Jermain Defoe (born October 7, 1982 in Beckton, London, England)
is an English footballer. He was born to an St. Lucian mother
and Dominican father. He is a centre-forward who plays club
football for Tottenham Hotspur.
Defoe started his career with Charlton Athletic, and was
somewhat controversially signed by West Ham in 1999 before
having actually played a game for Charlton. West Ham were
subsequently ordered to pay substantial compensation. In 2003,
Tottenham paid £7,000,000 to bring him to White Hart Lane.
Before leaving West Ham for Tottenham, Defoe had a loan spell
with Second Division club Bournemouth where he broke the record
for getting on the score sheet in a record number of consecutive
league games, scoring in 10 games in a row. This record still
stands in English professional football.
Defoe has made a number of international appearances for
England, scoring on his first full start for the national team
on September 8, 2004 with a vital goal in the 2-1 win over
Poland, and is now considered a regular in the squad.
With his lightning pace Jermain exploded onto the scene with a
debut goal for Tottenham against Portsmouth at White Hart Lane,
in the 2003 - 2004 season and added a further six for that
season, scoring 7 goals in 14 matches.
In 2004 - 2005, he scored 13 goals in 28 matches in the
Premiership and 9 goals in 7 matches in domestic cup
competitions (FA Cup and League Cup). These impressive
statistics only confirm that Jermain is recognised as one of
most deadly finishers of his age group in europe.
Jermain was recently voted to have scored the best goal of that
season for Tottenham Hotspur, according to polls on their
official site. |
