Brad Guzan started his career in MLS, and it looks like he'll end it there as well, but plenty of action took place between those two time periods. The Illinois-born goalkeeper was drafted No. 2 by Chivas USA in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. Guzan has 64 caps for the United States National Team. He was named the 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. He also made the Best XI that year. In 2008, he made a $1m move to the Premier League's Aston Villa. He made 144 total appearances for Villa from 2008-2016, with a short loan stint at Hull City in between. After playing a few games for Middlesbrough, the American GK moved back to his home country to play for Atlanta United ahead of their inaugural season in the league.
Guzan debuted for Atlanta on July 21, 2017, reintroducing himself to league with a 5-save clean sheet against Orlando. He made an incredible save right in front on a header. Guzan joined halfway through a season that was off to a great start as far as expansion teams go. In an astonishing defensive stretch in September, Guzan kept a clean sheet in all but one game. Atlanta played 7 games in the month, and they got scored on in just one match, and it was 3 goals at that. He made 5 saves in the historic 7-0 victory over New England, but the highlights were a bit too busy to show any of his saves. He made a fabulous save to rob Jozy Altidore on Decision Day. Atlanta finished in fourth in their first MLS campaign. In a crazy home playoff match against Columbus, Guzan kept a clean sheet, saved a penalty in the shootout, but they still got knocked out. Guzan won the 2017 MLS Save of the Year, as he reached across the goal to deny Bradley Wright-Phillips.
What a lot of people may not know about the 2018 Atlanta United season is the fact that they started off with a 4-0 loss in match one. Guzan made 6 saves, his highest total since joining, but it was not enough to fend off the Dynamo pressure. On June 9th, Guzan had a breakout game in net. Early on, he closed down Ismael Tajouri-Shradi of NYCFC. He then shut down David Villa at point blank range. Despite these antics, Atlanta could not capture the win and conceded a goal. Guzan made another kick save against Jonathan Lewis. He kept out a couple of free kicks from David Villa. When the curtain came down, Guzan made 9 saves, they were outshot 23-6, but drew 1-1. He was named to the MLS All-Star team. He played one half against Juventus. Atlanta finished two points off the Supporters' Shield, second place in the East. Guzan kept a clean sheet in leg one of the series against both New York teams. In MLS Cup, he denied a Jeremy Ebobisse header to help Atlanta hoist the trophy in a 2-0 victory.
In his first two seasons with Atlanta, Brad Guzan registered 8 clean sheets a piece. In 2019, he nearly doubled it. He kept a clean sheet in 14 matches, whilst playing all 3,060 minutes, completing the ironman feat that very few players do. From the end of April to the middle of May, he kept a clean sheet in five consecutive games. He was named to his second straight All-Star game, allowing 0 goals in his 30 minutes against Atletico Madrid. All the while, Atlanta were advancing in the US Open Cup. He did not allow any goals in the Quarters or Semis, against St. Louis and Orlando, respectively. Atlanta won the Campeones Cup in August, though Guzan did not play. Two weeks later, they took the Open Cup. Guzan made a save on Kevin Molino to retain the lead. It was the club's third trophy in such a short period of time. In MLS, Atlanta finished second again. In the first round of the playoffs, Guzan kept Cristian Penilla's strike out of the net. Atlanta went out to Toronto in the ECF.
In 2020, Atlanta United had their first season that can be constituted as bad. In a year that ten teams qualified for the playoffs in the East, 71% of teams in the conference, Atlanta still missed out. His best game of the year was a 6-save shutout against Orlando City in October, in which he put a big paw on the ball to stuff a Daryl Dike diving header. Atlanta finished in 12th place with just 6 wins, it was a season they will want to forget forever.
In 2021, Atlanta recovered some of their form, as expected. Guzan hit double digit clean sheets for the second time in his career with the club. He also made 3.38 saves per game, the highest mark of his time in Atlanta by far. He saved 6 shots in a match down in Fort Lauderdale, including a great stop on Gonzalo Higuaín. He replicated this performance against NYCFC, saving Maxi Moralez's shot at the near post. His best match of the year took place on September 25th, when he stopped 8 shots at Philadelphia. The Union bombarded him with shots all day, even the CBs got involved. The five stripes ended up as the fifth seed, and NYCFC got the best of them in the first round of the postseason.
It was a return to mediocrity for AUFC in 2022. For Brad Guzan, it was a heartbreaking year. In the third match of the year, he made 6 saves against Charlotte FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, flashing a leg to deny Karol Swiderski. On April 16th versus FC Cincinnati, Guzan's season ended. He ruptured his achilles. It was the first real long-term injury of his career.
Guzan returned in time for the start of the 2023 season. Soon, he suffered another setback. This time, it was a torn MCL in his left knee for the captain. The timeline was 10-12 weeks. Just about seven weeks later, Guzan was back starting in net. Just 20 seconds into a home match against New England, he quite literally assisted a Carles Gil goal. At this time, Atlanta fans had been saying that the 38-year-old, now 39, was past it. That his time was done. Just check the comments on the highlights of that New England loss for proof.
Whether their claims have merit or not, Guzan proved everyone wrong on June 7, 2023. He posted one of the best performances of his MLS career, stopping all 8 shots he faced at LAFC. LAFC had an xG (expected goals) total of 2.33, which is quite high, but scored 0. This was courtesy of the bald man in net. He stopped Mateusz Bogusz's chance at the back post. A little while later, he denied Kwadwo Opoku from a tough angle. The Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga likely went home wondering how on earth he did not increase his goal count, as Guzan stuffed him many times, none more incredible than the quick flash of the glove from close range. As if the game could not get any sweeter, he dove left and palmed away Carlos Vela's penalty kick. Guzan was off the line, Vela would retake. He retook, but Guzan must have been in his head, as he sent it to Row Z. With mere minutes left, he denied a Bouanga deflection. The match was so good it deserved its own paragraph. It ended nil-nil.
Guzan was fairly solid the rest of the way, keeping 7 total clean sheets. Atlanta finished 13-9-12, good for the sixth seed. This will set up a best-of-3 series against the Columbus Crew. It is set to kickoff on November 1st. Guzan and his Atlanta team will look to be the dark horse of the tournament, but they will be without Thiago Almada due to suspension for game one. Brad Guzan has had an incredible career, from the start with his Chivas USA days, to what is assumed to be close to the end with Atlanta United. His shot stopping ability has been seen at every club he has graced. Guzan comes in at #47.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | CS | SAVES/PG |
2023 | ATL | 2,430 | 7 | 2.26 |
2022 | ATL | 613 | 1 | 2.0 |
2021 | ATL | 2,610 | 10 | 3.38 |
2020 | ATL | 2,070 | 6 | 2.57 |
2019 | ATL | 3,060 | 14 | 2.68 |
2018 | ATL | 2,914 | 8 | 2.52 |
2017 | ATL | 1,260 | 8 | 2.71 |
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