BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Jermain Colin Defoe born 7 October 1982 is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team.
Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team at age fourteen, before moving to West Ham United aged sixteen, and rising through the ranks. He made his professional debut for West Ham in 2000, and after a season-long loan spell at Bournemouthduring the 2000–01 season, established himself in the West Ham line-up. After West Ham's relegation in 2003, a move to Tottenham in January 2004 soon followed, where Defoe played for 4 years before being sold to Portsmouth in January 2008. He spent one season atFratton Park before returning to Tottenham in the January 2009 transfer window. He is currently the eighth highest goalscorer inTottenham's history and the club's second highest goalscorer in European competitions. Defoe made his England debut in 2004 and to date has made 54 appearances, scoring 19 goals.
Born in London, to a St. Lucian
mother and Dominican father, Defoe attended St Joachim Primary School in Custom House and St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive School in Forest Gate, London. He joined the Sunday league team Senrab, well known in London for producing players such as Lee Bowyer, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Ledley King, and then joined the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall, Shropshire, as a 14-year-old in 1997. While he was there he attended Idsall School.
Club career
Defoe was spotted playing football by Charlton Athletic who enrolled him at the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall Hall in 1997. Two years later, he took the controversial decision, aged 16, to turn professional with West Ham United, following which Charlton were subsequently awarded a compensation package rising to £1.4 million depending on Premiership and international appearances. At West Ham, he was a member of the Under-19 team that won the Premier Academy League title in 1999–00, scoring twice against Arsenalin the play-off final, and went on to make his first-team debut in a League Cup game against Walsall in September 2000, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win.
The following season, he joined Second Division club Bournemouth on a near season-long loan, where he scored in ten consecutive games, equalling John Aldridge's and Clarrie Jordan's post-war record. He scored 18 goals in 29 league appearances for Bournemouth. West Ham manager Harry Redknapp tipped him for stardom, saying, "He's done great. I sent him out to Bournemouth to get some experience playing league football and he's coped marvellously. To score 10 goals in 10 games is a terrific achievement. He's a bright lad who's full of confidence. Nothing knocks him, he's a typical goal-scorer. If he misses, he'll be there the next time looking for a goal. He's a kid with a big future."
Defoe finished as the West Ham's top scorer in the 2001–02 season despite being used primarily as a substitute by manager Glenn Roeder, scoring 14 goals in 39 league and cup appearances, including the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Manchester United in December 2001, as West Ham finished seventh in the Premiership. He scored a further 11 goals in 42 league and cup appearances in the 2002–03 season but was unable to prevent West Ham from being relegated.
Less than 24 hours after the club had been relegated, Defoe made a written request for a transfer, saying "As much as I love West Ham United I feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career. This is very much a career decision. I am very ambitious and hungry to achieve at the highest levels of the game for both club and country." The timing of his request however drew criticism from both fans and team-mates and was turned down by the club. He later apologised to supporters, saying "I mishandled that move and I can only apologise. I'm young and I've learned from it. I still played my hardest for West Ham and gave them 100% and want to thank the fans for their support."
Defoe began the 2003–04 season with West Ham but a refusal to sign a new contract and disciplinary problems, including three sending offs, which saw him play only 22 games out of a possible 34, led to West Ham accepting an offer from Tottenham Hotspur for him in the January transfer window. Defoe had scored 41 goals in 105 league and cup appearances for West Ham.
Tottenham Hotspur
Defoe joined Tottenham in January 2004 for an initial fee of £6 million, rising to £7 million depending on "specific performance criteria", and with Bobby Zamora joining West Ham. ManagerDavid Pleat said, "I can't think of a British striker at his age who has achieved as much in such a short space of time. His goal record for a 21-year-old is quite exceptional. I hope he will have a fine career at Tottenham." Defoe marked his arrival at Tottenham with a goal on his debut in the 4–3 home win over Portsmouth in February 2004 and added a further six in the remainder of the 2003–04 season, scoring seven goals in 15 matches. He then scored 13 goals in 36 matches in the Premier League, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Southampton in December 2004, and nine goals in eight games in the FA Cup and League Cup, in the 2004–05 season. He also received the clubs player of the year award for the 2004 calendar year as voted by season ticket holders and Spurs members. Despite speculation linking him with other clubs, Defoe signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Tottenham in April 2005. The following season was not as profitable for Defoe and Spurs manager Martin Jol used Defoe in rotation with Robbie Keane and Mido providing the competition for a starting position; Defoe started 23 times and came on as substitute 13 times, scoring nine goals.
Defoe made 49 league and cup appearances for Tottenham, scoring 18 goals, during the 2006–07 season as Tottenham competed in the UEFA Cup as well as the domestic competitions. He appeared to bite West Ham player Javier Mascherano on the shoulder during Tottenham's 1–0 win over West Ham in October 2006, sparking a melee between players of both sides. The FA declined to take action against Defoe as the referee, Steve Bennett, had booked Defoe for the incident. He scored his 50th goal for Tottenham in the 2–1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day in December 2006, in which he scored both goals, and scored in Tottenham's 2–0 win over Charlton in May 2007, which condemned his former club to relegation to the Championship. Defoe later offered his sympathy for Charlton and expressed his wishes for them to bounce straight back to the Premiership the following season, in a post-match interview. During the summer of 2007, there was speculation about Defoe's future at Tottenham following the arrival of Darren Bent for a fee of £16.5 million. Defoe however insisted that he would stay at Tottenham and fight for his place, saying "I'm really excited about the new season and the prospect of another campaign in Europe. We have made some good signings and are now stronger and better equipped to compete in all competitions."
On 20 September, Defoe came on as a substitute against Famagusta and scored twice, scoring his first goals of the season. He was then axed from the squad in the next league game againstBolton on 23 September. On 25 November 2007 he missed a crucial penalty against former club West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground in the final minute of the game which would have won the game for Spurs. As a result, the game finished 1–1.
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