Eddie Johnson is a professional football player, who was born on March 31, 1984 in Bunnell, Florida, the United States. He has two siblings, an older sister, Shaunta, and a younger brother, Cecil Hubbert. Eddie Johnson is married and has a daughter named Zoe Baker-Johnson. He went to Flagler Palm Coast High School in Florida, and as a freshman helped his school football team to a 26-5-1 record and finished as the District’s leading goal scorer. Owing to his commendable performances, he was named to the All-State teams.
As a U-17 player of the United States national football team, Eddie Johnson has scored 23 goals in 25 matches. He became the top scorer at the 2001 Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifying tournament.
In the 2003 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Youth Championship matches, Eddie Johnson was in his best form and scored four goals for his nation. For his top scoring ability, he won the tournament’s Golden Shoe and became the youngest player to achieve that feat in Major League Soccer (MLS) history. He became the first United States’ player to win the award and was also named to the 20-player FIFA World Youth Championship All-Star Team. Having represented the United States youth national team in the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels and showcasing his unmatched football skills, Eddie Johnson got the 2004 Young Male Athlete of the Year. As a first team player, Eddie Johnson netted his first senior goal against El Salvador in a World Cup qualifying match on October 9, 2004.
By scoring a hat-trick against Panama within a 17-minute span, Eddie Johnson made a total of 7 goals out of his 6 appearances in the World Cup 2006 qualifiers. As of 2008, this talented striker has scored 12 goals in 36 senior team appearances for the United States.
Trained at the Bradenton Academy, Eddie Johnson proved his mettle as the youngest player to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS) and was drafted as a Project-40 player in the second round of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by Dallas Burn, a football club in the United States, now known as FC Dallas. Between 2001 and 2006, he played 84 matches for the club and scored 24 goals.
On February 14, 2006, Eddie Johnson was transferred to the Kansas City Wizards and scored 2 hat-tricks, first one against the New England Revolution F.C. on May 26, 2007 and the other against the New York Red Bulls on June 2, 2007. After this remarkable feat, he became the first player in the MLS games to ever score back-to-back hat-tricks. Eddie Johnson has scored 17 goals in 43 matches with the Kansas City Wizards before moving to the English Premier League side, Fulham on January 23, 2008.
Eddie Johnson was sent on a loan to the Cardiff City club for the 2008-09 season. In his debut match for the club, Eddie Johnson played well and witnessed his team’s victory over Milton Keynes Dons at the Carling Cup.
Eddie Johnson has featured in ESPN The Magazine’s 2006 ‘Next’ issue, which showcases upcoming athletes from various field of sports.
