Dave Simpson (soccer)

Dave Simpson

Personal information
Full name	David Simpson Knight
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Forward Winger Midfield
Team information
Current team	AC Sparta Prague
Number	12

David Simpson Knight

Canadian Beginnings

Dave Simpson, aka David s.k was (born January 11, 1983 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada). His mother is from Barbados and his father is Jamaican.He began playing soccer with North Scarborough Soccer Club [N.S.S.C) in Scarborough Ontario. A club known for creating such talents as Julian de Guzman of Deportivo de La Coruña, and Jonathan De Guzman of Feyenoord. The team was extremely successful and was granted an invitation to the famed Welsh International Super Cup, formerly known as The Ian Rush Tournament. In the summer of 1997 (NSSC) took part in the Tournament and won their age group. Dave Simpson scored in the final, along with fellow striker Paul-Anthony Perez. Dave was named Golden Boot Winner with a staggering 14 goals in 5 matches, landing him second only to Michael Owen for all time record holder. His strike partner Paul-Anthony Perez, was awarded the M.V.P honors.

The success of the Ian Rush tournament landed Dave Simpson a tryout with Southampton Football Club of the Premier League . Dave would continue to play with North Scarborough till he was 17 where he made the decision to join The Professional Soccer Academy (P.S.A), now known as Erin Mills S.C in hopes of moving on to a European team.

Professional Soccer Academy (PSA)

The PSA proved to be what he needed. The dedication to "total football", and concentration on technique and fitness set them apart from all the other clubs in Toronto. It took a very professional approach in its structuring, training methods, and presentation. The decision to join would pay off when in 2001 P.S.A traveled to Stuttgart, Germany for international exposure and experience. Dave performed well against the German side, impressing the coach of VfB Stuttgart enough to play with them for the second half. A brief trial with VfB Stuttgart U19 side. He signed later on that summer and remained with them till the end of 2001.

Professional soccer career

He started his professional career at the age of 20, when he signed a lengthy deal with the Manchester United farm team, and Belgium first division side Royal Antwerp FC. The deal was set to run till 2005 but troubles arose when the club went through financial difficulty, causing him to leave in the summer of 2002. He signed with Hamilton Thunder of the Canadian Soccer League that same summer, in the later end of the season. 2004 proved to be a success for Hamilton as they clinched the League Title. The decision to travel back to Canada was for fitness purposes, but ended up being longer then expected, as contract disputes forced him to miss the 2004 season.

In 2005 he signed with the Toronto Lynx in the USL First Division. There he became a fan favorite often chatting with fans, and the media. After impressing with the Lynx he took another chance and left for Europe again and signed with Lombard-Pápa TFC in the Borsodi Liga in 2006, where he continued to impress.

David played a key role in Papa Lombard's rise from 6 points at winter break, to 24 by the end of the season. Despite his efforts at the end of the 2006 season, Papa Lombard was relegated. He was sold and signed with Czech giants AC Sparta Prague in the summer of 2006 as one of the biggest Hungarian transfer deals that summer. All this transpired after leaving Canada five months earlier.

AC Sparta Prague

Upon signing, David Simpson Knight became the only Canadian born player in history to be signed by the club. He is also the first North American to be signed by the First team. In September he was named to the roster for the UEFA Cup, but was put on loan to his disappointment just one week before the UEFA Cup game against Scottish League giants Hearts. He was loaned to SK Kladno for four months to gain more experience of the Czech league.

He had an impressive start with Kladno scoring in his second game,but struggled with their "Long Ball" style of play. Seeing his technical ability to dribble and run at players, he was forced to adapt to a more central role. Playing as an offensive midfielder David supplied the Kladno ,offense with more opportunities on goal, but came at a heavy price. In a game against FK Teplice, he suffered a horrible head injury which saw him leave on a stretcher. Later it was revealed he suffered a concussion. He missed all but one of the remaining games left in the half season. He came on as a substitute against Sparta to a standing ovation.

Due to the injury, David only played 5 games with SK Kladno. Sparta saw it best to lengthen his loan till the end of the season. In the summer of 2007, after playing with Kladno for 7 months David signed for two more years with AC Sparta Prague. Sparta qualified for the Champions League by winning the Czech Cup and league title.

National teams

He is a former member of U17, U18, and U20 Canadian National Team, appeared in 4 matches scoring 1 goal in 2003. Played with the U20 National Team at the 2003 US Soccer Festival. He has recently been called into Men's National Team camps under two different coaches in the summer of 2006, and most recently to Miami in January 2007, and is part of the player pool for the 2007 Gold Cup.

International goals

David s.k: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
2	July 31, 2003 , 2003	USA	El Salvador	3-1	Win	US Soccer Festival

Honours

Olympic medal record

Club

• AC Sparta Prague:
  • Gambrinus liga Championship: 2007
  • Champions League 2007