Convey ready for World Cup
HAMBURG, Germany – The Beatles got their start in Hamburg and Bobby Convey, with his wavy mop-top, could have fit right in.
With his long, penetrating runs down the left side of the field, he was among the more impressive players during the United States’ three World Cup warmups. And now, just days past his 23rd birthday, he might get a start in the tournament opener against the Czech Republic next Monday.
Long before Freddy Adu, Convey was the youngest player in MLS, just 16 when he signed with D.C. United in 2000 after he was drafted from Penn Charter High School. He was the youngest player on the U.S. roster for the 1999 FIFA Under-17 World Championship, where he was teammates with Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu – all likely starters for the World Cup opener.
“He’s doing all the moves and everything that he used to do when was younger, and taking people on,” his mother, Nancy Convey, said from Philadelphia. “He’s just got so much confidence in himself now. It’s just great.”
After helping the United States to a fourth-place finish at the 1999 Under-17s, he signed with MLS and moved in with D.C. United president Kevin Payne, staying there for nearly two years. The transition to full-time professional wasn’t easy.
He made 18 starts in his first season, scored one goal in 2001, then led the team with five the following year. In 2003, he tried to transfer to England’s Tottenham Hotspur, a move that fell through because he was denied a work permit. But in mid-2004 he moved to Reading, which played in England’s No. 2 league.
“He wanted things to happen a little too quickly,” Payne said. “I’ve seen this with Freddy, too. He couldn’t be quite satisfied where he was. His mind was always on the next place he was going.”
At Reading, Convey joined the team just before the start of the 2004-05 season. He played in just 18 league and four cup games, and didn’t score any goals.
After the World Cup qualifier against Panama, he trained with Reading during the preseason instead of staying with the U.S. team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Convey scored seven goals as Reading finished first and won promotion to the Premier League, joining the top level of English soccer for the first time since the club was founded in 1871.
Convey said the experience caused him to grow.
“When you get used to playing in front of 20, 25, 30,000 people, you don’t get nervous anymore,” he said. “It’s just another level of – I wouldn’t say pressure – but there’s another level you have to step up to because you are under the microscope every day, every week.”