Clint Dempsey and Robbie Keane are among 20 former players selected as finalists for election into the National Soccer Hall of Fame's Class of 2022, it was announced Tuesday night.
Both players are finalists in their first year of eligibility, and they join 10 on the Veteran ballot and four on the Builder ballot. The Hall of Fame Selection Committees will select as many as three players, two veterans and one builder for a class that will be inducted on May 21.
Dempsey was a two-time MLS Best XI selection during a nine-year MLS career that included a start with the New England Revolution, where he was named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2004. It ended with the Seattle Sounders, where he won an MLS Cup and US Open Cup.
Dempsey also played eight seasons in the Premier League, for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. He's one of the US men’s national team's greatest goalscorers, tied with Landon Donovan at the time of his retirement with a USMNT-best 57 career goals in his 141 appearances.
Keane is arguably the greatest Designated Player signing in league history, earning four MLS Best XI selections in his six seasons with the LA Galaxy. The former Republic of Ireland international scored 92 goals in 146 MLS matches – regular season and playoffs – and helped lead the Galaxy to MLS Cup titles in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The two Players, one Veteran and one Builder who receive the most votes and are named on more than 50 percent of the ballots are automatically elected to the Hall of Fame. Procedural changes announced earlier this year also allow for a third Player and a second Veteran to be elected if they are named to at least 75 percent of the ballots.
Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff, Real Salt Lake interim coach Pablo Mastroeni and Inter Miami CF co-owner and president of soccer operations David Beckham were also nominated on the Player ballot.
Check out all the nominees below:
Player Ballot Finalists
- David Beckham
- Shannon Boxx
- Lori Chalupny
- Brian Ching
- Clint Dempsey
- Maurice Edu
- Thierry Henry
- Lauren Cheney Holiday
- Eddie Johnson
- Shalrie Joseph
- Robbie Keane
- Pablo Mastroeni
- Josh McKinney
- Heather Mitts
- Oguchi Onyewu
- Carlos Ruiz
- Hope Solo
- Aly Wagner
- Cat Reddick Whitehill
- Josh Wolff
Veteran Ballot Finalists
- Chris Armas
- Chico Borja
- Marco Etcheverry
- Linda Hamilton
- Mary Harvey
- Frankie Hejduk
- Clint Mathis
- Tony Sanneh
- Kate Sobrero Markgraf
- Tisha Venturini-Hoch
Builder Ballot Finalists
- Esse Baharmast
- Brian Hall
- Sandra Hunt
- Kari Seitz
