Since his record-breaking goal, Dempsey has scored twice more, including the tying goal against powerhouse Chelsea in a 1-1 tie on Dec. 26.

In the midst of this success, here comes Donovan, who had a strong three-month run with Everton in 2010 that has now prompted his return. But whereas the 29-year-old Donovan has spent much of his career in the United States, starring for first the San Jose Earthquakes and then the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, Dempsey has essentially been all-England, joining Fulham after playing only three seasons for the New England Revolution. And he gives no indication of wanting to go home despite the demands of playing in the Premier League, especially for a smaller club like Fulham.

“There’s more pressure on you game in and game out,” Dempsey recently told Fox Soccer about playing in what is widely considered the best league in the world. “It’s such a roller coaster. If you go on a bad run of form, after five or six games, you can find your manager fired. That’s something I didn’t see in M.L.S.”

Dempsey, a midfielder, has played under five managers in the five years he has spent in England, and each one has asked something different of him. The man who brought him to England, Chris Coleman, saw him as a right wing. Coleman’s successor, Lawrie Sanchez, wanted him as a striker. Roy Hodgson played him on the left, and Mark Hughes in all of the above. Dempsey’s current manager, Martin Jol, uses him in more of a roving role.

Dempsey’s diversity comes from playing in the dust outside his childhood home, a trailer in his grandparents’ backyard in Nacogdoches, Tex. The state may be a football hotbed, but Dempsey had Hispanic friends and grew up watching soccer.