Andy Gruenebaum

Andy Gruenebaum
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-12-30) December 30, 1982
Place of birth Overland Park, Kansas, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Youth career
2001–2005 Kentucky Wildcats
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 Des Moines Menace 15 (0)
2006–2013 Columbus Crew 80 (0)
2014 Sporting Kansas City 11 (0)
Total 106 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 28, 2014.

Andy Gruenebaum (/ˈɡriːnəbɔːm/; born December 30, 1982) is a retired American professional soccer goalkeeper.

Career

Amateur

Gruenebaum, who is Jewish, is an Overland Park, Kansas, native.[1] He was an All-American at Blue Valley North High School. He attended the University of Kentucky, where he recorded 21 shutouts in 66 collegiate games. Gruenebaum earned All-Conference honors and picked up the nickname “The Hebrew Hammer.”[2]

Prior to his senior season, Gruenebaum starred for the Des Moines Menace in the USL Premier Development League and was named MVP of the 2005 PDL championship as the Menace won their only title.[3]

Professional

Gruenebaum was selected by the Columbus Crew with the third overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. He made his MLS debut in May 2006 when Jon Busch suffered a knee injury in a match against D.C. United and started the final two matches of the season.

He started ten matches in the 2007 season, earning his first two career shutouts in back-to-back matches in April. However, his playing time gradually decreased as Will Hesmer established himself as the starting goalkeeper. He made just one league start in 2008 as the Crew won the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup.[4]

Playing time remained sporadic due to the presence of Hesmer and Gruenebaum's own injuries, but he finally enjoyed a breakout season in 2012, starting 33 matches (including eight shutouts) as Hesmer missed time with injuries. He continued to start in 2013 despite missing time due to injuries.

Following the 2013 season, Gruenenbaum was traded to his hometown club, Sporting Kansas City, in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.[3] After one season in Kansas City, Gruenenbaum's 2015 contract option was declined and he entered the 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft. He was selected in stage one of the draft by San Jose Earthquakes.[5] However, Gruenenbaum instead opted to retire and take a role as a broadcaster with Sporting.[6]

Career statistics

As of December 12, 2014[4]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Columbus Crew 2006 MLS 30000030
2007 MLS 1000000100
2008 MLS 10000010
2009 MLS 1000000100
2010 MLS 00000000
2011 MLS 20000020
2012 MLS 3300000330
2013 MLS 2100000210
Total 8000000800
Sporting KC 2014 MLS 1102000130
Total 000000130
Career total 9102000930

Honors

Des Moines Menace

Columbus Crew

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jewish center shootings hit close to home for several Sporting KC players: "It's just terrible"". MLSsoccer.com.
  2. ↑ Shawn Mitchell. "Crew's Gruenebaum makes most of opportunity". The Columbus Dispatch.
  3. 1 2 "Sporting KC trades for goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum". Sporting Kansas City.
  4. 1 2 "Andy Gruenebaum". MLSsoccer.com.
  5. ↑ "Former Sporting Kansas City goalkeepers Eric Kronberg, Andy Gruenebaum taken in Re-Entry Draft". MLSsoccer.com.
  6. ↑ "Andy Gruenebaum joins SKCTV as color commentator for 2015". Sporting Kansas City.
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