Zachary Steinberger in Slovakia

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad' started by Dave Marino-Nachison, May 19, 2009.

  1. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Here's an interesting one -- seems he might be with MFK Kosice:

    Okrem Srbov Nemanju Matiča a Marka Milinkoviča v seniorskom tíme, medzi mládežníkmi MFK Košice je až päť zahraničných futbalistov. Brazílčania Carlos Ferreira a Dionatan Teixeira prišli do Košíc vlani v lete - najprv sa rozohrávali v doraste, no teraz už kmeňovo patria do seniorského „béčka“, v ktorom je aj Uroš Matič, mladší brat Nemanju Matiča. Teraz v zime pribudol do našich dorasteneckých kádrov ďalší Brazílčan Jorge Junior Balbino a Američan Zachary Steinberger. ​

    I'm not sure exactly when that's from.

    http://www.mfkkosice.sk/c/portal_pu...rticle_version=1.0&_15_cmd=articleCountUpdate

    He appears to be a 92 who has played with the IMG team (alongside, it seems, Middlesbrough academy player and U18 pool member Patrick Otte, as well as Germany-based Dominique Close):

    http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_3440644.html
     
  2. USvsIRELAND

    USvsIRELAND Member+

    Jul 19, 2004
    ATL
    Wow don't often see Young Yanks with no connection to a less soccer-popular (England, Germany, Mexico)country playing there. Steinberger definitely isn't a Slovakian name. I guess his mom could be from there.
     
  3. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
  4. arsenalfc08

    arsenalfc08 Member

    Mar 14, 2005
    A very bad google translation. From what I can gather he is still with the club.

    Zachary Steinberger, which is part of the spring season 2008/09 he worked in youth cooperatives English football club MFK Kosice, remains to operate in the metropolis of the Eastern Republic.

    Delivered not only games but also to humanity. Mentally different from our Czech boys. It has a great desire to work for themselves and improve. It is good, even if our Slovak players see that Zachary Steinberger was willing to come from economically developed countries particularly from the other end of the world to Košice and appreciate what is in our conditions on the growth performance and better quality training than in the U.S.. Steinberger went for the half year, which is in Kosice, top performance, progress made game. His great desire is to revise our Senior A-Team "
     
  5. ASU55RR

    ASU55RR Member+

    Jul 31, 2004
    Brooklyn, NY/Brno,CZ
    Club:
    FC Zbrojovka Brno
    Nat'l Team:
    Czechia
    He played last Spring with the youth squads (U-17 last season according to MFK website), and they like his attitude. Not a whole lot else out there, but he did start several matches for U-17 just looking at some match reports. Košice had 3 US based players trial last summer, none of them stuck, but they must have some scouting connection. It's a very nice little city actually, that underwent extensive renovation during the Tatra Tiger years.
     
  6. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
  7. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
  8. Canadian_Supporter

    Staff Member

    Dec 20, 1999
    Prostějov, CR
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    He played with MFK Kosice U19's in their 4-2 victory over Dunajska Streda U19's last weekend.
     
  9. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
  10. smithfan

    smithfan Member+

    Aug 14, 2005
    Waimoana
    Club:
    Borussia Dortmund
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    He finished this season with Karlsruhe (played 20 games) but apparently he's going to move to another club and won't stay in Karlsruhe.
     
  11. dcpohl

    dcpohl Member+

    Feb 9, 2007
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  12. Winoman

    Winoman Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-O-De!

    Jul 26, 2000
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  13. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He probably never signed a pro contract. He never made it past Karlsruhe's U19 team.

    The NCAA is littered with players (usually not Americans) who washed out of Euro academies and decided to get an education instead. Sometimes they excel and wind up in the MLS draft.
     
  14. dcpohl

    dcpohl Member+

    Feb 9, 2007
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He most likely deemed that at this stage in his career a private school education was worth more than hacking it in Slovakia.
     
  15. Werdman89

    Werdman89 Member+

    May 27, 2008
    Boston, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Steinberger was drafted by Houston with the #8 overall pick in today's MLS SuperDraft

    #fullcircle
     
    The Irish Rover and chad repped this.
  16. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Good thing he went for that private school education!
     
  17. The Irish Rover

    The Irish Rover Member+

    Aug 1, 2010
    Dublin
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Ireland Republic
    Steinberger isn't a Slovak name originally, but there was a lot of intermarriage between ethnic Germans and Slovaks (and Hungarians) over the centuries of the Austro-Hungarian empire before the communists drove them out after the war. I'm guessing, but maybe one of his grandparents hailed from there and perhaps he lived with relatives or connections while training in Slovakia.

    As for Germany, he was playing for the U-19s of a lower-division club, so he's unlikely to have received much more than a pocket-money level expense allowance on top of room and board. IIRC the NCAA no longer considers that to be playing pro.

    Anyways, congrats to the guy. A lot of kids give up. He kept going, and got a degree from a good college. Wishing him luck.
     
    Tom Collingsworth repped this.
  18. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    [​IMG]
     
    Tom Collingsworth repped this.
  19. tomásbernal

    tomásbernal Member+

    Sep 4, 2007
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    While this is a player I actually recognize (Jan Koller for those who don't, who's Czech, as in part of former Czechoslovakia--the connection sidefootsitter is apparently referring to), usually your references are too cryptic to understand. It would be nice if you provided some sort of additional information so that your posts can be useful to those of us that don't know every player since the beginning of time.
     
  20. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    Since we've delved into the Euro migration topic -

    That 2006 Czech squad had several Germanic surnames in Jan Koller, Jiri Stajner (I assume, it was Steiner a few generations earlier), Marek Heinz and their head coach Karel Brückner. Thomas Ujfalusi has Hungarian blood. Radoslav Kovac likely has Yugoslavian (Croatian) roots.

    Of the current Slovakian team, there's Vladimir Weiss, Miroslav Stoch and Robert Mak.
     
    Tom Collingsworth repped this.
  21. sakibomb523

    sakibomb523 Member+

    Oct 13, 2009
    Orange County
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I guess this dude was Aron Jóhannsson's roommate at the IMG academy
     
  22. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Who do you think you are, Zoltan Czibor?
     
  23. sidefootsitter

    sidefootsitter Member+

    Oct 14, 2004
    That would be Czibor Zoltan.

    Know your Hungarian!
     

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