Quentin Oyamo Westberg (born April 25, 1986) is a soccer player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting ...

for

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began p ...

. Born in France, Westberg opted to represent the United States on the international level and is a former youth international having represented the team at under-17 and under-20 level, whom he played with at the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

. He is a graduate of the Clairefontaine academy and previously served as the number one

for

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

Club career

Early career

Westberg was born in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmais ...

, a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, to an American father and a French mother. Westberg initially started his football career with FC Saint-Cloud located not far from his hometown. He later had a stint at first division club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

training at the

Camp des Loges The Camp des Loges, also known as Ooredoo Training Centre for sponsorship reasons, located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, is the training ground of French football club Paris Saint-Germain. The current version of the Camp des Loges opened in No ...

before moving on to FC Issy-les-Moulineaux in southwest Paris. After a year at the club, Westberg was selected to attend the prestigious Clairefontaine academy after successfully passing the entrance exams required to attend. While attending the academy, he was a part of ''“A la Clairefontaine”'', a documentary series by Bruno Sevaistre which chronicled the lives of the France's top young footballers during their time at the academy. After leaving the academy, Westberg signed youth papers with then-

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

club

Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a football in France, French association football club, based in Troyes, who play in Ligue 1, Football in France, the highest level of France's football league syst ...

Troyes

Westberg spent approximately four years in the club's youth academy before being promoted to the senior team for the 2006–07 season. On October 21, 2006, he made his professional debut in a league match against

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

appearing as a substitute in the fifty-first minute for the injured

Ronan Le Crom Ronan Le Crom (born 13 July 1974) is a French former professional football goalkeeper. Career Le Crom began his career at AJ Auxerre, joining the senior squad in 1991. He played only three matches for the club, one in each of his final three se ...

with the match drawn at 1–1. Westberg conceded two goals resulting in Troyes losing the match. The following week, Westberg started against

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

and earned his first career victory conceding only one goal in a 3–1 win. That would be his only two appearances of the season with Troyes suffering relegation to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligu ...

. Due to his limited opportunities, in the off-season, Westberg pondered departing the club either through a loan deal or a definitive transfer. However, he committed to the club, who were now playing in Ligue 2. The new season saw Westberg handed the number 1 shirt and designated as the team's goalkeeper for cup matches. He earned his first career

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in a 2–0 victory over

Gueugnon Gueugnon () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population Economy The primary industry in the town is a stainless-steel factory run by Aperam. A huge part of Gueugnon' ...

in the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France, w ...

on August 28, 2007. The following month, Troyes were eliminated from the competition after losing 1–0 to

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

with Westberg playing the full 90 minutes. In the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professio ...

, Troyes, with Westberg in goal, earned victories over amateur clubs

Forbach Forbach ( , , ; gsw, Fuerboch) is a commune in the French department of Moselle, northeastern French region of Grand Est. It is located on the German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it co ...

(1–0) and Jarville (3–1) in the 7th and 8th round, respectively. In the following round against Montpellier, Westberg was replaced by domestic starter

Cyrille Merville Cyrille Merville (born 14 April 1982) is a French football goalkeeper. Career Merville was born in Amiens, France. He signed for then-Ligue 1 side AC Arles-Avignon in the summer of 2009 from Troyes AC. In June 2014, he signed a two-year con ...

. Despite the shift, Troyes lost the match 1–0. Westberg's only appearance domestically came on the final match day of the season in an embarrassing 5–0 loss to

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

. Westberg remained Troyes' domestic cup keeper for the 2008–09 season as he remained second fiddle to Merville in league play. Westberg performed well in the

recording one clean sheet and helping Troyes reach the Round of 32 where the club was upended by

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat o ...

. In the

, the team, with Westberg in goal, reached the third round before losing to

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...

. The club's positive performances in the cup competitions were overwhelming compared to its negative performance domestically as the club suffered relegation to the

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

, the third division of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

. With the club now semi-professional, a host of veterans departed the club, which included Merville, who joined Arles-Avignon. Due to Merville's departure, Westberg was finally handed the starting goalkeeper spot. In the 2009–10 season, Westberg performed well appearing in 32 of the 38 league matches contested conceding only 25 goals, which was second best among the league's starting goalkeepers. Following the season, in which Troyes earned promotion back to Ligue 2, Westberg was not re-signed to a new deal and departed the club after playing through the duration of his contract.

Évian

On September 23, 2010, Ligue 2 club Évian Thonon Gaillard confirmed on its website that the club had signed Westberg. Prior to signing with the club, Westberg had been training with the reserve team of his former club Troyes in order to maintain his fitness. He made his debut four days later in a league match against

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

. On January 9, 2011, Westberg started in goal in Évian's 3–1 upset victory over the defending league champions

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

in the

. On 20 May, he was in goal during a 1–2 away victory at

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2018. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Aug ...

which saw his team gaining promotion to

Sarpsborg 08

On March 29, 2015, Tippeligaen club Sarpsborg 08 confirmed the contract.

Tours FC

On July 22, 2015, Westberg signed with

side

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play at the fifth level of French ...

Toronto FC

After two and a half years with

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...

, he moved to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

in February 2019. Initially signed to be the backup goalkeeper to

Alex Bono Alexander Nicholas Bono (born April 25, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. College career Born and raised in Baldwinsville, New York, Bono attended high scho ...

, he quickly won the starting role, earning a two-year contract extension with an option for a third, in January 2020. In December 2021 Toronto picked up Westerberg's contract option, keeping him through 2022. After the end of the 2022 season, he departed the club, upon the expiry of his contract.

Atlanta United

On December 23, 2022, it was announced that Westberg would join MLS side

for their 2023 season.

International career

Though born in France, Westberg opted to represent the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Westberg's father, an American, reached out to the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

, which led to the federation sending scouts

John Hackworth John Hackworth (born February 5, 1970, in Dunedin, Florida) is an American soccer coach who is currently Director of Coaching for St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer and the interim head coach for the club's MLS Next Pro side. Player Hac ...

and

Peter Mellor Peter Mellor (born 20 November 1947) is an American former professional footballer whose playing career as a goalkeeper spanned three decades. He played 17 years in the top three tiers of English professional football with Burnley, Fulham, Here ...

of the United States under-17 team to watch him. Westberg made his first major tournament appearance with the under-17 team at the

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, was the tenth edition of FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland between 13 and 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 1986 could particip ...

, held in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, where he served as backup keeper to

Phil Marfuggi Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

. The United States reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 0–3 to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Westberg's only appearance in the competition was in an 0–2 defeat to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, in which he allowed goals from

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 wh ...

and

Jurado Jurado is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Álvaro Jurado (born 1981), football (soccer) player * Antonio Torres Jurado (1817–1892), guitarist * Ariel Jurado (born 1996), Panamanian professional baseball pitcher * Bárbara ...

Honors

Toronto FC *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contes ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westberg, Quentin 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Suresnes French people of American descent American soccer players French footballers Association football goalkeepers INF Clairefontaine players ES Troyes AC players Thonon Evian Grand Genève F.C. players Luzenac AP players Sarpsborg 08 FF players Tours FC players AJ Auxerre players Toronto FC players Atlanta United FC players Ligue 2 players Ligue 1 players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Major League Soccer players Footballers from Hauts-de-Seine