Brad Guzan/import

Bradley Edwin "Brad" Guzan (born September 9, 1984) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for English Premier League club Aston Villa and the United States national team.

Early career
Born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, Guzan, who is of Polish-American ancestry, played his youth football at the Chicago Magic Soccer Club, and for the varsity football team at Providence Catholic High School in Illinois, from which he graduated in 2003. He went on to play two seasons in NCAA competition as a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer team, where he was a second-team All-American in his sophomore season.

Chivas USA
After spending two years with the Chicago Fire Reserves in the USL Premier Development League he chose to forgo the rest of his college years, signing a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer (MLS). Chivas USA drafted Guzan with the second overall pick of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.

Guzan has played for the Under-18 United States national team. He got his first cap for the senior national team on February 19, 2006, against Guatemala. On November 7, 2007, Guzan was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

Aston Villa
July 11, 2008, Aston Villa agreed a transfer fee in the region of £600,000, or $1.2 million, with MLS and Chivas USA to sign Guzan, significantly less than the £2 million agreed to in Aston Villa's failed move for the keeper in January 2008. This was because Guzan would have been out of his contract at the end of the 2008 season in November, allowing him to sign for Aston Villa during the January transfer window on a free transfer.

On August 1, 2008, Guzan was granted a work permit by the Home Office, allowing him to complete his move to Aston Villa. He was due to be officially introduced by Aston Villa after competing for the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Guzan was the second American goalkeeper called Brad to be signed during the summer by Villa, following the capture of Premier League veteran Brad Friedel.

Guzan made his Villa debut in September 2008, in the League Cup, at home to Queens Park Rangers.

He made his European debut in the UEFA Cup game away at Slavia Prague on November 6, 2008. The match finished 1–0 to Aston Villa with Guzan making several saves to keep a clean sheet. His performance led to his manager, Martin O'Neill, describing him as a "class goalkeeper in the making." He also started in Villa's first leg against CSKA Moscow in round 32 of the UEFA Cup at Villa Park on February 18, 2009, and came on as a substitute against Liverpool after Brad Friedel's red card.

Guzan played in every game that Villa won during their success in the 2009 Peace Cup, against Atlante, Porto and Juventus. He helped Villa overcome the Italians in the final, notably in the penalty shootout where he saved the attempts of Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alessandro Del Piero. The only game that Villa did not win (in the group stages against Málaga) was the one in which Guzan did not feature. Despite having a successful pre-season period, Guzan was dropped from the first team in favour of compatriot and Premier League veteran Brad Friedel for Villa's opening game of the 2009–10 season, against Wigan Athletic.

On October 27, 2009, Guzan saved four penalties in one match, one in normal time and three more in a penalty shoot-out win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the last 16 of the League Cup. Despite these heroics, Brad Friedel replaced him in goal for the final against Manchester United.

Hull City (loan)
On December 31, 2010 Guzan was loaned to Football League Championship side Hull City on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut for Hull on New Year's Day 2011, a 1–0 loss to Leicester City. His second appearance for the club ended on a higher note, as his team went on to win 3–2 at Portsmouth. He kept his first clean sheet for the club against Barnsley in a 2–0 win for Hull. On January 25, 2011, Brad Guzan extended his loan until the end of February. He made a total of 11 league appearances for Hull, before returning to Aston Villa on 28 February.

However, on 8 March Hull re-signed Guzan on an emergency loan due to an injury to their other goalkeeper Vito Mannone. His first appearance back at the club was in a home match against Burnley. Guzan's last game for Hull City came in a 2–1 win away at Watford on April 9, 2011, after which he returned to Aston Villa.

Return to Villa
On December 3, 2011, Guzan made his second Premier League appearance for Villa coming on for the injured Shay Given against Manchester United. Given had been ruled out for a month with a torn hamstring so Guzan retained his place in the first team, giving him an extended run in Aston Villa's first team.

Guzan was released by Villa at the end of his contract in June 2012. However, he was linked with a return to the club over the summer in a situation similar to that of fellow Aston Villa goalkeeper Andy Marshall in 2010. On July 16, 2012, Guzan was included in new manager Paul Lambert's 25-man squad for Villa's tour of the United States and the same day, the player confirmed via Twitter that he had renewed his contract and rejoined the club.

He made his return for Aston Villa against Newcastle United putting in a Man of the Match performance in a 1–1 draw at the St James' Park. He kept Villa's first clean sheet of the season in a 2–0 win against Swansea City and performed well enough to keep his position in the starting lineup. At the end of the 2012-13 Premier League season, he was voted the Aston Villa Player of the Year thanks to his large contribution to Villa's survival. On 6 July 2013, Guzan was rewarded for his play and signed a four-year contract extension with the Midlands club.

International career
Since 2006, Guzan has established himself as the second-choice goalkeeper for the United States national team behind Tim Howard. He made his World Cup qualifying debut in the second leg of a second round qualifier against Barbados (with the US up 8–0 and having all but secured advancement). He later started in two semifinal matches after the U.S. had secured advancement to the final round—a 2–1 loss at Trinidad and Tobago and a 2–0 win over Guatemala. When Howard was suspended for a match at El Salvador due to accumulated yellow cards, Guzan started and helped earn a critical 2–2 draw. Guzan also started the USA's 3–0 win over Egypt in the 2009 Confederations Cup. On May 11, 2010, Guzan was named to the U.S. national team's provisional 30-man World Cup roster.

Since then, Guzan has sat back as a second choice to keeper Tim Howard. While Howard was recovering from a back injury, Guzan started in two World Cup qualifier matches in the fourth round in March of 2013. He did not allow a goal during either match, picking up a 1-0 win over Costa Rica at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and an historic 0-0 draw against Mexico at Estadio Azteca.