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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He was selected by the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

with the third overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. He made his MLS debut in 2006.

Career

Amateur

Gruenebaum, who is Jewish, is an

Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the pop ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, native. He was an All-American at

Blue Valley North High School Blue Valley North High School is a public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. The school is one of the five high schools operated by Blue Valley USD 229 school district. The school col ...

. He attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, 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 Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The Menace have had sustained success in USL Lea ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

and was named MVP of the 2005 PDL championship as the Menace won their first title.

Professional

Gruenebaum was selected by the

with the third overall pick in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. He made his MLS debut in May 2006 when

Jon Busch Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. Busch is currently the goalkeeping coach for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. He is best remembered for hi ...

suffered a knee injury in a match against

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

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 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 199 ...

and

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

. 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 is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

, in exchange for a second-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 ...

. After one season in Kansas City, Gruenenbaum's 2015 contract option was declined and he entered the 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft. He was selected in stage one of the draft by

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

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

Career statistics

''Sources:''

Honors

Des Moines Menace

National Champions (1):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Columbus Crew

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

MLS Cup (1):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Supporter's Shield (2):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

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