Jermain Defoe

Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982 in Beckton, London) is an English people football (soccer)er of Saint Lucian and Dominican descent. He is a striker who plays club football for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., in the English FA Premier League.

Background

Defoe attended St Joachim Junior School in Custom House, London and St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School in Forest Gate, London. He joined the Sunday league team, Senrab F.C., well known in London for producing players such as Lee Bowyer, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Ledley King, and then joined the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall, Shropshire, as a 14 year old in 1997. and is a Christian. He is engaged to Charlotte Meares to whom he proposed in February 2007.

Club career

West Ham United

Defoe was spotted playing for Senrab by Charlton Athletic F.C. who enrolled him at the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall in 1997. The following season, he joined Football League Second Division club A.F.C. Bournemouth on a near season-long loan, where he scored in ten consecutive games, equalling John Aldridge's post-war record. He scored 19 goals in 31 appearances for Bournemouth. West Ham manager Harry Redknapp tipped him for stardom, saying, "He's done great. I sent him out to Bournemouth to get some experience playing league football and he's coped marvellously. To score 10 goals in 10 games is a terrific achievement. He's a bright lad who's full of confidence. Nothing knocks him, he's a typical goal-scorer. If he misses, he'll be there the next time looking for a goal. He's a kid with a big future."

Defoe finished as the West Ham's top scorer in the 2001-02 season despite being used primarily as a substitute by manager Glenn Roeder, He scored a further 11 goals in 42 league and cup appearances in the 2003-03 season but was unable to prevent West Ham from being relegated. Less than 24 hours after the club had been relegated, Defoe made a written request for a transfer, saying "As much as I love West Ham United I feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career. This is very much a career decision. I am very ambitious and hungry to achieve at the highest levels of the game for both club and country." The timing of his request however drew criticism from both fans and team-mates and was turned down by the club. He later apologised to supporters, sayin "I mishandled that move and I can only apologise. I'm young and I've learned from it. I still played my hardest for West Ham and gave them 100% and want to thank the fans for their support." Defoe began the 2003-04 season with West Ham but a refusal to sign a new contract and disciplinary problems, including three sending offs, which saw him play only 22 games out of a possible 34, led to West Ham accepting an offer from Tottenham Hotspur F.C. for him in the January transfer window. Defoe had scored 41 goals in 105 league and cup appearances for West Ham. Defoe marked his arrival at Tottenham with a goal on his debut in the 4-3 home win over Portsmouth F.C. in February 2004 and added a further six in the remainder of the FA Premier League 2003-04 season, scoring seven goals in 15 matches. and nine goals in eight games in the FA Cup and Football League Cup, in the FA Premier League 2004-05 season. The following season was not as profitable for Defoe and Spurs manager Martin Jol used Defoe in rotation with Robbie Keane and Mido (footballer) providing the competition for a starting position; Defoe started 23 times and came on as substitute 13 times, scoring nine goals. The FA declined to take action against Defoe as the referee, Steve Bennett (referee), had booked Defoe for the incident. He scored his 50th goal for Tottenham in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa F.C. on Boxing Day in December 2006, in which he scored both goals, and scored in Tottenham's 2-0 win over Charlton in May 2007, which condemned his former club to relegation to the Football League Championship. Defoe later offered his sympathy for Charlton and expressed his wishes for them to bounce straight back to the Premiership the following season, in a post-match interview. During the summer of 2007, there was speculation about Defoe's future at Tottenham following the arrival of Darren Bent for a fee of £16.5 million. Defoe however insisted that he would stay at Tottenham and fight for his place, saying "I'm really excited about the new season and the prospect of another campaign in Europe. We have made some good signings and are now stronger and better equipped to compete in all competitions."

International career

Defoe's form for Bournemouth in the 2000-01 season saw him selected for the England U21s team to play Mexico U21s in May 2001, and he marked his debut with the second goal as England U21s won 3-0. He went on to gain 23 caps for England U21s, scoring seven goals. Defoe made his debut for the senior England national football team team in a 1-0 defeat to Sweden national football team in March 2004, coming on as an early substitute for the injured Darius Vassell. England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson singled out Defoe's display for praise in an otherwise poor performance by England, saying, "Jermain Defoe did very well - I liked what I saw. He showed that he can do very well even in international football and that he is technically very good. Jermain is quick and he knows where the goal is, so I liked him very much." He was not however selected for the England squad to take part in Euro 2004. He made his first start for England in a World Cup qualifying match against Poland national football team in September 2004, scoring in a 2-1 win. As he did six months earlier, Eriksson paid tribute to Defoe, saying, ""Jermain is a great talent. It couldn't have been much better for him. He did very well. He scored one goal and created other chances as well. He is a great player who will always score goals."

Despite appearing regularly for England in World Cup qualifying games and friendly matches, Defoe was not named in the provisional England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and named only on a five-man standby list. He joined the squad for training in Germany but returned to England when Wayne Rooney was cleared to play after having suffered a foot injury in April. He confessed that he was baffled by his omission, saying, "I don't know why I'm not out there. I've been involved in every squad for the last two years and feel I've played a part in helping us to qualify. I have never felt fitter and sharper than I was in training and believe I could have scored goals in the tournament. It's a strange decision and everybody I speak to thinks so as well." Eriksson said after the tournament that he did not think that Defoe would would have been a better option than 17 year old Theo Walcott, who had been selected for the England squad, adding, "If I had thought so I would have picked him. I've seen him 15 or 20 times this season and I have to take the best players who I think will be good for us in the future." He made a further explanation a few months later, saying, "Jermain had a very bad season. I don't think he deserved to go to the World Cup. Taking Theo was the right decision."

Steve McClaren, who took over as England manager after the World Cup, selected Defoe for England in his first match, a friendly against Greece in August 2006. Defoe continued to be selected and to appear for England in Euro 2008 qualifying games and friendly matches.

International Goals