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Americans Leading the Charge
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)
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And now Hahnemann and Convey -- and possibly Lewis -- are on their way up.
"To earn the respect of the English media and the English players is so important," said Convey, who played for D.C. United for 4 1/2 seasons before Reading purchased him in July 2004. "It's not that they don't want you to succeed, but there's always a little animosity toward an American player because English soccer has been around so long and they don't expect an American to come in and do well."
While Convey hasn't had to wait long to get to the Premier League, Hahnemann took a circuitous path. After anchoring Seattle Pacific University's run to the Division II national championship in 1993, he played professionally for the minor league Seattle Sounders for three seasons.
A year after MLS's 1996 launch, Hahnemann joined the Colorado Rapids. In his first season, he helped the mediocre club make an unexpected playoff run to the championship game at RFK Stadium, where it lost to United, 2-1.
Through a connection overseas, Hahnemann began training in England during the offseason and soon attracted the interest of Fulham, which in the summer of '99 bought him for a mere $90,000.
He was buried on the bench, however, and eventually was loaned to both low-level Rochdale and Reading in order to gain playing time and exposure. Reading liked what it saw and acquired him for good before the 2002 season.
With Hahnemann starting, the Royals flirted with promotion the next three years before deciding to restructure their roster last summer.
Hahnemann was on U.S. national team duty at the Gold Cup in July when he decided to check in with Convey, who had already rejoined Reading for preseason training.
"I asked him how it was going there, and he said, 'We only have 12 guys,' " Hahnemann recalled. "I was like, 'Oh, man, this is going to be a long year.' "
After adding several new players, the Royals lost their opener at home to an average Plymouth side, 2-1. Three days later, they defeated Brighton, 2-0, triggering a 33-game unbeaten streak (25-0-8) that lasted more than six months. They didn't lose again until Feb. 17 to Luton, but picked up where they left off by going 4-0-3 in the next seven games, including a 1-1 tie at Leicester that clinched promotion.
Hahnemann has become a fan favorite, tossing his jersey into the crowd after each home match. When the club grew tired of giving him new shirts, he started buying his own in order to continue his goodwill gestures.
Reading supporters also have grown accustomed to seeing Hahnemann buzzing around the Berkshire town in a Porsche that he upgraded in his garage with a turbo engine and new parts as well as old ones salvaged from a previous sports car that he owned. (He also has two Jeep Cherokees.)
