Leon Maximilian Flach (born February 28, 2001) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a midfielder or left-back for the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Club career

FC St. Pauli

Flach made his professional debut for FC St. Pauli in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

on September 27, 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute for Jannes Wieckhoff against

1. FC Heidenheim 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 is a German association football club from the city of Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg. History The current day club was formed in 2007 through the separation of the football section from parent association ''Heidenheimer ...

, which finished as a 4–2 home win. Flach scored his first professional goal for FC St. Pauli on 3 January 2021, scoring in the 82nd minute against Greuther Fürth in a 2–1 loss.

Philadelphia Union

In March 2021, Flach signed a two-year contract with

competing in

. Flach's debut with the Union was starting in the club's first

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

match, defeating Deportivo Saprissa 1–0. Flach scored his first goal for the Union on October 3 against reigning MLS Champions, Columbus Crew in a 3–0 win. His performances throughout the 2021 season made Flach a regular starter in the Union midfield and was recognized as being named among the MLS's 22 under 22.

Personal life

Flach was born in Texas to German parents while his father was working in Houston before returning to Hamburg as a child. He has represented Germany and the United States at youth level. Flach is a fan of the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Philadelphia Union * MLS Cup runner-up:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

External links

* * * 2001 births Living people People from Humble, Texas American people of German descent Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Soccer players from Texas American men's soccer players German men's footballers Men's association football midfielders United States men's youth international soccer players Germany men's youth international footballers United States men's under-20 international soccer players 2. Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players FC St. Pauli players Philadelphia Union players {{Germany-footy-midfielder-2000s-stub