Marcus Stephen Hahnemann (born June 15, 1972) is an American former 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 played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Graduating out of

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seat ...

, he played for the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

between 1994 and 1996. Between 1997 and 1999 he turned out for the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

, signing with English club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in 1999. Unable to become the first-choice goalkeeper at Fulham, he enjoyed loan spells with

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, before signing permanently with Reading in 2002. In 2009, following 276 league appearances for the club, he transferred to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. He has won nine caps for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, featuring as back-up for

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...

and Tim Howard in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. Following his debut for the States in 1994 he played two further games within the same month, however he had to wait almost nine years before his next international appearance, making him a player with one of the longest ever gaps between caps.

Early years

Hahnemann grew up in the Seattle area in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and attended

Kentridge High School Kentridge High School is a (senior) high school that is located on in Kent, Washington. It is the second-oldest and second-largest high school by area (while the largest by population) in the Kent School District. It primarily serves student ...

where he was named the team's MVP his junior season. He transferred to Newport High School in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as a s ...

for his senior season. That year, he kept eleven clean sheets en route to being named the All-King County goalkeeper. He played college soccer for the

Falcons. A Division II powerhouse, Hahnemann led SPU to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II National Championship in 1993. Over his four seasons at SPU, Hahnemann had a 64–9–5 record as a starter, with forty-six career clean sheets.

Club career

Seattle Sounders

Hahnemann's professional career started when he signed with the

of the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

on May 1, 1994. In his first season with the Sounders, Hahnemann registered a .57 GAA in fourteen games to take the league's top goalkeeper honors. In 1995, he played twenty-nine games as the Sounders won the league championship. In 1996, the Sounders repeated as champions while Hahnemann kept eleven clean sheets and made 119 saves.

Colorado Rapids

Hahnemann waited until 1997 to join

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 ...

(MLS), signing with the

. His first appearance was on April 20, 1997 coming on as a substitute for

Paul Grafer Paul Grafer (born August 7, 1974) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who spent six seasons in Major League Soccer with the Colorado Rapids and MetroStars. He was the goalkeeper coach for the United States U-17 men's national soccer team b ...

; Hahneman then started the next 23 MLS league games that season,https://www.coloradorapids.com/post/2014/12/04/former-colorado-rapids-keeper-marcus-hahnemann-hangs-his-gloves and he also appeared in the U.S. Open Cup. In his first season in MLS, the Rapids went all the way to the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

before losing 2–1 to

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. During his second season in 1998, he set a club record for the most games and minutes played in a single season by a goalkeeper, playing 2,520 minutes in 28 games and compiling a 16–12 record, and was named their Defender of the Year.

Fulham

After two and a half seasons with the Colorado Rapids, he signed with

English First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

club

, for £80,000 in June 1999. He failed to displace

Maik Taylor Maik Stefan Taylor (born 4 September 1971) is a former Northern Ireland international football goalkeeper and, since July 2022, goalkeeping coach at Birmingham City. At club level, Taylor played non-League football for Petersfield Town, Basingst ...

in goal though, and only made four appearances (two in the league) in total for the London club (all during their promotion season of 2000–01). With

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...

signed upon promotion by Fulham, Hahnemann slipped further down the pecking order and to gain playing time, he was loaned out to lower league sides

, and then,

during the 2001–02 campaign. He made six appearances for the latter as part of their promotion from the third tier. At the end of the 2001–02 season, Hahnemann was released by the club after spending three years. Hahnemann then signed a one-month contract extension after spending time with the club.

Reading

Hahnemann then joined Reading permanently in Summer 2002 on a free transfer, becoming their first choice 'keeper. His first full season with the ''Royals'' saw them miss out on promotion to the Premier League in the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, before two successive seasons saw them narrowly fall short of further play-off finishes. He missed just one game of the 2005–06 season that saw Reading win promotion to the top flight of English soccer for the first time in their history, as they topped the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

with a record 106 points. He was named in that season's ''Championship Team of the Year'' by the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

. His first season in the Premier League saw him keep thirteen clean sheets as the club finished eighth, only one place short of European qualification. He made the most saves (139) in the Premier League during 2007, but could not halt relegation in their second Premier League campaign. He remained with the club for one further season as they attempted an immediate return to the top level, but Reading ultimately lost out to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

in the play-off semi finals. Subsequently, Reading announced that they would not renew Hahnemann's contract making him a free agent.

Wolves

On June 17, 2009, Hahnemann signed a one-year contract with newly promoted Premier League side

. He was back-up to first-choice

Wayne Hennessey Wayne Robert Hennessey (born 24 January 1987) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Wales national team. Hennessey's first professional games saw him set a new Football ...

for the opening four months, until Hennessey conceded four goals in two successive games and lost his place to Hahnemann. Hahnemann remained first choice keeper for the remainder of the season, helping the club attain survival. His form ranked him as "the Best Goalkeeper in the World" using the Castrol Performance Index system, helping earn him a one-year contract extension. However, the 2010–11 season saw the team enter a dismal run of form that left them bottom of the league and in danger of relegation. Hahnemann was dropped after a defeat to relegation rivals

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in late November and did not feature again. He was released at the end of the campaign, after the expiry of his contract.

Everton

On September 23, 2011, Hahnemann signed for Everton on a short-term deal. He was released from the club on May 18, 2012 without making a first team appearance, along with Scottish international

James McFadden James Henry McFadden (born 14 April 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a forward. McFadden started his playing career with Motherwell, where he came to prominence in the 2002–03 season by scoring ...

and four others who also did not feature in the first team.

Seattle Sounders FC

On September 14, 2012, Hahnemann made his long anticipated return to the Sounders. Seattle traded a conditional

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

pick to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

for the number one allocation slot, so they would be able to sign Hahnemann. He made his debut on October 24, 2012 against Marathón in a

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 ...

group stage match. At Seattle, Hahnemann was a backup behind

Michael Gspurning Michael Gspurning (; born 2 May 1981) is a retired Austrian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in the city of Graz in southeast Austria, Gspurning has been called up to the Austrian national team 3 times, including 2 World Cup qualify ...

. Hahnemann made his first MLS appearance for Seattle on August 3, 2013, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 win against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

. On December 8, 2014, he announced his retirement from professional soccer.

International career

Hahnemann made his international debut for the United States national team on November 19, 1994, in a 0–1 friendly defeat to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. He played two more games in the rest of the year. Hahnemann did not play for the US again until June 8, 2003 when he played the first half of a 2–1 friendly win over New Zealand in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. The game was a warm-up for the

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

, for which he was selected. He won two further caps during 2005 and was then picked for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and allocated shirt number 19, but was an unused substitute in all of the United States' matches behind

and Tim Howard as they exited at the group stage. During the group stage, he and teammate Bobby Convey became the first Reading players to be named to a World Cup roster. Nearing the age of 38, Hahnemann was named by coach

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of Toronto FC. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton University, Bradley coached in the American college game and Maj ...

to the United States' 2010 World Cup squad, as third choice behind Howard and

Brad Guzan Bradley Edwin Guzan (; born September 9, 1984) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. A college soccer second-team All-American for the South Carolina Gamecocks, Gu ...

. Hahnemann made his ninth and final appearance for the U.S. in 2011.

Personal life

Marcus Hahnemann is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

; his wife Amanda is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He keeps hens, and also enjoys

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

and

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

. Before matches he listens to heavy metal to psych himself up, and presented

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...

with a Wolves shirt emblazoned with a

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

. He collaborated with the Reading-based band

Malefice Malefice was an English heavy metal band from Reading, Berkshire, formed in 2003. They disbanded in 2017. History The original members consisted of college friends Dale Butler, Alex Vuskans, Craig Thomas and Craig Fenner. After formation t ...

in early 2012 to release a song which will debut on

Jägermeister ( , ; stylized Jägermeiſter) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation ...

UK's Facebook page in February 2012. Hahnemann is of German descent, his parents come from

Wentorf bei Hamburg Wentorf bei Hamburg is a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Bille, approx. 10 km northwest of the town of Geesthacht, and adjoining the town of Reinbek. It is situated on ...

. Although he did not have defective vision, Hahnemann wore special

contact lenses Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmeti ...

to reduce the glare of the sun when he played. At Reading, he gifted every match jersey to fans after games; he also cut his sleeves due to personal preference when the manufacturers no longer provided short sleeves. In April 2016, Hahnemann and his former USMNT goalkeeper teammate

became coaches of the boys' soccer team at Newport High School, his former school in Bellevue, Washington.

Career statistics

Bibliography

*''Marcus Hahnemann's Premiership Diary'' (2007), Know the Score Books ()

Honors

Seattle Sounders *League Championship: 1995, 1996 Reading *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

: 2005–06 United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

: 2005 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

: 2005–06 Football League Championship

References

External links

Official club profile
* *
Marcus Hahnemann profile and career stats
at footballdatabase.com

at ussoccer.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hahnemann, Marcus 1972 births Living people American soccer players Expatriate footballers in England American expatriate sportspeople in England Seattle Pacific Falcons men's soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Colorado Rapids players Fulham F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Reading F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Everton F.C. players Seattle Sounders FC players Association football goalkeepers CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players United States men's international soccer players Major League Soccer players Premier League players English Football League players A-League (1995–2004) players Soccer players from Seattle American expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom American people of German descent Major League Soccer broadcasters Association football coaches