Robert Francis Convey (; born May 27, 1983) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who last played for

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. In addition to several MLS clubs, Convey spent five years in England with

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, whom he helped into the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

for the first time. He played in 46 international matches for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and made their squads for the 2003 Gold Cup and

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

Career

Youth

Convey attended the

William Penn Charter School William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and played club soccer for the Philadelphia Soccer Club Coppa. He was a member of the initial class of the Bradenton Academy that also included current and former national team members

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor fo ...

Oguchi Onyewu Oguchialu Chijioke Onyewu (born May 13, 1982) is an American former soccer player who is the secretary-general of R.E. Virton. He was previously the sporting director for Orlando City B. During his professional career, he played as a defender ...

and

DaMarcus Beasley DaMarcus Lamont Beasley (; born May 24, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. A left-footed player, Beasley played both as a left winger and left wingback throughout his career. He retired from soccer after the 2019 MLS Season. ...

. Together they helped lead the Under-17 squad to a fourth-place finish in the 1999 U-17 World Cup in New Zealand.

Professional

D.C. United

Convey was drafted in 2000 in the first round by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. That year, he became the youngest player ever signed by MLS. Convey was originally slated to play the majority of the season with the

Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

squad; however, as United faltered he was called upon to step in and perform almost immediately. He played 22 games for United in 2000, starting 18 of those. Convey entered his first game in United's 4–0 loss to

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

in the home opener at

Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...

on March 25, 2000, and was awarded his first start in United's 2–1 loss at the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

on May 3, 2000. It was not until July 4, 2000, against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

that Convey served up

Raúl Díaz Arce Raúl Díaz Arce (born February 1, 1970 in San Miguel, El Salvador) is a Salvadoran former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is El Salvador's most prolific goal scorer, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances. Playing career 1 ...

at the far post for a header past a helpless David Kramer. The teenager also was impressive against English

side

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, when the Magpies visited D.C. during a pre-season training stint in the US. Convey's two assists and high work rate during that friendly were enough to draw the attention of Newcastle's famed manager

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

. In four and a half seasons in MLS, Convey finished with eight goals and 16 assists.

Reading

Convey looked set to move to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

of the

in the summer of 2003, when the London club agreed to a $3 million move with MLS, but the transfer stalled when his work permit application was denied due to his lack of appearances with the senior national team. Then, on July 22, 2004, after five seasons with D.C. United, Convey signed a three-year contract with

, who were then playing in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. His transfer fee was around £900,000, the highest paid by Reading up to that date. Convey made his début for his new club in a 1–0 loss away to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, coming on as a substitute. He made his first start a few days later during a 1–0 Reading victory over

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

on August 14, 2004. However, the start of his career in England lacked distinction, as Convey made only seven starts and 15 substitute appearances during the 2004–05 season. Convey entered the 2005–06 season in much better form, with a starting place in the team, and he helped the Royals win the Championship title setting a new English record of 106 points in 46 games to gain promotion to the

for the 2006–07 season. Convey's first goals for the club came during a 5–0 victory over

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. Convey's first season in the Premier League started with Reading's 3–2 win over

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

on August 19, 2006. However, Convey missed much of the remainder of the season following a training ground injury in October 2006 and subsequent knee operations. He returned from injury on July 28, 2007, playing the first half in a pre-season friendly match against

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, appearing "comfortable and in good shape", according to the team's match report. He returned to competitive football for Reading in the club's 1–0 victory over Everton on August 18, 2007. On February 6, 2009, Convey and Reading reached a mutual agreement on Convey's release from the club.

San Jose Earthquakes

Four days after being released by Reading, Convey returned to MLS, signing with the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. He scored his first goal for the Quakes on April 11, 2009, against the Chicago Fire, while playing left-back. In 2010, Convey recorded 10 assists and was given the

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award MLS Comeback Player of the Year is a Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The ...

. After a fractious relationship with manager

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach. Yallop is currently the head coach and sporting director of USL Championship side Monterey Bay FC. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich, including the ...

, it was announced that Convey would not be returning to San Jose for the 2012 season. In his three seasons at the club, Convey appeared in 75 league matches and scored three goals.

Sporting Kansas City

On December 2, 2011,

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

announced that it had acquired Convey in exchange for use of an international roster slot during the 2012 season.

Toronto FC

On May 16, 2013,

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

announced that it had acquired Convey from Sporting KC in exchange for a third round pick in the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center ...

. In his only season in Toronto Convey appeared in 21 matches and tallied 1 goal and 4 assists.

New York Red Bulls

On December 13, 2013, Convey was traded to New York along with a

second-round pick in exchange for a

first-round pick and a

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

third-round pick. After an injury-plagued 2014 season, Convey's 2015 contract option was declined by New York on December 2, 2014. Convey subsequently retired without making an announcement, but in 2017, he claimed that he was suffering from

Asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

attacks, which left him fighting for his life. On his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account, he posted: "I retired from soccer and didn't really talk about it as it was just kind of forced upon me and extremely depressing at times...I have had 2 separate surgeries and 4 separate hospitalizations since I retired 2 seasons ago...This morning I was almost unconscious being physically carried out of my house to the ambulance by four firefighters to the hospital where they cut my clothes off to administer four breathing treatments and three separate

steroid injections A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...

as my airways were completely closed up...The doctor said I was way too close this time."

International

Convey received his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the senior

team on October 25, 2000, against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, becoming the third-youngest player in US history to do so. Convey captained the under-20 team at the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. U20 Brazil claimed their fourth title. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested. The tournament was originally planned to be ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. He was named to the 23-man squad for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

in Germany, wearing number 15. It was his slicing free kick that resulted in the

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

against Italy which settled the outcome of the 1–1 draw. He and teammate

Marcus Hahnemann Marcus Stephen Hahnemann (born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Graduating out of Seattle Pacific University, he played for the Seattle Sounders between 1994 and 1996. Between 1997 and ...

were the first Reading players to play in the World Cup. He played in all three games as the United States exited in the first round. Convey earned 46 caps and scored one goal for the United States national team from 2000 to 2008.

International goals

Personal life

Convey is partially blind in his left eye due to

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...

damage.

Honors

;Reading *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

: 2005–06 ;Sporting Kansas City *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

;Individual *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Best XI (Reserves):

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Career statistics

*1.Includes MLS Cup playoffs

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Convey, Bobby 1983 births Living people 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players American soccer players American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in England D.C. United players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football wingers Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars MLS Pro-40 players New York Red Bulls players Premier League players Reading F.C. players San Jose Earthquakes players Sporting Kansas City players Sportspeople with a vision impairment Soccer players from Philadelphia Toronto FC players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players D.C. United draft picks William Penn Charter School alumni