Ian Feuer
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ian Anthony Feuer[1] | ||
Date of birth | May 20, 1971 | ||
Place of birth |
Las Vegas, Nevada , United States | ||
Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
Las Vegas Generals | |||
1988–1989 |
Club Brugge | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1993 |
Club Brugge | 0 | (0) |
1992–1993 |
→ Molenbeek (loan) | 19 | (0) |
1993 | Los Angeles Salsa | 17 | (0) |
1994–1995 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
1995 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 16 | (0) |
1995 | → Luton Town (loan) | 14 | (0) |
1995–1998 | Luton Town | 83 | (0) |
1998 | New England Revolution | 26 | (0) |
1999 | → Rushden & Diamonds (loan) | 3 | (0) |
1999 | Colorado Rapids | 19 | (0) |
2000 | Cardiff City | 0 | (0) |
2000 | West Ham United | 3 | (0) |
2000–2002 | Wimbledon | 5 | (0) |
2001 | → Derby County (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2002 | Tranmere Rovers | 2 | (0) |
2002 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
Total | 209 | (0) | |
International career‡ | |||
1992 | United States | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2003–2011 | Pepperdine Waves (assistant) | ||
2007–2013 | LA Galaxy (assistant) | ||
2013– | USC Trojans (assistant) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 November 2006 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 November 2006 |
Ian Anthony Feuer (born May 20, 1971) is a former American professional
Born in
He returned to the U.S. in 1993 to join American Professional Soccer League side Los Angeles Salsa where he was named rookie goalkeeper of the season. In 1994, he joined English Premier League side West Ham United. He then played for Luton Town FC and was traded permanently for a fee of £580,000 to complete the deal, and he played in 90 consecutive league matches for the club before his run was ended by a shoulder injury.
Ian later joined Major League Soccer side New England Revolution to replace the retiring Walter Zenga and later, MLS side Colorado Rapids. He later worked as a goalkeeping coach in the U.S., including a nine year spell at LA Galaxy, winning two MLS Cup Championships in 2012 and 2013.
Early life
Feuer, one of six children of show business parents, was born and raised in
He joined another local youth team, the Generals, and by the age of eleven, Feuer had grown significantly taller than most of his team but had been described by his youth coach Larry Griffiths as "the clumsiest, and he wasn't going to make the team". However, Griffiths son Aaron was a friend of Feuer and refused to play unless his friend was included in the team. Griffiths made the decision to convert Feuer into a goalkeeper and trained with him every Saturday to improve his game, building a soccer equivalent of a pitching machine to shoot balls at the young goalkeeper at times for up to eight hours a day. He would face hundreds of shots every hour from the machine and Griffiths praised his determination and noted the improvement in his game, stating "He went from being the worst player on the team to one of the best in the state at 15 years old."
During his time with the Generals, Feuer was banned from playing soccer in the U.S. after an altercation with a linesman during a match. Having conceded a goal that he believed was offside, he remonstrated with the linesman over the decision and made physical contact and was subsequently sent off. Although Feuer states that he placed his hand on the shoulder of the official in order to get his attention, he was charged with physically assaulting the linesman and received a one-year playing ban.
When Feuer and his family moved to
Playing career
Belgium
Feuer moved to Belgium in 1988, where his Las Vegas youth team had previously played in a youth tournament. When they visited, he stayed with a local Belgian family and the same family contacted a neighbour who was connected to reserve team coach Gilbert Marmenhout at
After nine months with the youth side, he received a call-up for the reserve team, who were short of goalkeepers due to injury and sickness, to travel to France to play in an under-23 tournament. His performances in the tournament led him to be offered a professional contract with Brugge on his return to Belgium and saw him named as third-choice goalkeeper for the senior team. In 1991, he joined
While with Molenbeek, Feuer was called up to the U.S. national team and made his international debut when he came on for Mark Dodd in the 71st minute of a 3–1 defeat against Morocco in Casablanca on a March 18, 1992. He was also named on the U.S. roster at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as second choice behind Brad Friedel but did not feature in the competition.
Return to U.S.
Having returned to Brugge, Feuer grew frustrated with his lack of playing time and was not being paid by the club but was unable to secure a transfer as Brugge refused to release him from his contract. However, he met Rick Davis, general manager of Los Angeles Salsa, who appealed to FIFA regarding the situation and secured Feuer's release from his contract. He returned to the U.S. and played for Salsa in their 1993 American Professional Soccer Leagueseason, making 17 regular season appearances for them and keeping four clean sheets. He missed seven matches during the season due to undergoing knee surgery in August 1993 before returning for a play-off semi-final match against Vancouver 86ers. The team eventually lost to the Colorado Foxes in the championship game. The Salsa were coached by Rildo Menezes, who had previously coached him as a youngster, and the Brazilian described Feuer as "the best goalie in the U.S.". He was named Rookie goalkeeper of the season whilst with Salsa and was the league's most successful goalkeeper in overtime shootouts.
Move to England
Feuer joined London based club West Ham United for an undisclosed fee for the 1994–95 season becoming the first American goalkeeper to move to the first tier of English football. He did not play any competitive matches for them, with Luděk Mikloško being their first choice keeper. West Ham instead loaned Feuer to Division Two club Peterborough United on 20 February 1995 and he was to play sixteen games for The Posh that season.
On 11 September 1995, Feuer began another loan spell, this time with First Division side Luton Town on an initial three-month deal. He debuted for them two days later against Millwall and started fourteen straight league matches for the Hatters up to a game against Tranmere Rovers on 2 December 1995. On 14 December, he joined Luton on a permanent basis for a fee of £580,000. His first game as a full Luton player was on 16 December 1995 versus Portsmouth. In total he played 38 league games for Luton in the 1995–96 season, being named the club's player of the year.
He established himself as the club's first choice as keeper, seeing time in 97 League matches overall for Luton, until he tore a muscle his right shoulder during a match against Southend United in August 1997, ending a 90 match consecutive appearance streak. During his time out with injury, Kelvin Davis was chosen to deputise and, on his return, Feuer was unable to force his way back into the side.
MLS
On March 24, 1998,
When he returned to New England he was traded to the Colorado Rapids for a future draft consideration on February 24, 1999. The Revs traded Feuer when Walter Zenga announced his intention to return to playing for New England. On his arrival in Colorado, he was initially the club's reserve goalkeeper behind Marcus Hahnemann. However, when Hahnemann moved to Fulham during the season, Feuer stepped into the nets for the Rapids last nineteen games of the season.
Return to England
In January 2000, Feuer signed with Cardiff City on a monthly contract as a backup keeper to provide cover for Jon Hallworth, although he did not play a match for the club. A month later, he rejoined West Ham United as manager Harry Redknapp sought cover for Shaka Hislop who had suffered a broken leg. He made his debut, six years after originally signing for the club, when he was drafted in to replace injured Canadian goalkeeper Craig Forrest in a Premier League match against Derby County on 15 April 2000, becoming the tallest goalkeeper to play in the league. He made a further two league appearances, before moving to Division One club Wimbledon at the end of the 1999–2000 season. He spent the next two seasons with Wimbledon as understudy to Kelvin Davis. However, the club did loan him to Premiership side Derby County during the 2001–02 season following an injury to first choice goalkeeper Mart Poom. He was one of several players released by Wimbledon at the end of the 2001–02 season as the club looked to reduce costs due to financial difficulties.
Following his release, Feuer spent time on trial at
Personal life
His sister Debra Feuer is an actress and married Mickey Rourke in 1981, before divorcing in 1989. Feuer performed the non-speaking role of the Predator in the 2007 film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Other[nb 1] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Club Brugge
|
1989–90 | First Division
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1990–91 | First Division
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1991–92 | First Division
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1992–93 | First Division
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Club Brugge total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Molenbeek (loan)
|
1991–92[3] | First Division
|
19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
Los Angeles Salsa | 1993[4] | APSL | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
West Ham United | 1994–95 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1995–96 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
West Ham United total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Peterborough United (loan) | 1994–95[3] | Second Division | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
Luton Town | 1995–96[5][nb 2] | First Division | 38 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 38 | 0 |
1996–97[6] | Second Division | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 0 | |
1997–98[7] | Second Division | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
Luton Town total | 97 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 110 | 0 | ||
New England Revolution | 1998[8] | MLS | 26 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
Rushden & Diamonds (loan) | 1998–99[9] | Conference | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
Colorado Rapids | 1999[8] | MLS | 19 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
Cardiff City | 2000–01[10] | Third Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Ham United | 2000–01[11] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Wimbledon | 2001–02[3] | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2001–02[12] | First Division | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
Wimbledon total | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
Derby County (loan) | 2001–02[12] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
Tranmere Rovers | 2002–03[13] | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2002–03[13] | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 209 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 231 | 0 |
Notes
- ^ Includes other competitive competitions including the Football League Trophy, the FA Trophy and Football League and MLS play-off matches
- ^ Feuer joined the club on an initial three-month loan deal before signing permanently in December 1995.
References
- ^ "Ian Feuer". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ "Ian Feuer". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Ian Feuer at Soccerbase
- ^ "APSL 1993 Season". A-league archive. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ISBN 0-7472-7823-7.
- ^ 1996 at Soccerbase
- ^ 1997 at Soccerbase
- ^ a b "Ian Feuer". MLS Soccer. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ "Ian Feuer". rdfc1992. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ISBN 1-899-46817-X.
- ^ 1999 at Soccerbase
- ^ a b 2001 at Soccerbase
- ^ a b 2002 at Soccerbase