The United States has a history of producing successful goalkeepers who have achieved success not only on the national team but also in the MLS and beyond. Brad Guzan was a proud example of what it meant to be an American Goalkeeper for club and country.
He may not have been a worldwide name like Tim Howard was, as he was in the Premier League and had the greatest goalkeeper performance against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup.
Guzan was impactful for every Club that he played for, as well as representing the USMNT shield with pride. He will go down as one of the best American-born MLS keepers the league has seen since it launched in 1996.
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Brad Guzan’s 21-Year Career
A Start in the MLS
Guzan started his career in the MLS in 2005 with Chivas USA, which was a team in the MLS until they were bought out by the MLS in 2014. LAFC eventually filled the need for a second team in Los Angeles.
Guzan had a solid stint with Chivas as he started in 23 games out of 24 appearances in his rookie campaign. He only appeared in 13 matches in his second year in the MLS. Things did get better the following year with Chivas.
In 2007, Guzan started in 27 matches as Chivas USA finished second in the MLS with the American-born keeper at the net. His last year with the club came the next year in 2008, as he was sent to Aston Villa in the Premier League, where he spent a good amount of time across the pond.
A Stint in the Premier League
The then 23-year-old spent the bulk of his career across the pond as he became a regular starter for Aston Villa while there.
He spent a season with Hull City in the Championship until he was called back to Villa in where he would become their main keeper for the remainder of his time with the team. He isn’t the keeper we talk about when American-born keepers who played in the Premier League are brought up.
Aston Villa was fighting against relegation during his time there as they were no better than 15th, and eventually fell all the way down to 20th on the table in 2016. He spent one season in Middlesbrough, who were in 19th place in his final season overseas.
Back to the States
Guzan went back to the MLS in a league that was vastly different from the one he left back in 2008. He joined Atlanta United, which was a team that didn’t exist during his first stint in the States.
Atlanta was a solid team in his first year, as he only started in 14 games that season. In his second season, he made 32 starts as Atlanta was not just a top team in the East but a top team in the entire league.
This was the best result Guzan had ever seen up to that point in his career. Despite two good seasons with Chivas, his squads were usually at the back of the table, struggling to find winning results.
That all changed as Atlanta won the MLS for the first and only time, with Guzan being a huge piece to building that championship squad.
Atlanta would proceed to bounce back and forth each year after that, from the middle of the table to the back of the table. Guzan’s last season would be the worst that Atlanta saw with him as the goalkeeper.
His club career in the MLS is one to remember as he became an important part of one of the most popular clubs in the league in Atlanta United. As the league tells its story of the players that helped build it through nearly 30 years, Guzan will be one of those names forever mentioned.
Main Photo
Credit IMAGO / Icon Sportswire
Recording Date 05.08.2025