Steffen Records Clean Sheet in Second Start
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen made his second consecutive start on Wednesday and recorded his first clean sheet in the Carabo Cup as Manchester City took down Burnley behind a pair of Raheem Sterling goals.
Steffen’s first start came last Thursday in a 2-1 win Manchester City win over Bournemouth in the third round of the EFL cup. The former Terp was slated to serve as the club’s backup to Ederson but manager Pep Guardiola commended the 25-year-old goalie following his first performance. “Well the goal we conceded was almost unstoppable,” Guardiola said following the match. “We didn’t defend the shot properly. After, he saved on a counter attack. He was calm. He was good. He gave a good performance.”
Former Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski hasn’t connected with Steffen just yet, but said in a recent interview he’s willing to put his fandom to the side to cheer on his former goalkeeper as as Steffen embarks on his international career. “I’m so proud of him. The only problem is I’m a [Manchester] United fan and now having to cheer for Man City,” Cirovski joked. “That’s going to be tough, but I’ll be rooting for Zack all the way.”
Steffen joined Manchester City in July of last year after the club agreed to a reported $7 million transfer fee while the former Terps goalie was subsequently loaned to Fortuna Dusseldorf in the Bundesliga for the 2019-20 campaign. The success that the US national team goalkeeper has achieved is no surprise to Cirovski, though, as Steffen played every minute in goal during his two seasons with the Terps.
“Zack is everything we thought he was going to be when we recruited him. We thought he’d be US number one, we thought he had a chance to play in Europe. He’s proven us all right.”
