New Seattle Sounders star Clint Dempsey revealed that he was always inclined to return to the United States despite his success in England.
"I was already starting to get the itch to be honest with you, to come back to the States. I just missed being in America. I wanted to help continue the growth of the game here. You can't help the growth of the game if you come back and you don't perform," Dempsey said Monday. "I understand there is a lot of pressure on me to succeed, a lot of expectations that others have on me, but also the expectations I put on myself and when I decided to come back to this league, I want to make an impact. I want to do a good job. I don't want to come and be passive and not be able to make a difference in games. I want to win things."
The striker noted that he did not want to return to Major League Soccer with his career on the backend and was particularly impressed by his new club's desire to sign him.
"I've been in Europe for six and a half years and I just wanted to come home. Each year was getting more difficult to go back and I think everything just has to do with timing," Dempsey added. "The Seattle Sounders moved mountains to get me here. It was an opportunity to come back when I was in my prime and continue growth in the league and it's a challenge."
The U.S. national team star played in the MLS for the New England Revolution from 2004-06; he scored 25 goals in 71 matches during that span. He then moved to Barclay's Premier League club Fulham where he played from 2007-12 and scored 50 goals in 184 games. Last season he moved to Tottenham and managed seven goals in 29 matches.
"I look back with no regrets. I thought my time over there, if you want to crunch numbers, I was successful. I want to continue to do the same here," Dempsey noted.