American soccer player
Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is a former soccer player who played as a striker or a midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in 2005, with the majority of the years spent in the Netherlands, the country of his birth. Stewart also represented the United States in international soccer.
Since his retirement from professional soccer, Stewart has served as a soccer executive in various positions for multiple organizations. He is currently the director of football for PSV Eindhoven.[3]
In 2011, Stewart was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[4]
Early life and education
Earnie Stewart is the son of U.S. Air Force airman Earnie Stewart Sr. and his wife Annemien, Stewart grew up in Uden, the Netherlands.
Playing career
Stewart began his professional career in the Netherlands in 1988 with VVV-Venlo. By the end of 1990, he made his first appearance for the United States national team against Portugal.
In his first season at Willem II, he finished third on the goal-scoring list for the Dutch First Division with 17. He went on to score 49 goals in six seasons there. In the meantime, he became a regular for the United States national team, starting all four games that the United States played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Most notably, he scored the goal that gave the United States its winning margin against Colombia in the group stage, the first World Cup game won by the United States since 1950.
By 1996, Stewart had moved to NAC Breda, eventually spending more than six seasons there. NAC was relegated in 1999, but Stewart helped the club win the First Division in 2000, thereby earning promotion back to the Eredivisie. During his years at NAC, he also played in all of the United States team's matches at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, becoming one of only five American men to play at three World Cups.
In January 2003, he left the Netherlands to play in Major League Soccer, and was allocated to D.C. United, where he won the MLS Cup in his second season. His scoring numbers did not equal his earlier high standards, as he tallied just four regular season goals and one playoff goal in MLS. He left D.C. after the 2004 season, coming back to the Netherlands and his original club, VVV-Venlo, where he became technical director following his retirement in 2005.
Stewart became the eighth American man to make his 100th international appearance in a 2004 World Cup qualifier against Grenada. His 111 goals as a professional in the Netherlands makes him the highest-scoring American in international club play. He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2001.
Post-playing career
On May 14, 2006, Earnie Stewart was named technical director of NAC Breda.
He was appointed as AZ Alkmaar's director of football affairs in June 2010. The 41-year-old succeeded Marcel Brands, who left AZ for PSV. Stewart left his post as technical director at NAC Breda by mutual consent.[5]
One of Stewart's long-term goal was to returning to United States as an soccer executive: "One ambition I do have is to go back to the United States and to be of importance to soccer."[6]
Stewart accomplished that goal on October 26, 2015, when the Philadelphia Union officially announced that Stewart would take on the role of sporting director for the club.[7]
On June 6, 2018, Stewart was named general manager of the United States men's national team.[8]
On August 12, 2019, Stewart was promoted to the position of sporting director of the United States Soccer Federation.[9]
On January 26, 2023, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that Stewart would be departing and would be joining PSV as the new technical director for the club. Stewart remained with U.S. Soccer until February 15, 2023, to assist with a peaceful transition to the next sporting director.[10]
