Under The Spotlight… Eddie Lewis

The first American player to appear in the Leeds United line up, Eddie Lewis was born in May 1974, in Cerritos California.

Lewis started his football career playing college soccer in the USA. He played for the UCLA college team, and became their top scorer in 1995. A year later, Lewis joined the San Jose Earthquakes, earning his place in the MLS best XI in 1999.

The midfielder?s move to English football occurred in 2000, when he signed for Fulham for £2m, at the time the now premiership side were in the old first division. Lewis spent three seasons with Fulham but he did not make much of an imprint on the club, especially in his third year by which time they had reached the premiership.

In 2002, Lewis moved to Preston North End for £500,000, were he stayed for 3 years, and thankfully his time with the club proved to be much more successful.

In June 2005, he finally caught the eye of White?s manager Kevin Blackwell, and transferred to Leeds United. Lewis has been an asset to the championship outfit since his arrival, and he?s proved to be a very skilful midfielder.

On an international level, Lewis has over 60 caps for the US national team. He made his debut on October 16th 1996, against Peru, and played an important role for the US in the 2002 World Cup. Nowadays however, competition for the role of left midfield has meant Lewis has moved to left back. He has welcomed the move with open arms and is now looking forward to securing his place in the team for the up and coming world cup.