SC Freiburg planning to promote Zack Steffen to first team

Downingtown native Zack Steffen is moving up in the SC Freiburg organization in Germany.

The 21-year-old goalkeeper who spent time with the Philadelphia Union Academy before playing two seasons with the University of Maryland is expected to be the third-string goalkeeper for the German club in its return to the Bundesliga.

This according to the German publication Kicker, which Will Parchman over at TopDrawerSoccer.com picked up on and ran through Google Translate.

The translation:

Steffen signed with Freiburg in December 2014, but hasn’t been heard from much aside from his stints with U.S. youth teams, which included an unforgettable display in the U20 World Cup last summer. He made 14 appearances with SC Freiburg’s reserve team in the fourth tier of German football.

SC Freiburg’s first team earned promotion back to the Bundesliga after a year relegated to second division football. They open their season against U.S. international John Brooks' club, Hertha Berlin, on August 28.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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