Americans Leading the Charge

Hahnemann, Convey Help England's Reading Make Leap

Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, left, Reading Chairman John Madejski and midfielder Bobby Convey celebrate the club's promotion to the Premier League. (By Julian Finney -- Getty Images)

Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey have absolutely nothing in common.

Hahnemann is 33 years old, 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds, married with two kids, a Seattle native who nearly joined the Marines after high school, has a shaved head and stubby goatee, chews tobacco, rocks to hardcore punk, drinks whiskey, collects guns, rebuilds old Porsches and rides mountain bikes in British Columbia.

Convey is 22, 5-8 and 150 pounds, single, soft-spoken, raised in northeast Philadelphia, an honor roll student at an expensive Quaker school, turned pro at age 16, lived in a quiet suburb in Northern Virginia while playing for D.C. United, sleeps a lot and likes to golf.

But over the last eight months, in a small city 40 miles west of London, their diverse worlds have meshed to help facilitate one of the grandest accomplishments in British soccer this year.

With Hahnemann in goal and Convey patrolling the left wing, Reading has run away with the second-division title and earned promotion to England's top league for the first time in its 135-year history.

And you thought Red Sox and White Sox fans had waited a while for something good to happen.

"It's been an incredible thrill," said Hahnemann, a journeyman goalkeeper who, in his fourth full season with the Royals (29-2-11), has almost as many shutouts (22) as goals allowed (28). To play in the Premier League, "it's a place I've been trying to get for a long time."

While the other Reading players will go their separate ways when the season ends in three weeks, Hahnemann and Convey are likely to spend much of the summer together as members of the U.S. World Cup team.

Barring injury, both are expected to be named to the 23-man roster early next month and journey to Germany in June for the sport's quadrennial championship. Hahnemann seems set to join Manchester United's Tim Howard as the backups to veteran starter Kasey Keller, while Convey has an outside chance of cracking Coach Bruce Arena's starting lineup.

Another U.S. World Cup player, midfielder-defender Eddie Lewis, remains in contention with his club, Leeds, to move into the Premier League, but a playoff victory would be needed.

In England and most other leagues around the world, a promotion and relegation system is in place: The top teams in lower divisions move up one level the following season, while the bottom clubs take a step down.

The number of Americans competing in the Premier League, considered one of the wealthiest and most competitive in the world, has been swelling recently. Howard, Claudio Reyna (Manchester City), Carlos Bocanegra and Brian McBride (Fulham), Brad Friedel (Blackburn) and Jonathan Spector (Charlton) are currently with clubs in the top division.