Across the Atlantic, soccer is more of a religion than a sport. With four main divisions in English league soccer, and hundreds of minor teams below them aiming to climb the ladder, it is always a special moment when a team reaches the Premier League for the very first time. Back in 2006, it was the turn of Berkshire club Reading to experience that unique feeling of magic, and another vindication of America’s ability to produce top-class goalkeepers. Marcus Hahnemann was the man between the sticks, enjoying a raft of shutouts in a vintage 2005/06 season as Reading were promoted to the Premier League as champions, with a then-record 106 points.
Marcus Hahnemann played for Reading 276 times from 2002 to 2009 and earned 9 caps with the US National Team during his career. (Image: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Hahnemann and Reading: The Unlikeliest Match
Ask any soccer fan to describe a second-tier goalkeeper in England and their description would be that of a thirty-something ex-Premier League player, grizzled, sturdy, and possibly a fan of soft rock. Hahnemann broke that stereotype with gusto. More of a UFC fighter – with his iconic goatee, bald head, and love of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch – he gave Reading a hitherto-unseen degree of ‘cool’ in a brave new millennium.
In truth, Hahnemann’s promotion with Reading was not his first, as he had been a backup keeper for Fulham in their own promotion season of 2000/01. Edwin van der Sar was then signed to safeguard Fulham’s top-flight calling, and it worked, leaving Hahnemann seeking a new club. Fulham had risen from the depths of Division Three (now ‘EFL League Two’) – only the fourth-highest league in England – inside just five years. Alan Pardew had similarly lofty ambitions for Reading, though they had been in Division Two (now ‘EFL League One’) for four years all the way up until the end of 2001/02. But once Reading reached the top division, they held their own in a league containing giants such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, all of whom will command consistently short odds in the latest moneyline and outright betting markets for UK soccer.
2002/03 – A Near-Miss Breakthrough
Back in 1998, Reading had moved to a new stadium, with the resources from John Madejski (hence the ‘Madejski Stadium’) enabling the club to rebuild after years of struggle. Where once there was a noxious landfill, now stood a towering stadium that was light years ahead of old ground Elm Park, and in need of Premier League action.
That demand was very nearly fulfilled in Hahnemann’s very first season at Reading, but they fell well short of second place (and automatic promotion to the Premier League), putting some of Hahnemann’s most precious moments with the club on ice. Much of this is down to a dreadful start, which saw Reading lose three of their opening four games, with Phil Whitehead conceding two or more goals in every defeat. Also alarming was the fact that the first two conceded goals of each loss saw the first and second goals against Reading separated by no more than seven minutes.
Pardew wasted no time in putting Hahnemann in goal, and it worked wonders. Reading immediately scored three shutouts, taking two wins and a tie. September brought a couple of bumps in the road, but the defence improved rapidly. After a 1-0 defeat at Preston on October 26, 2002, Hahnemann kept seven clean sheets, sending Reading soaring up the table.
2003- 2005 – Reading Rollercoaster Begins
Reading’s form through the 2002/03 season remained assured for the remainder of the campaign, yielding fourth place, and home advantage in the second leg of a two-legged promotion playoff. However, a double of defeats to Wolves in the promotion playoff semi-finals destroyed their hopes of a second successive promotion. The following two seasons saw finishes of ninth and seventh, narrowly missing promotional playoffs, and proved to be a double-dip of sophomore slumps after Hahnemann’s strong maiden season.
Although results had improved under Steve Coppell, who had been appointed in October 2003, Reading was still without a reliable strike partner for Dave Kitson. Opposing teams would play further forward, doing so with less fear, and making Hahnemann’s job ever more difficult. That all changed when Coppell used his connections to Ireland, signing attacking duo Kevin Doyle and Shane Long from Cork City, to give Reading some considerable pace and composure up front.
A 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on the first weekend of 2007/08 is one of Marcus Hahnemann’s greatest games. To this day, he is still the last Premier League goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on the opening weekend against reigning titleholders.
2005/06 – Irish Power Makes the Difference
In the end, Kitson and Doyle bagged 18 league goals apiece, contributing to Reading’s eventual tally of 99. Hahnemann was at his absolute peak as well, with only Preston conceding fewer goals across the 46-game season. Hahnemann kept a shutout rate of nearly 50%, memorably conceding just once across seven league games in the winter of 2005.
Reading enjoyed a solid run to 8th place in the following league campaign. Although they could not stay in the topflight long-term, being relegated in their second season, there can be no doubt that Hahnemann deserves his place in Premier League lore alongside other great American goalkeepers such as Brad Friedel, Tim Howard and Kasey Keller.
1 April 2006: Reading thrash Derby 5-0 to seal the Championship title with four weeks to spare.