signs with Columbus http://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2016/07/22/crew-sc-adds-us-youth-goalkeeper-zack-steffen
Whoa, out of nowhere. The good ol discovery claim. Probably a good move, Europe ain't going anywhere, he'll get looks if he performs well
Helpful to his national team chances if he can beat out Clark, which I think he can. Sure, being the only American keeper in the Bundesliga sounds nice, but not as much when you're the third-stringer on a team that will surely be in a relegation battle. Freiburg's starting keeper, Schwolow, just turned 24 and doesn't look to be displaced any time soon. And Freiburg II was relegated to the German 5th division, not exactly a great level for someone who desires to be with the USMNT. The post-Howard/Guzan/Rimando keeper roles are certainly still up for grabs, and with Horvath, Yarbrough, Bingham, and Hamid all being regular starters, Steffen likely felt he had to be one too.
Clark is a pretty good MLS GK, though he turns 31 next season and makes over 200K -- not that it's a crazy amount for a starter. Concussions ended Pacifici's season and Stuver is pretty untested at this level. If Steffen is as good as he is said to be, this could be a well-timed move for him and the Crew.
Clark may not be Iker Casillas, but he's also not the reason they aren't winning................................... That's a pretty standard salary for the non-star keepers in MLS, isn't it? Seitz probably makes about that much. I don't really get it. And if I'm Steffen I only make this move if I have some type of guarantee that I'll be allowed to compete for the #1 job.
Clark has talent but seems quite mistake-prone (both handling and ball at feet errors). I am honestly not sure if that perception is completely fair, but I don't think I'm the only one who has it. I think Steffen has a decent shot at beating out Clark, but it's not a guarantee. I don't see why he wouldn't be given a legit chance at the job.
Clark also signed a new contract before the 2015 season. No idea for how many years, but there must be some long-term planning going on here as well as short-term thinking.
Unless he becomes a starter by the end of this season, I really don't like the move at all. Something tells me they'll be selling Clark or trading him to fill in some holes on their roster.
Clark is pretty bad. Let's in a lot of soft goals. Steffen will be backup until end of the season. Possibly challenge for the starting role next season. Surprise for sure. Thought he was close to their 1st team at Freiburg.
What has Steffen done to prove that he's ready to take over the starting job? I see this as a long-term move. If he can take over this year, great. But more likely, Clark holds the job until/if Steffen is ready to take it.
wasn't Clark 1 of the best keepers in Norway a few years prior to his Columbus Crew? I recall him doing well but maybe that was 2014 or 2015. can't remember
so is Steffen moving as a no.2 or a challenger to Clark? If he's coming as no2 hows it any better than a no3 on a relegation fodder club in the Bundesliga? did he have any options for a loan?
I had high hopes for the guy. I thought he was both very athletic and fundamentally sound. Freiburg, obviously, doesn't think that. No one else in Bundesliga II thinks that either. His chances of getting to a Top 10 world league and thereby make a decent living at this craft are pretty much Lloyd Christmas's chances with Mary Swanson. Or, as Freddy Mercury once sang -
This is complete speculation but I doubt Steffen came back to the United States to play second fiddle... he might not start this season but I would imagine he would be their starter in 2017.
Columbus wouldn't have "guaranteed" the starter role to a kid that's never played a professional first team game before. They probably told him that he'd have an opportunity to COMPETE for the starting job. And for a keeper as young as Steffen, that's basically what you're looking for. The negativity from some about this move surprises me. Seriously, nobody has seen this player against adult professionals. Let's see him before making prognostications about his future potential. Also, he wasn't leaving Barcelona. He's leaving Freiburg for Christ's sake. There probably weren't even any Chipotle's in Freiburg. No reason to live there.
There's a place called Enchilada and another named Cancun. Good reviews too ... albeit not likely by anyone who ever had Tex-Mex.
Ridiculously fault logic and some incredibly poor assumptions here. It's not at all obvious that Friedberg or anyone else, didn't view him as athletic or fundamentally sound.
As always you are so right. The same story happened to that guy that I thought was so fast, great goalscorer and passer. He came back from Germany and disappeared. Probably lives somewhere in a trailer park. Don Ovan or something like that.
Well, the Union did. How can a team "discover" a player that was a homegrown product of another team? In MLS they can! Kudos to Berhalter and staff. They filed a discovery claim on him in 2015, thereby claiming him if he chose to come back to the states. That whole discovery process is silly. However, clubs can use that system to acquire talent and gain an advantage. Well done. So the argument about "why go to Columbus!!?" misses the point. He apparently wanted to come back to the states, and Columbus was where he could go. This wasn't really his choice per se. More details, and the view from Philadelphia about this: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...-goalkeeper-prospect-joins-Columbus-Crew.html This article helps remind us how effed up the Union were with their goalkeeping position (and in general under Nick Sakiewicz). Worth reading just for the sheer entertainment value. Also confirms that at the time of his departure, Steffen hadn't spent enough time with the Union to be homegrown eligible. Of course that's not really an issue. The Union apparently didn't bother to really invest in keeping him around, because Nick was so proud of already having "three of the best keepers in the league" at the club. Never mind that having three of the best keepers in the league is a complete waste of resources in a salary-capped league.