Stuart Holden

Personal information
Full name	Stuart Holden
Date of birth	August 1, 1985 (1985-08-01) (age 24)
Place of birth	Aberdeen, Scotland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Right Winger
Club information
Current club	Houston Dynamo
Number	22
Youth career
2003–2004	Clemson Tigers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005	Sunderland	0	(0)
2006–	Houston Dynamo	88	(15)
National team‡
	United States U-20	11	(1)
2007–2008	United States U-23	7	(1)
2009–	United States	10	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 November, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October, 2009

Stuart Holden playing for Houston

Stuart Holden (born August 1, 1985 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish-born American soccer player currently playing for Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.

He has been an American citizen since 2006.^[1]

[edit] Career

[edit] Professional

Holden grew up in Houston, Texas after moving there at age 10 with his family.^[2] His father worked for Chevron Corporation in its human resources department.^[1] After playing two years at Clemson University, Holden signed with English club Sunderland in March 2005. Just days later, on March 12, Holden was attacked outside a bar in Newcastle, leaving him with a fractured left eye socket and preventing him from making a first-team appearance with the club.^[3]

Holden returned to the United States to play in Major League Soccer with hometown club Houston Dynamo for the 2006 season. He made his MLS debut on May 27, 2006, and scored his first professional goal on July 22, 2006, in a 1-1 home draw against New England. He appeared thirteen times in the 2006 regular season and twice as a substitute in Houston's run to the MLS Cup 2006 championship. In the championship penalty shootout, Holden took the Dynamo's second shot and scored to the top right corner.

Holden's playing time increased in 2007, and he made the most of it as an outside midfielder, starting on the left when teammate Brad Davis went down with injury. In July, Holden scored goals on consecutive Thursday night games televised by ESPN2 and added three assists in league play and another in SuperLiga play, as of July 25. Holden was awarded the US Soccer Humanitarian of the Year award in 2008.

[edit] International

Holden was capped eleven times as a United States youth international at the U-20 level. Early in 2007, Holden was called in to the U.S. U-23 squad for a camp in California and in December for a camp and trip to China to play matches against the China U-23 team. In July 2008 Holden was named to the U.S. squad competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On August 7 he scored in the USA's opening match, a 1-0 victory against Japan.^[4] In December of 2008 Holden was called into a camp set to begin in January of 2009 preceding a friendly against Sweden on January 24. He sustained a hip injury prior to the friendly and was forced to withdraw from camp.

Stuart Holden was named to the United States Gold Cup squad on June 25, 2009, as nearly all of the senior regulars were rested following the Confederations Cup. Holden scored a goal for the U.S. in his national team debut against Grenada on July 4, 2009. On July 11, 2009, Holden scored his second international goal against Haiti with a thirty-yard strike that tied the game in the ninety-second minute, and assisted the USA's first goal in that match, which was scored by Davy Arnaud. Holden added two more assists in the 2-0 semi-final win against Honduras. Stuart was selected to the Gold Cup All-Tournament Team^[5] due to his superior play throughout the tournament with 2 goals and 3 assists.

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
01.	July 4, 2009	Quest Field, Seatle, USA	Grenada	2 – 0	4 – 0	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
02.	July 11, 2009	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, USA	Haiti	2 – 2	2 – 2	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

[edit] Personal life

Holden graduated from the Awty International School, in Houston, Texas. Holden's father lost a six-year battle with cancer in early 2009. He has a mother and sister still living in Houston.^[6]

[edit] Honors

[edit] Houston Dynamo

• Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2006, 2007

[edit] See also

• List of current MLS players

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• MLS player profile

v • d • e United States squad – 2008 Summer Olympics 1 Seitz • 2 Wynne • 3 Orozco • 4 Bradley • 5 McCarty • 6 Edu • 7 Holden • 8 Szetela • 9 Davies • 10 Feilhaber • 11 Adu • 12 Altidore • 13 Ianni • 14 Rogers • 15 Parkhurst • 16 Kljestan • 17 McBride • 18 Guzan • Coach: Nowak

v • d • e United States squad – 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Runners-Up 1 Perkins • 2 Pearce • 3 Goodson • 4 Marshall • 5 Beckerman • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Rogers • 8 Pause • 9 Davies • 10 Holden • 11 Ching • 12 Conrad • 13 Clark • 14 Parkhurst • 15 Cronin • 16 Heaps • 17 Cooper • 18 Robles • 19 Adu • 20 Quaranta • 21 Evans • 22 Arnaud • 23 Busch • Coach: Bradley