A Leader on the Pitch and in the Community
Steffen uses his voice to direct teammates from between the sticks on gameday, but off the pitch, the leader uses his voice for social change. In 2020 Steffen and then-Columbus Crew teammate Alex Crognale looked at the social injustices happening in America to the Black community and sought to make a change within their communities, and the communities of those in need across ten states.
VOYCENOW’s mission statement denotes the group’s “desire to use their social media platforms to ignite positive change, the founders are committed to rallying their fans and supporters to become allies for the Black community” and their dedication to “empowering the next generation of changemakers.”
Learn more about VOYCENOW here.
Premier League Pro
Most recently Steffen stood between the sticks at EPL giant Manchester City, with loan spells at both Fortuna Düsseldorf and Middlesbrough since signing with The Citizens in 2019. The 6-foot-3 goalkeeper recorded eight cleans sheets with City and secured the Premier League title for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons and clinched the EFL Cup in 2020-21.
Return To The Fold
Before his time across the pond, the shotstopper put his skills to the test in goal for Columbus Crew from 2016 to 2018, where he earned a Best XI honor and Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2018.
Steffen’s time in Columbus saw two MLS Cup playoff campaigns, where the ‘keeper recorded a total of 24 saves across eight games played, including two penalty kick shootouts that saw Columbus advance to the next round.
This time around, Steffen will face Western Conference competition, joining a talented pool of goalkeepers such as 2023 Goalkeeper of the Year Roman Burki, Brad Stuver, and LAFC newcomer Hugo Lloris, while also going head-to-head with top strikers like Denis Bouanga, Hany Mukhtar and Hector Herrera.
On the International Stage
Steffen’s experience at the international level spans from 2015 to 2022 before injury sidelined the Downingtown, Pennsylvania native. His beginnings at the under-20 level saw the ‘keeper start for the United States at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
His advancement to the senior USMNT team was a steady process of callups into camps before his eventual debut in 2018 in a friendly with Bosnia and Herzegovina. In June of that same year Steffen recorded seven saves against eventual 2018 FIFA World Cup champions France, including back-to-back saves in the final minutes of the match to hold onto the 1-1 draw.
