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Frank Simek
Personal information
Full name	Franklin Michael Simek
Date of birth	October 13, 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1996–2003	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team
2003–2005	Arsenal
2004	→ Queens Park Rangers (loan)
2005	→ AFC Bournemouth (loan)
2005–2010	Sheffield Wednesday
2010–2013	Carlisle United
Total
International career
2002–2003	United States U20
2007	United States
Medal record
Representing United States
Men's Soccer
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Franklin Michael "Frank" Simek (born October 13, 1984) is an American former soccer player.

Playing career

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Simek played soccer as a child in the United States but did not think of the game as a career until his family moved to London after his father was assigned to a position at the English office of Anheuser-Busch when Frank was 12.^[2] He was signed by Arsenal to a development contract, but decided to move back to St. Louis, where he played at Saint Louis University High School, as well as Metro F.C., then under the direction of Dave Fernandez and Dale Schilly. However, during this time Arsenal called him back to play on the youth team.^[3]^[4]

While at Arsenal he rose to assume the captaincy of the reserve side, but had difficulty breaking into the first team; he found himself behind Lauren, Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Eboué and Justin Hoyte in the pecking order. He played a single match for Arsenal, in the League Cup against Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 2, 2003.^[5]

Sheffield Wednesday

Simek joined the Owls on a free transfer from Arsenal in the summer of 2005^[6] and made his Sheffield Wednesday debut on the opening day of the 2005–06 season away at Stoke City.^[6] He went on to win a regular starting spot, ousting fan-favorite Lee Bullen from his preferred right-back position.^[2] Simek scored his first goal in his first season at Wednesday away at Millwall. The goal gave the Owls a 1–0 win and helped them in their battle against relegation. Simek then managed to get his first home goal against Colchester in the 2006–2007. Simek had managed to gain a regular first team place at Hillsborough became a crowd favorite for his tough tackling and powerful running.^[2]^[5]

Simek signed a new contract with Sheffield Wednesday on July 26, 2007. The contract will see him remain at Hillsborough until 2010.

Simek suffered a serious ankle injury playing against Crystal Palace in December 2007.^[7] The injury kept him out of the Wednesday first team for over ten months. He made a slow return with a number of reserve team appearances^[8] followed by an appearance on the substitutes bench against Birmingham City on October 25, 2008,^[9] and then finally a return to first team three days later when he came on as a substitute against Plymouth.^[10]

Carlisle United

Simek signed for Carlisle United on a 2-year contract and joined the squad on July 1, 2010.^[11] He was an ever-present part in the United team, apart from the start of the 2011–12 season in which he suffered an injury that left him out of action for 5 months. Replacements such as James Tavernier and Christian Ribeiro filled the right-back position in Simek's absence but upon his recovery he instantly earned his place in the Carlisle team yet again. In July 2012, Simek signed a new one-year deal with Carlisle United, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2013.^[12]

Honors

Carlisle United

Football League Trophy: 2010–11^[13]

United States

CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2007^[14]

References

^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Mainstream Publishing. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-84596-474-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Simek a transfer target for Premiership teams". ESPN FC. June 1, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Frank Simek". American Soccer Now. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Frank Simek – USMNT". US Soccer Players. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Frank Simek – The ex-Arsenal starlet aiming to embarrass Tottenham Hotspur". HITC Sport. September 26, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Frank Simek". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Simek has no deadline for return". BBC Sport. July 9, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Simek set for Owls return". Vital Football. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Simek poised to return". No Short Corners. October 27, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Ex-Arsenal man who made debut on historic Fabregas moment on verge of deal in US". HITC Sport. May 16, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Carlisle United swoop for defender Frank Simek". BBC Sport. July 1, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "Frank Simek signs one-year Carlisle United deal". BBC Sport. July 3, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
^ "Brentford 0–1 Carlisle". BBC Sport. April 3, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
^ "2007 Gold Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2014.