Zach Pfeffer

Zachary "Zach" Pfeffer (born January 6, 1995) is an American former soccer player. In 2010 at the age of 15 he became the fourth-youngest player ever to sign a Major League Soccer contract. He retired from soccer in 2016 at 21 years of age.

Zach Pfeffer
Pfeffer at 2011 preseason training with the Union
Personal information
Full name Zachary Pfeffer
Date of birth (1995-01-06) January 6, 1995
Place of birth Dresher, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2005–2008 Montgomery United
2008–2009 YMS Celtic
2009–2010 FC DELCO
2010 IMG Soccer Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 Philadelphia Union 30 (3)
2013 → 1899 Hoffenheim (loan) 0 (0)
2014–2015 → Harrisburg City Islanders (loan) 4 (1)
2016 Colorado Rapids 0 (0)
2016 → Charlotte Independence (loan) 16 (0)
2016 → Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 2 (0)
Total 52 (3)
International career‡
2010–2011 United States U17 5 (0)
2012–2013 United States U18 9 (2)
2014–2015 United States U20 12 (5)
2015 United States U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 22, 2016
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 7, 2015

Early life

Pfeffer is Jewish and was born in Dresher, Pennsylvania.[1] He attended Upper Dublin High School, finishing on time as he played soccer for Union.[2][1] He played for YMS Celtics, FC Delco Academy along with the Montgomery Maniacs as a young man in Pennsylvania before spending a semester at the U-17 national team residency at IMG in 2010.[3][4]

After retiring from soccer in 2016 at 21 years of age, as of January 2017, he was a junior at the Fox School of Business and Management department of Temple University; he became an investment banker thereafter.[5][6][7]

Career

Philadelphia Union

Pfeffer then spent several months training with the Philadelphia Union first team and made an appearance for them in a friendly against C.D. Guadalajara on September 1, 2010.[8] Pfeffer was a member of Philadelphia's U-17 squad that competed in the MLS U-17 SUM Cup in Houston, Texas.

On December 22, 2010, the Union signed Pfeffer at the age of 15 as their first-ever homegrown player.[9][7] He was the fourth-youngest player ever to sign an MLS contract, behind Freddy Adu, Fuad Ibrahim, and Diego Fagundez.[6]

He scored his first goal for the Union in a preseason friendly against UCF on February 14, 2011, off a brilliant, long-range effort.[10] He made his regular season Philadelphia Union debut on September 17 against Columbus Crew, at 16 years of age.[7] In 2015 in 21 games (11 starts) he had two goals and an assist.[2] Pfeffer was one of the longest-tenured Union players when he left the team.[2]

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (loan)

Pfeffer was loaned to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for the whole of 2013, beginning on January 7, 2013.[11] In the 2012–2013 campaign, Pfeffer scored 2 goals in 9 matches playing for the Hoffenheim U-19 side.

Colorado Rapids

Pfeffer was traded to the Colorado Rapids in January 2016 in exchange for the overall second pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, which was used to draft defender Josh Yaro.[2][12][13][14][15] In 2014 and 2015 he played in the Major League Soccer Homegrown Game.[16]

He decided to leave soccer, to go to college and then pursue a career in finance.[2] Pfeffer explained: "I sat down and took a look where I wanted to be long-term, and I knew that in a year, five years, 10 years, the financial industry is where I wanted to be. Everything came together nicely with my contract expiring and where I was at academically and where I was professionally.... I looked at where my heart was and where my passions were. Obviously I love the game and I always will, but there was an overriding passion to pursue this next part of my life."[2] Jim Curtin, who had been his manager at Union, said: "I want to say he should still be playing because he’s that talented... It’s too young to have a career come to an end."[2]

International

Pfeffer represented the United States at the U-14 and U-15 levels and trained at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, as part of U.S. Soccer's U-17 residency program.[4] On April 18, 2011, he was called up to the U-17 National Team to play in the Mondial Minimes Montaigu Tournament in Montaigu, France, from April 18–26.[17]

Pfeffer was called into the first U-18 National Team camp of 2012 by then-Manager Richie Williams.[18] He was also called up to numerous U-18 National Team camps in 2012. He scored a goal in their November friendly against Canada.[19]

Career statistics

Club
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2011Philadelphia UnionMajor League Soccer300000–30
20121000––10
20130000––00
20145100––51
201521220––232
Total USA 303200000283
Career total 303200000323

Updated January 15, 2016[20]

Career after soccer

Pfeffer had taken Penn State online courses during his soccer career, and completed over three semesters of college before he stopped playing soccer.[2] He as of 2020 was an investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Two Zachs, One Goal". Jewish Exponent. January 16, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  2. George, Matthew De (June 19, 2017). "Former Union prodigy Pfeffer at peace with decision to walk away". The Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  3. "Residency". Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  4. "Union sign Pfeffer".
  5. Christopher A. Vito (June 20, 2017). "Fútbol to Finance: Meet Fox Student Zach Pfeffer". Temple University. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  6. George, Matt De (September 9, 2020). "De George: Older, wiser Union ready for task presented by their European talents". The Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  7. Hodgkins, James (June 17, 2020). "The new Pele & Goldman Sachs: What happened to the youngest MLS debutants?". HITC.
  8. "Zach Pfeffer | Philadelphia Union". Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  9. "Team Signs 15-Year-Old". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 22, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  10. "Union Down UCF 1–0 in Third Preseason Match". Philadelphia Union. February 13, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  11. Kerith Gabriel (December 4, 2012). "Pfeffer taking his talents to Hoffenheim via year loan deal". Philadelphia Union. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  12. "Union Trade Zach Pfeffer To Colorado To Complete Draft Day Trade". Philadelphia Union. January 15, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  13. "A History of Rapids drafts from 2014-2018". Burgundy Wave. January 7, 2019.
  14. Ralph, Matthew (June 13, 2018). "Josh Yaro suffers another injury setback". Brotherly Game.
  15. "Colorado Rapids newcomer Zach Pfeffer made MLS debut at 16". February 15, 2016.
  16. Ralph, Matthew (July 12, 2017). "Derrick Jones & Auston Trusty named to MLS Homegrown Team roster for game in Chicago". Brotherly Game.
  17. "Pfeffer Called Up to U-17 USMNT for Mondial Minimes Tournament". Philadelphia Union. April 18, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  18. "U.S. U-18 MNT Head Coach Richie Williams Names Roster for January Training Camp". United Soccer League. January 2, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  19. "U-18 MNT Scores Late Equalizer for 2–2 Draw Against Canada". United Soccer League. November 23, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  20. "Zach Pfeffer". Philadelphia Union.
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