"I just remember calling my wife and my mom and almost wanting to break down in tears because it was a tough time. Going into that last day and night there were still a lot of question marks. It wasn't clear-cut this was going to happen. Some other things came up and you're going through that struggle, which was not fun for anybody. It was difficult for Fulham and for me, not knowing how it's going to end."

-- Clint Dempsey on the prolonged transfer process from Fulham that ended with Tottenham Hotspur signing the U.S. attacker one hour before the transfer window closed last Friday, for a fee of $9.5 million. (SI.com)