“Made Fun of My Accent!” – Zack Steffen Reflects on Manchester City’s ‘One of a Kind’ Banter

Even though Zack Steffen has recently returned to Major League Soccer (MLS), his experiences during his tenure at Manchester City are still fresh in his memory. Despite limited field time as a goalkeeper for the USMNT star, he cherished his journey and was humorously designated an unconventional nickname.

The American goalkeeper just last month joined Colorado Rapids. Before this move, he spent four years with Manchester City, where he was predominantly assigned on loan. Reflecting upon this phase of his career on the ‘Vamos’ podcast, Steffen divulged intriguing tales about the locker room environment. The 28-year-old shed light on the moniker assigned to him, “The Yank,” and added, “They always made fun of my accent, words I’d say.”

Continuing on a lighter note, the goalkeeper revealed, “They’d always be like ‘Hey, man’. They loved doing that.” He also drew attention to contrasting banter styles between America and England noting significant variation. According to him, “The English banter, they are just one of a kind. We have banter in the States, but nothing like the English locker rooms!”

Though these jovial moments are certainly memorable episodes for Zack Steffen, unfortunately, they were not complemented by notable triumphs during gameplay. His initial move was the highest transfer fee received by an MLS club for a goalkeeper. However, he struggled to secure substantial playing time behind Ederson. Now, back in MLS, Steffen can receive the minutes he needs to potentially play in the Copa America 2024.

Zack Steffen believes ‘getting games’ is important before the Copa America 2024

The Copa America 2024 signifies a crucial stage for the USMNT and undoubtedly presents a challenging arena. The USMNT is grouped with formidable adversaries – Uruguay, Panama, and Bolivia; thus amplifying the degree of difficulty. Given this, Zack Steffen asserts that ‘getting games’ before the tournament greatly facilitates peak performance during it.

Read More: “For Gio, It’s No Different”- Gregg Berhalter Discuss ‘Out of Favor’ Giovanni Reyna’s Copa America Chances

In the podcast, he emphasized, “We need to be getting games week in and week out at our peak level in order to be called into camps and to be playing games with the national team because we have a lot of goals and aspirations as a national team and as individuals.” As for Zack Steffen, he could receive his first game on February 25th when Colorado Rapids face Portland Timbers.

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