Marcus Hahnemann

Marcus Stephen Hahnemann (born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.

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

Graduating out of Seattle Pacific University, he played for the Seattle Sounders between 1994 and 1996.

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.

Hahnemann grew up in the Seattle area in Kent and attended Kentridge High School where he was named the team's MVP his junior season.

He transferred to Newport High School in Bellevue, Washington 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 Seattle Pacific University Falcons.

Hahnemann's professional career started when he signed with the Seattle Sounders of the A-League 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.

Between 1997 and 1999 he turned out for the Colorado Rapids, signing with English club Fulham in 1999.

Hahnemann waited until 1997 to join Major League Soccer (MLS), signing with the Colorado Rapids.

His first appearance was on April 20, 1997 coming on as a substitute for Paul Grafer; Hahneman then started the next 23 MLS league games that season, 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 before losing 2–1 to D.C. United.

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.

After two and a half seasons with the Colorado Rapids, he signed with English First Division club Fulham, for £80,000 in June 1999.

He failed to displace Maik Taylor 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 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 Rochdale, and then, Reading 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.

Unable to become the first-choice goalkeeper at Fulham, he enjoyed loan spells with Rochdale and Reading, before signing permanently with Reading in 2002.

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, 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 with a record 106 points.

He was named in that season's Championship Team of the Year by the Professional Footballers' Association.

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 in the play-off semi finals.

Subsequently, Reading announced that they would not renew Hahnemann's contract making him a free agent.

In 2009, following 276 league appearances for the club, he transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

He has won nine caps for the United States, featuring as back-up for Kasey Keller and Tim Howard in two World Cups.

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

He was back-up to first-choice Wayne Hennessey 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.