract renewals and marquee staus to dip his toe in arguably the biggest pond of them all and sign with English Premier League side Fulham. Through what seems like sheer force of will, Dempsey carved out a first team position for himself, and he has become one Craven Cottage's biggest cult heroes this side of Johnny Haynes.


With the participation of Charlie Davies this summer a doubt, even more of the attacking responsibility will fall to the midfield, and with Landon Donovan providing the bulk of the creativity, it will fall to Deuce to provide the flair and dynamism. If his past performances are any indication, Deuce is hungry. Hungry to improve, hungry to prove himself, and hungry to be the best. "Complacent" is an alien word to Deuce, which is why we love him so much.