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Davis' Discussions: The Charmed Life Of Marcus Hahnemann
The keeper is having a fine year.
Apr 30, 2010 4:48:00 PM
By Noah Davis
During the 2005-2006 campaign, Marcus Hahnemann backstopped Reading to Championship record 106 points and a promotion to the English Premier League. The next year, he helped the Royals defy expectations and finish a shocking eighth in Britain's top division. It was an accomplishment worthy of the record books.
His 2009-2010 season rivals those two magical runs.
"I think this year ranks up there," the goalkeeper told Goal.com over the phone Thursday morning when asked for his career highlight.
After spending the first part of the year on the bench at his new club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hahnemann got his chance in late November and hasn't relinquished the starting spot since. The 37-year-old American has kept seven clean sheets in 23 matches, leading the frequently overmatched Wolves out of the relegation zone and to lucrative EPL safety.
"We got going, I got on the team, and we stayed up," he said. "It looked like it was going to be a long shot, and we did it with two games left. That was special."
Although a couple fixtures remain, Hahnemann knows there's another challenge on the horizon: the World Cup. He made the United States' 2006 roster and will travel to South Africa as well. In Germany, the six-foot, three-inch goalie served behind Kasey Keller and Tim Howard as the third option, but his recent run of excellent form combined with Brad Guzan's lack of playing time could mean he's Bob Bradley's No. 2 this summer. Regardless of his position on the squad, Hahnemann -- along with the rest of the world -- is eagerly anticipating the U.S.'s opening match.
"It's so perfect," he said. "England is pretty much my adopted team from being over here. You're forced to watch them all the time."
He's also looking forward to another potential match-up a bit further down the World Cup road.
"If we finish second and Germany finishes first in their group, we get them in the first round of the knockout stage," he said. "Germany is where my parents came from and it's my fatherland. It would be great to play against them."
After the world's biggest sporting event, Hahnemann will return to Wolves in hopes of helping the club stay above the relegation line for a second consecutive season. The side will be outgunned and outmanned by the Premier League's moneyed class and will need the backstop to continue to shine. He'll be a year older, but also a year wiser in a position that prizes experience over raw athletic ability.
"I'm not as quick as other guys... [but] if you're standing in the right spot, you don't have to be," he said."[As you get older,] your decision-making gets better. Don't get me wrong; there are still ones where you don't get anywhere near because you get blocked. There are always things you wish you could have done better. I've made mistakes this year. I think the difference is sometimes you just get away with them. You learn what you can get away with and what you can't get away with. By playing every week, that decision-making becomes second nature."
Experience and hard work certainly help, but the keeper knows that so far his run at Wolves has been charmed.
"Out of all the goals I let in, there's not even a handful this year that you think, 'I could have done better on,'" Hahnemann said. "Everything has really paid off for me this year. My handling's been superb. Everything's seemed to work this year. Punches are getting clear. There's no rebounds off me. Everything. It's been unbelievable."
At some point, unbelievable simply becomes habit.
Noah Davis (@noahedavis) covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com and will be reporting from the World Cup in South Africa.
Visit the U.S. national team page on Goal.com for more and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
His 2009-2010 season rivals those two magical runs.
"I think this year ranks up there," the goalkeeper told Goal.com over the phone Thursday morning when asked for his career highlight.
After spending the first part of the year on the bench at his new club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hahnemann got his chance in late November and hasn't relinquished the starting spot since. The 37-year-old American has kept seven clean sheets in 23 matches, leading the frequently overmatched Wolves out of the relegation zone and to lucrative EPL safety.
"We got going, I got on the team, and we stayed up," he said. "It looked like it was going to be a long shot, and we did it with two games left. That was special."
Although a couple fixtures remain, Hahnemann knows there's another challenge on the horizon: the World Cup. He made the United States' 2006 roster and will travel to South Africa as well. In Germany, the six-foot, three-inch goalie served behind Kasey Keller and Tim Howard as the third option, but his recent run of excellent form combined with Brad Guzan's lack of playing time could mean he's Bob Bradley's No. 2 this summer. Regardless of his position on the squad, Hahnemann -- along with the rest of the world -- is eagerly anticipating the U.S.'s opening match.
"It's so perfect," he said. "England is pretty much my adopted team from being over here. You're forced to watch them all the time."
He's also looking forward to another potential match-up a bit further down the World Cup road.
"If we finish second and Germany finishes first in their group, we get them in the first round of the knockout stage," he said. "Germany is where my parents came from and it's my fatherland. It would be great to play against them."
After the world's biggest sporting event, Hahnemann will return to Wolves in hopes of helping the club stay above the relegation line for a second consecutive season. The side will be outgunned and outmanned by the Premier League's moneyed class and will need the backstop to continue to shine. He'll be a year older, but also a year wiser in a position that prizes experience over raw athletic ability.
"I'm not as quick as other guys... [but] if you're standing in the right spot, you don't have to be," he said."[As you get older,] your decision-making gets better. Don't get me wrong; there are still ones where you don't get anywhere near because you get blocked. There are always things you wish you could have done better. I've made mistakes this year. I think the difference is sometimes you just get away with them. You learn what you can get away with and what you can't get away with. By playing every week, that decision-making becomes second nature."
Experience and hard work certainly help, but the keeper knows that so far his run at Wolves has been charmed.
"Out of all the goals I let in, there's not even a handful this year that you think, 'I could have done better on,'" Hahnemann said. "Everything has really paid off for me this year. My handling's been superb. Everything's seemed to work this year. Punches are getting clear. There's no rebounds off me. Everything. It's been unbelievable."
At some point, unbelievable simply becomes habit.
Noah Davis (@noahedavis) covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com and will be reporting from the World Cup in South Africa.
Visit the U.S. national team page on Goal.com for more and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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