Robert Francis "Bobby" Convey (/ˈkɒnvi/; born May 27, 1983) is an American soccer player who plays for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer.

 

Career

Youth

Convey attended the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, played club soccer for the Philadelphia Soccer Club Coppa,. He was a member of the initial class of the Bradenton Academy that also included current national team members Landon Donovan, Oguchi Onyewu and DaMarcus Beasley. Together they helped lead the Under-17 Squad to a fourth-place finish in the 1999 U-17 World Cup in New Zealand.
 

Professional

D.C. United

Convey was drafted in 2000 by D.C. United of Major League Soccer. That year, he became the youngest player ever signed by MLS. Convey was originally slated to play the majority of the season with the Project-40 squad; however, as United faltered he was called upon to step in and perform almost immediately. He played 22 games for United in 2000, starting 18 of those.

Convey entered his first game in United's 4–0 loss to Los Angeles Galaxy in the home opener at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on March 25, 2000 and was awarded his first start in United's 2–1 loss at the Columbus Crew on May 3, 2000. It was not until July 4, 2000 against the Colorado Rapids that Convey served up Raúl Díaz Arce at the far post for a header past a helpless David Kramer. The teenager also was impressive against English Premier League side Newcastle United, when the Magpies visited D.C. during a pre-season training stint in the US. Convey's two assists and high work rate during that friendly were enough to draw the attention of Newcastle's famed manager Bobby Robson. In four and a half seasons in MLS, Convey finished with eight goals and 16 assists.
 

Reading

Convey looked set to move to Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League in the summer of 2003, when the London club agreed to a $3 million move with MLS, but the transfer stalled when his work permit application was denied due to his lack of appearances with the senior national team. Then, on July 22, 2004, after five seasons with D.C. United, Convey signed a three-year contract  with Reading, who were then playing in the Championship, on the highest transfer fee paid by Reading up to that date.
 

Convey made his début for his new club in a 1–0 loss away to West Ham United, coming on as a substitute. He made his first start a few days later during a 1–0 Reading victory over Sheffield United on August 14, 2004. However, the start of his career in England lacked distinction, as Convey made only seven starts and 15 substitute appearances during the 2004–05 season.
 

Convey entered the 2005–06 season in much better form, with a starting place in the team, and he helped the Royals win the Championshp] title setting a new English record of 106 points in 46 games to gain promotion to the Premier League for the 2006–07 season. Convey's first goals for the club came during a 5–0 victory over Millwall.
 

Convey's first season in the Premier League started with Reading's 3-2 win over Middlesbrough on August 19, 2006.  However, Convey missed much of the remainder of the season following a training ground injury in October 2006 and subsequent knee operations. 
 

He returned from injury on July 28, 2007, playing the first half in a pre-season friendly match against Brighton, appearing "comfortable and in good shape", according to the team's match report. He returned to competitive football for Reading in the club's 1-0 victory over Everton on August 18, 2007.
 

On February 6, 2009, Convey and Reading reached a mutual agreement on Convey's release from the club. 
 

San Jose Earthquakes

Four days after being released by Reading, Convey returned to MLS, signing with the San Jose Earthquakes.  He scored his first goal for the Quakes on April 11, 2009, against the Chicago Fire, while playing left back. At halftime he said it was his first time playing left back in six years.
 

After a fractious relationship with manager Frank Yallop, it was announced that Convey wouldn't be returning to San Jose for the 2012 season. 
 

Sporting Kansas City

On December 2, 2011 Sporting Kansas City announced that it had acquired Convey in exchange for use of an international roster slot during the 2012 season. 
 

International

Convey received his first cap for the senior United States team on October 25, 2000 against Mexico, becoming the third youngest player in US history to do so. Convey captained the under-20 team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He was named to the 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, wearing number 15. It was his slicing free kick which resulted in the own goal against Italy which settled the outcome of the 1-1 tie. He and teammate Marcus Hahnemann were the first Reading players to play in the World Cup. He played in all three games as the United States exited in the first round. Convey earned 46 caps and scored one goal for the United States national team from 2000 to 2008