Juergen Peterson Sommer (born February 27, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player and coach. He became the first American goalkeeper to play in the FA Premier League, when he signed to play for

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

in 1995. He has served as the United States national team goalkeeping coach. Later on, Sommer coached

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays it ...

in the NASL.

Youth and college

Sommer played soccer at

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...

in Culver, Indiana where he was an All-American. After graduation, Sommer walked on at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, where he quickly became the starting goalkeeper in 1987. He was named ''Collegiate Goalkeeper of the Year'' in 1990.

Club career

Sommer left Indiana to sign with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

of the First Division in 1991. Sommer played for the next seven years in England for

and

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

. In 1998, he made the jump back home to sign with the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

of Major League Soccer, as a replacement for Brad Friedel, who had signed for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

the previous year. Sommer became the Crew starter over the next two seasons, and after a pair of major knee injuries, he signed with the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

. In 2000, he played one game with the Connecticut Wolves in the USISL A-League.2000 Connecticut Wolves
/ref> After another injury forced Sommer to the sidelines, and the emergence of Adin Brown as the Revolution's starting goalkeeper, he retired after the 2002 MLS Cup. He represented English side Bolton Wanderers for just one

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

game against Blackburn Rovers in February 2001. Sommer answered an S.O.S. by Wanderers manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

who saw his other goalkeepers either injured or ineligible but was himself injured during the match.

International career

Throughout his career, Sommer earned ten

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the United States national team, and was a member of the team which competed at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. Although many believe him to be a solid goalkeeper in his prime, the play of Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller and Tony Meola greatly reduced his chances of seeing an extended run in the national team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Juergen 1969 births Living people 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1995 Copa América players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Columbus Crew players Connecticut Wolves players Expatriate footballers in England American expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Association football goalkeepers Luton Town F.C. players Major League Soccer players New England Revolution players Soccer players from New York City Premier League players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players United States men's international soccer players USL First Division players American people of German descent North American Soccer League coaches Indy Eleven coaches Culver Academies alumni