Demitrius Omphroy
Birth nameDemitrius Irving Tolentino Omphroy
Birth dateMay 30, 1989 (age 37)
Birth placeAlameda, California, United States
FieldPainting
TrainingUniversity of California Berkeley
MovementContemporary expressionism
Demitrius Omphroy
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
PositionDefender, midfielder
Youthyears 12005–2007
Youthclubs 1Sporting CP
Collegeyears 12007–2010
College 1California Golden Bears
Collegecaps 170
Collegegoals 16
Years 32011
Clubs 3Toronto FC
Caps 34
Goals 32
Years 42012
Clubs 4Global FC
Caps 47
Goals 44
Nationalyears 12005
Nationalteam 1United States U17
Nationalcaps 13
Nationalgoals 11
Nationalyears 22010
Nationalteam 2Panama U21
Nationalcaps 23
Nationalgoals 20
Nationalyears 32012
Nationalteam 3Philippines
Nationalcaps 37
Nationalgoals 33
Club-updateDecember 2012
Ntupdate13:20, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Demitrius Irving Tolentino Omphroy (born May 30, 1989) is a painter with a contemporary expressionistic style and a former footballer who played as a defender and a midfielder. Born and raised in the United States, which he represented at under-17 level, he is also a citizen of Panama and the Philippines through descent. He played for the former at under–21 level and for the latter at senior level. He also appeared in the Major League Soccer.

Career

College and amateur

Omphroy played with Sporting Clube de Portugal Academy Juniores at age 17. He returned to the U.S. and played four years of college soccer for the University of California, Berkeley. During his college career, he also played for the San Francisco Seals in the USL Premier Development League,[1] and for National Premier Soccer League club Bay Area Ambassadors.[2]

Professional

Omphroy was selected by Toronto FC in the second round (26th overall) of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.[3] He was officially signed by Toronto FC on March 16, 2011.[4] Omphroy made his debut for Toronto June 29 as a second half sub for Joao Plata in a 1–0 home victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[5] Originally a right back, Omphroy was moved to the forward position after a few games with Toronto FC.[6]

Omphroy was waived by Toronto on November 23, 2011.[7]

In September 2012, he signed up for Filipino side Global FC for the 2012–2013 season.[8] His first appearance in the club was on October 20, 2012, coming off the bench against Philippine Navy where they won, 4–0 in the group stage of 2012 UFL Cup.[9] He then scored against Kaya in the 33rd minute to help the club secure a win in 2–1 scoreline and advance to the semi-finals.[10]

International

Omphroy represented the United States at under-18 level. In June 2010 Omphroy was selected by Julio Dely Valdés to play for the Panama under-21 national team in qualifiers for the Central American Games.[11]

In August 2012 he was called up to the Philippines, and was featured in a friendly match with USL PDL club Chicago Inferno which ended in a 1–3 loss.[12] He made his first official appearance coming off the bench in a 1–0 win to Guam at the 2012 Philippine Peace Cup.[13]

Personal

Omphroy's parents were born in the United States, like him.[14] His father was the son of a Panamanian man and a German woman; his mother, the daughter of a Filipino couple.[15]

He has multiple sclerosis, which was first discovered having as a result of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in February 2010. He had initially experienced vision problems and numbness in his foot while with Sporting Clube de Portugal Academy Juniores. The symptoms, which later included neck pain, precluded him from signing his first professional contract with Sporting and forced him to return to the United States for medical attention. Toronto FC had no knowledge of his condition when they drafted him. Part of Omphroy's ongoing treatment is daily self-injections of Copaxone.[16]

Omphroy appeared in the music video for the song "Boyfriend" by Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.[17]

References

  1. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  2. ^ "Demitrius Omphroy profile". National Premier Soccer League. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  3. ^ "2011 MLS SuperDraft Tracker". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  4. ^ "Omphroy Officially Signs". TorontoFC.ca. Toronto FC. 16 March 2011. Archived April 7, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Soolsma lifts Toronto FC over Whitecaps". CBC Sports. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  6. ^ Bottjer, Steve (12 October 2011). "Move forward exciting for Omphroy". rednationonline.ca. Red Nation (Canada's Online Soccer Magazine). Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  7. ^ Prince-Wright, Joe (23 November 2011). "Players waived as teams begin to shape rosters for 2012". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer Network. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  8. ^ Salonga, Jady (19 September 2012). "Players waived as teams begin to shape rosters for 2012". SoccerCentralPH.com. Soccer Central Philippines. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Phil. Navy FC 0 - 4 Global FC". UFLphilippines.com.ph. UFL Philippines. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Kaya FC 1 - 2 Global FC". UFLphilippines.com.ph. UFL Philippines. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Demitrius Omphroy Invited to Panama U-21 National Team Camp". CalBears.com. University of California, Berkeley. 2010-05-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04.
  12. ^ "Chicago Too Much Of An Inferno For Philippines". AseanFootball.org. ASEAN Football Federation. 2012-08-12. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  13. ^ "Match summary - Philippines v Guam". azkalsfootballteam.com. The Philippine Men's National Football Team Official Website. 2012-09-25. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  14. ^ Dominguez F., Jose Miguel (2010-06-02). "Entrenamiento. Demitrius Omphroy quiere entrar en la sub-21" (in Spanish). PA-Digital.com. Panama America. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  15. ^ "About Me | Demitrius Omphroy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2012.
  16. ^ Bell, Jack. "Rookie Endures Multiple Sclerosis," The New York Times, Tuesday, March 29, 2011.
  17. ^ Tordecilla, Jaemark. "New Azkals player Demitrius Omphroy starred in Justin Bieber's 'Boyfriend' video". Archived 2012-11-29 at the Wayback Machine InterAksyon.com. 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2012-12-13.