By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor
Soccer America Magazine
Bobby Convey, once the youngest player to appear in an MLS match, has taken his career to England. After a long stint on the bench, heÆs landed a regular spot for ambitious second-tier club Reading as he makes his case for a spot on the 2006 U.S. World Cup team.
Six years into his professional career, the fuzz on his cheeks has given way to stubble, and the once-boyish face has matured, yet heÆs not Robert or Bob, heÆs still Bobby Convey and probably always will be. ôThatÆs what seems to happen with some guys, I guess,ö he laughs. ôI donÆt mind.ö
The growth curve has been steep. He left his Philadelphia home at age 15 to join the U.S. Soccer residency program in Bradenton, Fla., and started his first pro game before his 17th birthday. He left MLS after four seasons to play in England. He might have crossed the pond earlier but a rejected work permit stripped him of the chance to play for Tottenham so he wound up at Reading, located just outside of London and a tier lower than the Premier League.
ôHeÆs made all the right steps,ö says Thomas Rongen, ConveyÆs coach at D.C. United for his first two pro seasons in 2000 and 2001 and also for the under-20s at the 2003 world championships. ôPlayed on our youth teams, became a pro here, played significant time, and took his trade to Europe, where heÆs making a very good living for himself.ö
Maybe Convey didnÆt have it cushy at D.C. United but playing there certainly had its perks. For a time he lived in the home of D.C. United president and CEO Kevin Payne and dated his daughter.
Now, Convey is 22 and building a home in Charleston, S.C., while logging a lot of minutes for Reading and the U.S. national team and looking forward to the next chance to test himself against the worldÆs best, as heÆs done with the under-17s and under-20s. Convey didnÆt make the 2002 World Cup squad, yet by keeping his spot at Reading wonÆt miss the cut this time around.
ôYou get hardened in Europe more than in MLS,ö says Rongen. ôItÆs tougher competition, thereÆs more games, and especially in that division, you have to come and play each and every day.ö
Convey concurs.
ôItÆs not for fun any more, itÆs turned into a job,ö he says. ôIn D.C. my first couple of years we had players on the national team, we had perfect training facilities, great fans, everything was great. It was more of a family atmosphere than it is in England.ö
ROOKIE INTRO. Injuries to several players and some impressive preseason performances prompted Rongen to throw the rookie into many a starting lineup. During the 2000 season, Convey started 18 of the 22 games he played. The stats werenÆt great ù 0 goals, 2 assists ù yet the experience was invaluable. He excelled in a friendly against Newcastle United, assisting on two of D.C.Æs goals in a 3-1 win, and thus first stirred interest from England.
Still, D.C. United crashed to a dismal 8-18-6 season a year after claiming its third MLS title in four years. Often Convey played on the left side of midfield, sometimes he replaced Marco Etcheverry as attacking midfielder, and occasionally he played behind Etcheverry. A teenager with plenty on his plate coping with the pro game also had to find a way to fit in with his teammates.
ôBobby had a lot of freedom with the 17s, he could whatever he wanted to do,ö says Payne. ôIt takes time to make the adjustment and understand, æWhy are we doing this?Æ Because thatÆs what the rest of the team is expecting you to do. You start freelancing, and you throw everybody else off the dock.ö
Says Convey, ôItÆs an adjustment from playing in the middle of the midfield to playing out wide. Those are two totally different positions.ö
Adjusting to the various roles assigned to him by Bruce Arena is a constant theme of ConveyÆs national-team career, which began with a callup for a friendly against Mexico in October of his rookie season. Convey has played wide left in midfield as well as in the middle with a variety of teammates and responsibilities. During the 2003 Confederations Cup, Convey played left back, reflecting ArenaÆs primary objective: to get the 11 players on the field who give him the best chance to win a particular match, even if not all of them can play their best position.
Four months later, he directed the U.S. under-20 attack at the World Youth Championship with his driving runs and deft passing out of central midfield. In the first game, he polished off a 3-1 win over Paraguay with a burst through the opposition and left-footed blast into the net. In its next game, the U.S. fell to Germany, 3-1, the goal coming on a Zak Whitbread header from a Convey free kick.
ConveyÆs most brilliant moment of the tournament may have come in the quarterfinal against Ivory Coast. Nothing special seemed imminent as he checked back to a ball in midfield. With his back to the goal more than 40 yards away, he controlled the ball on his chest and then flicked it over his head right into the path of a speeding Justin Mapp, who broke in alone to score.
Some of that audacity is coming forth with the national team. In a crucial qualifier against Costa Rica in June, he nutmegged an opponent and willingly sought out 1-v.-1 showdowns. By breaking pressure and beating players, DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan and Convey û all members of the initial U-17 class in Bradenton ù can unhinge defenses.
But the international game often requires caution and a willingness to keep the ball until an opening presents itself. John OÆBrien, Claudio Reyna and to a lesser extent Pablo Mastroeni excel in this role. Steve Ralston and Eddie Lewis prowl the flanks and wait for their chances to serve up crosses. ItÆs up to Convey, Beasley and Donovan to strike suddenly and shatter the defensive shell.
ôI just do stuff. It just comes to me,ö says Convey of when and why heÆll take off or try to nick the ball between an opponentÆs legs. ôWhen you play soccer, thatÆs from when youÆre little, you do a few things and it just came out for me, I guess. It was one of those things that just happen.
ôI think weÆre showing that more. Recently, I think weÆre attacking a lot more and we have more numbers in the box and pushing more numbers forward.ö
ENGLISH LESSONS. Getting forward is ConveyÆs primary role in England, where thereÆs little confusion regarding how he is to play left midfield in a standard 4-4-2 formation or whatÆs at stake.
After joining Reading during the summer of 2004, he played regularly up until mid-January, appearing in 22 matches. He didnÆt play a minute after that.
ôItÆs cut-throat,ö he says. ôYou have to keep your head on straight and when you get a chance to play, try to keep your spot.ö
The surprises continued. At the conclusion of the English league season, he joined the U.S. team for a friendly with England and qualifiers against Costa Rica and Panama. Changes were afoot at Reading. Roughly half of the first-team players were jettisoned. Combined, they had played 199 games.
ôThey cut 10 guys,ö he remembers in astonishment. ôHow does that happen? We only had 19 players on the roster, and after the cuts we have nine. It was unbelievable. ItÆs weird; itÆs different over there. ItÆs straight business. ItÆs not as nice as it is in America.
ôEverything changes so quickly. We had guys that played last year ù played all the time ù that they cut.''
Also booted were a couple of big names who were contributing little, ex-England internationals Martin Keown and Les Ferdinand. Both were in their late 30s and showing their age.
ôThey were nice dudes but they didnÆt want to be there,ö says Convey. ôThey were just getting paid. Martin wanted to be the coach.ö
Fortunately for Convey, Manager Steve Coppell retained both his job and Convey, mindful that the American international had youth, a nearly limitless work ethic, and that always-valuable ability to play wide.
ôHeÆs had a lot more time there and heÆs settling in ù thatÆs a club that has ambitions,ö says Payne of Reading, which plays in Madejski Stadium, named after ambitious chairman John Madejski, who spent $90 million on the facility that opened in August 1998. ôTheyÆve spent a lot of money on their team and on their stadium, and they want to be in the Premiership.ö
Convey skipped the Gold Cup to train with Reading in its preseason and for the past few months has been able to serve both club and country. For the USA, heÆs produced flashbacks of those scintillating showings at the 2003 U-20 world championship, such as a run and cross that set up the only goal against T&T and a searing low shot in the same game brilliantly turned away by the T&T keeper Kelvin Jack.
For Reading, Convey started every match, and scoring two goals in a 5-0 romp over Millwall didnÆt earn as much praise as the crosses and dead balls that produced several goals in other matches.
ôDo I play for my national team or my club team?ö he says of the occasional conflicts. ôSomehow itÆs my fault, but itÆs just difficult. If IÆm good enough to play for both, they hold it against you.ö
Through his play, Convey answered the questions that were swirling around him last spring after his callup and appearance against England despite not having played in England in the past four months. ôSome of my [Reading] teammates called me and said, æHow can you play against England and not play for us?Æö says Convey. ôThis year, IÆve grown up a lot by being over there. IÆm not a person that gets homesick. IÆve been gone from home since I was young. I want to play wherever IÆm going to be.ö
This article originally appeared in the October 17, 2005 issue of Soccer America Magazine. á