Andy Gruenebaum (; born December 30, 1982) is a retired American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper. He was selected by the Columbus Crew with the third overall pick in the

2006 MLS Supplemental Draft In Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada, the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft, held on January 26, 2006, followed the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, as teams filled out their developmental rosters. Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trade ...

. He made his MLS debut in 2006.

Career

Amateur

Gruenebaum, who is Jewish, is an Overland Park, Kansas, native. 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.” 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.

Professional

Gruenebaum was selected by the Columbus Crew with the third overall pick in the

. 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 William Hesmer (born November 23, 1981 in Wilson, North Carolina) is a retired American soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Career College Hesmer played college soccer at Wake Forest University from 2000 to 2003, establishing himself as on ...

established himself as the starting goalkeeper. He made just one league start in 2008 as the Crew won the

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

and MLS Cup. 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 Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

, in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in the

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

. After one season in Kansas City, Gruenenbaum's 2015 contract option was declined and he entered the

2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 12, 2014 (Stage 1) and December 18, 2014 (Stage 2). All 20 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of finish ...

. He was selected in stage one of the draft by

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. However, Gruenenbaum instead opted to retire and take a role as a broadcaster with Sporting.

Career statistics

''Sources:''

Honors

Des Moines Menace

* USL Premier Development League National Champions (1):

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Columbus Crew

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

MLS Cup (1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Supporter's Shield (2):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruenebaum, Andy 1982 births Living people American soccer players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish footballers Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer players Des Moines Menace players Columbus Crew players Sporting Kansas City players Association football goalkeepers Columbus Crew draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Kansas 21st-century American Jews