Steffen following familiar path for American goalies
said. “It’s just kind of getting to know each other, getting to know what that person is going to do on the ball, off the ball. Becoming one, becoming a team and really just finding who we are as a team. And that takes time.”
The national team reunites Steffen with coach Gregg Berhalter after the two worked together at the Columbus Crew. Steffen credits Berhalter with making him more comfortable playing with the ball at his feet.
“He’s really grown my game in those ways,” Steffen said.
Steffen committed to soccer relatively late by European standards, in high school at Downingtown West, after years also playing baseball and basketball.
That versatility means “different movements and the kind of natural abilities that soccer sometimes just can’t give you,” he said. He wonders whether that multisport tradition in the U.S. is why the country has produced such a lineage of talented goalkeepers.
At club level, Steffen’s path is still unclear. Bravo’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season and City’s No. 3 keeper, Scott Carson, is on loan from Derby.
If Steffen can break into the Premier League, he would again be following Howard, who started with Manchester United before a stellar decade at Everton. Steffen said he’s in close contact with City’s coaches.
“They’re proud of what I’m doing and happy with me so far,” Steffen said. “They want me to keep going and we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.”