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Join Goal.com in saluting another player worthy of global recognition

Welcome to Goal.com's regular feature: Goal.com World Player of the Week. Each week our worldwide team of editors will put forward a selected candidate, as chosen by Goal.com International, who deserves recognition for achieving something special that matchday. It won't necessarily be the best player in the world - at least not usually - but whoever we nominate will have accomplished something amazing. It might be for a particularly awesome performance or for something praiseworthy off the pitch - either way, the person in question deserves special attention...

Goal.com World Player of the Week #138: Clint Dempsey
Club: Fulham
Country: USA
Age: 28
Role: Midfielder
Achievement: Scored a hat-trick against Charlton Athletic

Clint Dempsey is one of the USA’s finest exports and the Fulham midfielder showcased that in two different competitions in England over the past week.

The 28-year-old was not the central cog in Fulham’s 2-1 comeback victory over 10-man Arsenal at Craven Cottage but he still was crucial in midfield for the Cottagers.

Then at the weekend, Dempsey starred in their 4-0 win against Charlton Athletic as he scored thrice to lead Martin Jol’s team to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

It was also Dempsey’s first hat-trick as a professional and he was understandably pleased with it, revealing to Goal.com exclusively: “It’s nice because I can say I’ve done it.

“I’ve come close a lot of times, but I’ve just managed two goals as the highest (in any one game) and I’ve done that quite a few times now.

"It’s good to reach that milestone and hopefully there will be more to come.”

Congratulations to Clint Dempsey, Goal.com's 138th World Player of the Week!
 

Honourable Mentions

Demba Ba - Newcastle United

Newcastle United registered a famous 3-0 victory over Manchester United in the Premier League last week and the man central to that triumph was a certain Demba Ba. He was a constant threat to the Red Devils’ defence and capped his performance with a brilliant strike.

Joe Cole - Lille

Joe Cole has revived himself since moving to Lille on loan from Liverpool in the summer. The English midfielder scored the first hat-trick of his career in Lille’s 6-0 victory over sixth division side Chantilly to help his side reach the Coupe de France last 32. Cole scored in the 22nd, 59th and 65th minutes.

Stevan Jovetic - Fiorentina

Stevan Jovetic is rated as one of the most promising players in Italy and the Montenegro international forward continued his progress. Over the weekend, he scored two goals, one from the penalty spot, in Fiorentina’s 3-0 away win against Novara in Serie A. It was the Viola’s first win in four matches.

Jordan Rhodes - Huddersfield Town

Jordan Rhodes continued his unbelievable scoring record with five goals for Huddersfield Town in their 6-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers on Friday. He has now netted 25 League One goals and has also scored very frequently for the Scotland U21 side.

Matt Simon - Central Coast

In the A-League, Matt Simon scored an emotional double on Wednesday in his farewell game for Central Coast before heading off to South Korea on Thursday to join Chunnam Dragons. The Mariners defeated Melbourne Victory 2-0 with Simon grabbing the opener inside the first 20 seconds. He said after the game that he could not have dreamt of a better farewell.

Leave your notes of congratulations for Clint Dempsey below, or discuss who else deserves a place in the spotlight this week...