Clint Dempsey punched window, cut up hand while with Fulham

The 2009-10 Europa League was a magical time for Fulham. It wasn’t long before that they were barely avoiding relegation, but there they were, in European competition and the semifinals to boot.

It was the highest of times and Clint Dempsey was excited to be a part of it. Until he wasn’t and then he went about smashing a window, then-teammate Danny Murphy told the Daily Mail.

The worst thing I ever saw was ahead of the Europa League semi-final at Craven Cottage. Bobby Zamora had an injury to his Achilles and wouldn’t be able to play, so we worked on the team and Dempsey came in to play as a striker in training.

By the time matchday came around - Bobby decided he was OK and Roy told Clint just an hour or two before the game. Clint is a passionate boy. He doesn’t hold back and he decided to punch a window which had thickened glass in the corner of the Cottage.

Basically half his finger was off and you could see his tendon. Glass shattered - it was some punch by the way. Blood was going everywhere. This was all because he wanted to play of course.

That would explain the wrap Dempsey wore on his hand for the remainder of the season.

Dempsey has always been one of the more intense players around. He has put his face into danger for a goal, yelled at anyone that needed yelling at and even thrown his fair share of dirty elbows.

Now imagine that player being left out of a European semifinal that he thought he would start, two rounds after scoring a brilliant chipped goal to complete a remarkable comeback against Juventus. It’s not hard to imagine him punching a window.

It’s equally unsurprising that he had it bandaged up and came off the bench in that match. After all, this is the same player who played with a broken nose, barely able to breath, at this summer’s World Cup.