Meet The Players

Eddie Lewis

Edward James (Eddie) Lewis (born May 17, 1974, in Cerritos, California) is an American football (soccer) left midfielder who currently plays in the English Premier League for Derby County.

Club career

Early career

Lewis played college soccer at UCLA, leading his team in scoring in 1995. He was drafted by the then-San Jose Clash in the third round of the 1996 MLS College Draft. He would spend the next four years in San Jose, becoming a full-time starter in his second season. Originally a forward, the lefty moved to the midfield early on in his pro career. In his time with the Clash, he scored nine goals and added 35 assists in 115 games and was named to the MLS Best XI in 1999.

Fulham

Lewis signed with England's Fulham, then in the Football League First Division, in 2000. He spent three seasons there, but did not see much playing time, especially in his last year, when the club was promoted to the Premiership. He only played one game for his club in 2001-02, the meaningless season finale. Overall, he appeared in 14 total games for the London club, scoring just one goal.

Preston North End

Lewis made a move to Preston North End in 2002 and spent the next three years there, a consistent starter throughout his tenure.

Leeds United

In June 2005, Leeds United signed Lewis from Preston on a free transfer^[1].

Lewis impressed greatly during his time at Elland Road. A set piece expert, he scored excellent free-kicks against Burnley and more importantly in the play-off semifinal first leg against his former club, Preston North End. Lewis was the subject of a transfer bid from Wolverhampton Wanderers just before the transfer deadline in Summer 2006 but the bid was instantly rejected by chairman Ken Bates^[2]. Lewis was a regular in the 2006-07 Championship season with Leeds, once again playing left wing. In the first few matches of Dennis Wise's reign at the club, Lewis was played at left back, but after that he was put back to his favoured left wing, but rotated between the positions as the season progressed. He scored three times for Leeds in the 2006-7 season.

In the May issue of Leeds magazine 'Leeds Leeds Leeds', Lewis suggested that he would be willing to stay at Elland Road even if Leeds United were to drop down to League One. At the end of the 2006-07 season Lewis was voted Leeds' fans Player of the Year^[3] being only the fourth non-British player in the clubs history to receive the award.

Derby County

Lewis' contract expired in July 2007, and Derby County signed him to a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored an own goal against West Ham United in a Premiership match on 10 November 2007 at Pride Park.^[4]. Eddie was also linked with a move to Crystal Place for the 2008-2009 season.

International career

Lewis made his debut with the U.S. national team on October 16, 1996, against Peru, a game boycotted by almost all regular U.S. players because of salary concerns. Unlike most of the other players to appear in that game, Lewis went on to have a long national career, compiling 73 caps as of October 2007. He played an important role for the U.S. in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starting both elimination games, and delivering a cross to Landon Donovan for the team's second goal in their 2-0 victory over Mexico.

With increasing competition at left midfield, most notably from DaMarcus Beasley, Lewis began a transition to left back in late 2005, debuting in that slot in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago on August 17, 2005. Although he continues to play left midfield for his professional club, Lewis welcomed the move to left back for the national team.

On May 2, 2006, for the second successive time, Lewis was named in the U.S. squad for the FIFA World Cup in Germany. Lewis started the American's first World Cup game against the Czech Republic at left back, but lost that spot after their disappointing 3-0 loss. After sitting out the U.S. draw with eventual champions Italy in their second game, he rejoined the starting lineup at left midfield against Ghana. His inspired play nearly helped the U.S. team to equalize, but his ball to Brian McBride glanced off the goal post. The United States were eliminated from the competition after suffering a 2-1 defeat.