Kelly Smith

Infobox Football biography
playername = Kelly Smith


dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1978|10|29|mf=y
cityofbirth = Watford
countryofbirth = England
position = Second striker
currentclub = Arsenal Ladies
clubnumber = 8
youthyears = 12
youthclubs =
years = 1995-1996
1997-1999
2000-2003
2004
2004-"present"
clubs = Arsenal Ladies
Seton Hall University
Philadelphia Charge
New Jersey Wildcats
Arsenal Ladies
caps(goals) =
51 (76)
? (9)
8 (8)
nationalyears = 1995-"present"
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 71 (27)
pcupdate = 13:23, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate = 07:56, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Kelly Smith, MBE (born 29 October 1978 in Watford) is an English football player who currently plays in England for Arsenal Ladies. Previously, she was the only English player to play in the Women's United Soccer Association, the former professional women's league in the United States. She is regarded as one of the top class players of the womens game.

Club career

While growing up in the Garston area of Watford, she regularly played football on boys' teams, and developed her skills in the women's section of Arsenal. In 1996, she scored two goals and assisted on the third in a 3-0 win over Liverpool that secured the Premier League title. She then went to West Herts College, but transferred a year later to Seton Hall University, New Jersey in the United States.

In her first year at Seton Hall in 1997, she set scoring records for the Big East Conference and became the first athlete in any sport to be the conference's (Offensive) Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. The following two seasons, she was the leading scorer not only in the Big East, but in the whole of NCAA Division I, and was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year both years. At the end of her college career, the school retired her uniform number (6); she became the first Seton Hall athlete in any sport other than basketball to have a number retired.

After her graduation from Seton Hall University in 2000, she was drafted by the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA, and stayed with the team until the league went under in 2003. However, she only played one full season (2001) in the league. In 2002, she missed most of the season after tearing the ACL in her right knee, and missed much of 2003 after reinjuring the same knee. In 2004, she played for the New Jersey Wildcats in the W-League, but she was injured yet again, breaking her leg.

Smith returned to England and Arsenal in the autumn of 2004. However, she was yet again hampered by injury, this time by a stress fracture in her foot. She returned to action at the end of the 2004-05 season, scoring a goal from 30 metres out against Charlton that clinched the Premier League title for Arsenal.

In Arsenal's quadruple winning season of 2006/07 season, she scored 30 goals across the four competitions. However, she missed both legs of the UEFA Women's Cup final through suspension.

International career

She has played for the England national team since age 16. When healthy, she is generally considered to be one of the world's top female players; former USA head coach April Heinrichs asserted that Smith would be an automatic choice for the USA team if she had been eligible, and Vera Pauw, the Dutch coach, called Kelly 'the best player in the World' after she scored a hat-trick against Holland in a World Cup qualifier in 2006.

Smith was voted Women's International Player of the Year in 2005, and fifth in the FIFA Women's World Player of the year award in December, 2006.

She also picked up the player of the tournament award at the 2007 China Cup, playing against the United States, Germany and China.

She played in the 2007 World Cup in China, where she scored 4 goals to help England to the quarter finals.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. [LondonGazette |issue=58729 |date=14 June 2008 |startpage=23 |supp=yes |notarchive=yes]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.arsenal.com/ladies/players/kelly-smith Profile at the Arsenal web site]
* [http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/PlayersAndCoaches/Postings/2004/10/KellySmith_profile.htm Profile at The FA official site]