Dave Simpson (soccer)
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| David S.K. | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Simpson Knight | |
| Date of birth | January 11, 1983 | |
| Place of birth | Toronto, Canada | |
| Height | 1.88m | |
| Playing position | Forward/Winger/Midfield | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | AC Sparta Prague | |
| Number | 12 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| VfB Stuttgart | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2002 2002–2003 2005 2006 2007– 2007 |
Royal Antwerp FC Hamilton Thunder Toronto Lynx Lombard-Pápa TFC AC Sparta Prague → SK Kladno (loan) |
11 (4) 18 (3) 10 (2) 0 (0) 15 (2) |
| National team | ||
2001 2003 |
Canada U-17 Canada U-18 Canada U-20 |
4 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
David Simpson Knight aka David s.k was born January 11, 1983 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
Contents |
[edit] Canadian beginnings
He began playing soccer with North Scarborough Soccer Club [N.S.S.C) in Scarborough, Ontario. A club known for creating such talents as Julian de Guzman of Deportivo de La Coruña, and Jonathan De Guzman of Feyenoord. The team was extremely successful and was granted an invitation to the famed Welsh International Super Cup, formerly known as the Ian Rush Tournament. In the summer of 1997 (NSSC) took part in the Tournament and won their age group. Dave Simpson scored in the final, along with fellow striker Paul-Anthony Perez. Dave was named Golden Boot Winner with a staggering 14 goals in 5 matches, landing him second only to Michael Owen for all time record holder. His strike partner Paul-Anthony Perez, was awarded the M.V.P honors.
The success of the Ian Rush tournament landed Dave Simpson a tryout with Southampton Football Club of the Premier League. Dave would continue to play with North Scarborough till he was 17 where he made the decision to join The Professional Soccer Academy (P.S.A), now known as Erin Mills S.C in hopes of moving on to a European team.
[edit] VfB Stuttgart and (PSA)
The PSA proved to be what he needed. The dedication to "total football", and concentration on technique and fitness set them apart from all the other clubs in Toronto. It took a very professional approach in its structuring, training methods, and presentation. The decision to join would pay off when in 2001 P.S.A traveled to Stuttgart, Germany for international exposure and experience. Dave performed well against the German side, impressing the coach of VfB Stuttgart enough to play with them for the second half. A brief trial with VfB Stuttgart U19 side. He signed later on that summer and remained with them till the end of 2001.
[edit] Professional soccer career
He started his professional career at the age of 20, when he signed a lengthy deal with the Manchester United farm team, and Belgium first division side Royal Antwerp FC. The deal was set to run till 2005 but troubles arose when the club went through financial difficulty, causing him to leave in the summer of 2002. He signed with Hamilton Thunder of the Canadian Soccer League that same summer, in the later end of the season. 2004 proved to be a success for Hamilton as they clinched the League Title. The decision to travel back to Canada was for fitness purposes, but ended up being longer then expected, as contract disputes forced him to miss the 2004 season.
In 2005 he signed with the Toronto Lynx in the USL First Division. There he became a fan favorite often chatting with fans, and the media. After impressing with the Lynx he took another chance and left for Europe again and signed with Lombard-Pápa TFC in the Borsodi Liga in 2006, where he continued to impress.
David played a key role in Papa Lombard's rise from 6 points at winter break, to 24 by the end of the season. Despite his efforts at the end of the 2006 season, Papa Lombard was relegated. He was sold and signed with Czech giants AC Sparta Prague in the summer of 2006 as one of the biggest Hungarian transfer deals that summer. All this transpired after leaving Canada five months earlier.
[edit] AC Sparta Prague
Upon signing, David Simpson Knight became the only Canadian born player in history to be signed by the club. He is also the first North American to be signed by the First team. In September he was named to the roster for the UEFA Cup, but was put on loan to his disappointment just one week before the UEFA Cup game against Scottish League giants Hearts. He was loaned to SK Kladno for four months to gain more experience of the Czech league.
He had an impressive start with Kladno scoring in his second game,but struggled with their "Long Ball" style of play. Seeing his technical ability to dribble and run at players, he was forced to adapt to a more central role. Playing as an offensive midfielder David supplied the Kladno ,offense with more opportunities on goal, but came at a heavy price. In a game against FK Teplice, he suffered a horrible head injury which saw him leave on a stretcher. Later it was revealed he suffered a concussion. He missed all but one of the remaining games left in the half season. He came on as a substitute against Sparta to a standing ovation.
Due to the injury, David only played 5 games with SK Kladno. Sparta saw it best to lengthen his loan till the end of the season.Kladno changed his position to defensive midfield, to help their more defensive counter - attack style of play. In the summer of 2007, after playing with Kladno for 7 months David signed for two more years with AC Sparta Prague. Sparta qualified for the Champions League by winning the Czech Cup and league title.
However; after taking on Simpson’s option Sparta failed to utilize him. Instead they mysteriously sent him along with Jan Šimák to the reserves. He stayed there for six months where he was not allowed to play reserve team games.Eventually after 2007/2008 winter break he went on loan to FK SIAD Most. Simpson was a starter until a supposed fight involving racial slurs by part of the coaching staff after a game. After the may lay Simpson suffered a car crash which kept him out of action for two more weeks. The Czech press often linked the two. Simpson did not play the remainder of the games.Simpson has stated he is ready to move on from the Czech Gambrinus Liga.
Simpson is reportedly linked to be in transfer talks with Nottingham Forest of the English Championship Division after a brief stay at the clubs grounds early May 2008. He is also linked to transfer speculation with Sparta Rotterdam in Holland and various teams in the second Bundesliga.
[edit] National teams
He is a former member of U17, U18, and U20 Canadian National Team, appeared in 4 matches scoring 1 goal in 2003. Played with the U20 National Team at the 2003 US Soccer Festival. He has recently been called into Men's National Team camps under two different coaches in the summer of 2006, and most recently to Miami in January 2007. In the summer of 2007 , he was part of the player pool for the 2007 Gold Cup.He was 25 years old when he won his first cap with Canada's senior team on 30 January 2008 (a 1:0 win over Martinique
[edit] International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | July 31, 2003 | U.S. | El Salvador | 3-1 | Win | US Soccer Festival |
[edit] Honours
|}
- Club
- AC Sparta Prague:
- Gambrinus liga Championship: 2007
- Champions League 2007
[edit] External Video links
- David s.k 2006 highlights
- David s.k two goals vs Puerto Rico 2005
- David s.k goal against Ostrava 2006/2007
- David s.k vs Teplice
- David s.k vs Ferencvros
[edit] External links
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