USMNT star Zack Steffen reveals unimaginative nickname at Man City & why banter in England is ‘one of a kind’

The 28-year-old moved to the Etihad Stadium from the Columbus Crew in 2019 – with the biggest fee received by a MLS club for a goalkeeper changing hands in that deal. Steffen collected two Premier League winners’ medals during his time in Manchester, while also taking in a loan spell at Middlesbrough, but struggled for game time behind Brazil international Ederson.

Steffen enjoyed his time with City, though, and has told the ‘Vamos’ podcast hosted by former USMNT star Herculez Gomez of the nickname bestowed upon him in England: “I mean, ‘The Yank’. They always made fun of my accent, words I’d say. They’d always be like ‘hey, man’. They loved doing that. The English banter, they are just one of a kind. We have banter in the States, but nothing like the English locker rooms!”

While team-mates would be quick to poke fun at Steffen, City boss Pep Guardiola did all he could to make everyone at the Etihad feel comfortable. Steffen added on the Catalan coach: “He wouldn’t care if we lost 3-0 but still played beautiful football. He would just be proud that we had the balls to play beautiful football and kept doing it. Obviously the results matter and all that stuff, but for him it was the bigger picture and the beauty of how his team played. That gave him a lot of pride. He is like a father figure, he supports his players through thick and thin, no matter what, and has so much love for his players. They do such a good job of bringing in good people and good character. It’s a joy going into work and working with the best players, but also good people.”

Steffen got to work with plenty of superstars at City, and said when asked to pick out the best: “Kevin [De Bruyne], Joao Cancelo – just an incredible player in any position on the field. All of them, honestly! Phil Foden just glides and the ball sticks to his feet. Bernardo Silva is just incredible – skinniest guy, slowest guy, but nobody can take the ball from him. He’s like a little gnat, scurrying over the field, picking off passes. Ederson and Scott Carson are amazing people. Ederson, watching him was like effortless, it’s incredible to learn off him.”

Steffen is now back in MLS at the Colorado Rapids, having completed a permanent transfer in the winter window of 2024, and is hoping that regular football in his homeland will allow him to add to a collection of international caps that currently stands at 29.