Derek Smethurst
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 24 October 1947 | ||
Place of birth | Durban, South Africa | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Glenwood | |||
Berea Park | |||
Addington, | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1966 | Addington | 4 | (6) |
1967-1968 | Durban City F.C. | 37 | (14) |
1968-1971 | Chelsea | 18 | (5) |
1971-1975 | Millwall | 71 | (9) |
1975-1978 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 65 | (57) |
1978 | San Diego Sockers | 17 | (2) |
1979-1980 | Seattle Sounders | 30 | (14) |
1980-1981 | Seattle Sounders (indoor) | 11 | (5) |
1981-1982 | Memphis Americans (indoor) | 33 | (35) |
1982 | Carolina Lightnin' | 6 | (0) |
1986-1987 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) | ||
Total | 292 | (147) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Derek Smethurst (born 24 October 1947 in Durban) is a retired South African soccer forward who played professionally in South Africa, England and the United States.
Biography
Born into a sporting family, both his father Norman and brother Peter played professionally. Smethurst spent time with three amateur teams, Glenwood, Berea Park and Addington, in his early career. He began his professional career with Durban City F.C.[1] In December 1968, he transferred to Chelsea F.C. He spent the remainder of the 1968-1969 and the entire 1969-1970 season with the Chelsea Reserves. Despite missing a large part of the 1969-1970 season with an injury, Smethurst still compiled 20 goals in 42 games with the reserves. He made his first team debut on 1 September 1970. Smethurst was the first South African to win a European championship when Chelsea won the 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup. He was the first foreign born player to win a European championship in England. Two games into the 1971-1972 season, Chelsea transferred Smethurst to Millwall F.C. for £35,000 at his request. He spent four seasons with Millwall. In 1975, Smethurst moved to the United States where he played for the newly established Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League, where he became their all time leading goal scorer with 57 goals in 65 games and a NASL all star. In 1978, he began the season with Tampa Bay, but in May 1978 at his own request, he was traded to the San Diego Sockers in exchange for Peter Andersen.[2] He led the Tampa Bay Rowdies in goals scored for the three years he played with them. The Sockers traded him in July 1978.[3] In 1979, he signed with the Seattle Sounders. He spent two outdoor and one NASL indoor seasons with the Sounders before moving to the Memphis Americans for the 1981-1982 Major Indoor Soccer League season. He scored a hat-trick for the Sounders in a home game against the Portland Timbers on 30 June 1979. Smethurst scored 75 goals in just over 100 games in the NASL. In the spring of 1982, he joined the Carolina Lightnin' of the American Soccer League, and after six games retired from outdoor football.[4] He rejoined the Rowdies for the 1986–87 AISA season, appearing in a few home matches only.[5] Smethurst's goal scoring rate in professional first team football was a goal for every 1.85 games. Played in the "First" English League game to be played on a Sunday for Millwall v Fulham, 20 January 1971.
He also played in the 1977 NFL pre-season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a placekicker wearing jersey #12.[6][7][8][9]
Now an accomplished author and sports consultant, Smethurst lives in Valrico, Florida, and runs a professional soccer training academy.
Achievements
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- First African national to win a European Championship
- First South African to win a European Championship
- First foreign born player to win a European Championship in England
- First foreign player to score for Chelsea in a European Championship
- First foreign player to win a European Championship with Chelsea FC
- First foreign player to play in a European Championship Final for Chelsea
- First player to score 4 goals in one game for the Tampa Bay Rowdies - NASL
- First Seattle Sounder to score 3 goals in one game - NASL
- First Seattle Sounder to score 4 goals in one game - NASL
- First and only South African to score 3 goals in a Currie Cup Final in South Africa.
References
- ↑ [1][dead link]
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- ↑ Slickers Host To Carolina Problems Plague Defending ASL Champs The Daily Oklahoman - Friday, 11 June 1982
- ↑ http://mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com/2008/09/198687-rowdies_20.html
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External links
- Articles with dead external links from October 2014
- Use dmy dates from September 2012
- Use South African English from September 2012
- All Wikipedia articles written in South African English
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1948 births
- Living people
- American Indoor Soccer Association players
- American Soccer League (1933–83) players
- South African people of British descent
- Association football forwards
- Carolina Lightnin' players
- Chelsea F.C. players
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–92) players
- Memphis Americans players
- Millwall F.C. players
- North American Soccer League (1968–84) players
- North American Soccer League (1968–84) indoor players
- Sportspeople from Durban
- San Diego Sockers (NASL) players
- Seattle Sounders (1974–83) players
- South African soccer players
- South African expatriate soccer players
- Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–93) players
- White South African people
- South African expatriates in England
- South African expatriates in the United States