Guzan Brad
Bradley Edwin Guzan is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the United States national team. A college soccer second-team All-American for the South Carolina Gamecocks, Guzan was second overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, signing for Chivas USA, with whom he was the 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. In July 2008, he joined Premier League club Aston Villa for a fee of $1 million, where he made 171 total appearances across eight seasons. After a brief spell at Middlesbrough, he returned to MLS with Atlanta United in January 2017. Guzan made his senior debut for the United States national team in 2006, earning over 50 caps. He was named in their squads for two FIFA World Cups and three CONCACAF Gold Cups, winning the latter in 2007 and 2017. He also featured for them at the 2008 Olympics, the 2007 Copa América and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Did you Know?
Since 2006, Guzan has established himself as the second-choice goalkeeper for the United States national team behind Tim Howard. He made his World Cup qualifying debut in the second leg of a second round qualifier against Barbados (with the U.S. up 8–0 and having all but secured advancement). He later started in two semi-final matches after the U.S. had secured advancement to the final round—a 2–1 loss at Trinidad and Tobago and a 2–0 win over Guatemala. When Howard was suspended for a match at El Salvador due to accumulated yellow cards, Guzan started and helped earn a critical 2–2 draw. Guzan also started the U.S.’s 3–0 win over Egypt in the 2009 Confederations Cup. On May 11, 2010, Guzan was named to the U.S. national team’s provisional 30-man World Cup roster.Since then, Guzan has sat back as a second-choice to keeper Tim Howard. While Howard was recovering from a back injury, Guzan started in two World Cup qualifier matches in the fourth round in March 2013. He did not allow a goal during either match, picking up a 1–0 win over Costa Rica at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and a historic 0–0 draw against Mexico at Estadio Azteca. Guzan also was capped for the U.S. during the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, as Howard decided to take a break from international soccer following the 2014 World Cup. Both Guzan and Howard were capped for the Copa América Centenario, but Guzan was chosen as the starting keeper.
Did you Know?
Born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, Guzan, who is of Polish-American ancestry, played in his youth at the Chicago Magic Soccer Club and for the varsity soccer team at Providence Catholic High School in Illinois, from which he graduated in 2003. He went on to play two seasons in NCAA competition as a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks men’s soccer team, where he was a second-team All-American in his sophomore season. Guzan is a Christian. Guzan has spoken about his faith, saying, “My personal life, my faith life and my sport life – they all come together. I think they have to. You don’t have one without the others, and you have to have Jesus in your life. That is how I get through my personal life, how I get through my professional life – following Christ. … we all need Christ in our lives. Money, fame, all those objects, they don’t mean anything if you don’t have Jesus in your life. All of those things can be gone in the blink of an eye. We can’t get caught up in it.”
