Ian Jakob Hoffmann (born September 8, 2001) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a full-back or wing-back for

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

club

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

, on loan from

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

Early life

Hoffman was born in

Wilton, Connecticut Wilton is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,503. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Wester ...

, and spent time with various nearby academy teams such as Everton FC Westchester, Beachside Soccer Club and

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. When his family moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for work reasons, Ian started playing for

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

before moving to

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

in 2016. During his time at Karlsruher SC, Hoffman made 40 appearances for the club's under-19 team, scoring 5 goals.

Club career

On July 27, 2020, Hoffmann returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, joining

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 ...

side

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. He would officially join the Houston roster on January 1, 2021, spending the remainder of 2020 with the club's

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

affiliate club

Rio Grande Valley FC Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, was an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a hy ...

. He made his professional debut on August 28, 2020, starting in a 3–1 loss to

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio FC ...

. He made 5 appearances and had one assist during his time with RGVFC. Hoffmann made his Dynamo debut on August 7, 2021, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss to

Minnesota United Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Th ...

. He appeared in the final 4 games of the season for Houston, including starting the last 2. Hoffman made 6 appearances during the 2021 season as the Dynamo finished bottom of the Western Conference, failing to qualify for the playoffs. Hoffmann started the 2022 season playing for Houston Dynamo 2 in MLS Next Pro, making 9 appearances for the Dynamo reserve side. On June 23, 2022, Hoffmann moved on loan to

side

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

for the remainder of the season. He made his debut for Orange County on June 25, playing the full match in a 3–1 win vs Loudoun United. Hoffmann made 15 appearances, all starts, while on loan with Orange County, with the team finishing last in the Western Conference. Following the season the Dynamo declined Hoffmann's contract option. In February 2023, Hoffmann joined

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

side

Moss FK Moss Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club, founded on 28 August 1906. They play in the 1. divisjon, the second highest division in the Norwegian football league system. They played in the Norwegian top flight between 1937–1939, 1953–5 ...

. During his eighteen-month-long stint in Norway, he scored four goals and recorded eight times in 44 appearances across all competitions. On August 6, 2024, Hoffmann signed a three-year deal with an option for a further year with Polish

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

club

. On February 19, 2025, he returned to Norway to join

on a six-month loan with an option to buy. On June 30, 2025, his loan was extended for another six months.

International career

Hoffmann has represented both the

and

at various levels. He qualifies for representing Germany through his grandparents' citizenship.

Personal life

Hoffman's father Andrew played college soccer at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and played professionally in the APSL. Born and raised in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Hoffman moved to

with his family due to his dad's work in 2015.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Ian 2001 births Living people People from Wilton, Connecticut Soccer players from Fairfield County, Connecticut American men's soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players German men's footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders 1. FC Köln players Karlsruher SC players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players Houston Dynamo FC players Houston Dynamo 2 players Orange County SC players Moss FK players Lech Poznań players Lech Poznań II players Kristiansund BK players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players USL Championship players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Ekstraklasa players III liga players American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Poland American expatriate sportspeople in Poland 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century German sportsmen