Man Utd' 'easy target' laughed out of Old Trafford now a player favourite in MLS
Zack Steffen has lavished praise on new Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas in a major vote of confidence for the former Manchester United assistant.
The EFL Cup-winning stopper has embarked on a new chapter in his career in MLS following his five seasons in England, which saw him work under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough. He played 21 games for the Premier League champions in total, with these appearances interspersed between loan spells with Fortuna Dusseldorf and Boro.
As US international Steffen looks to force his way back into national team boss Gregg Berhalter's plans, he has taken the decision to head to his homeland as he looks to re-ignite fortunes his stateside. Now, the 28-year-old has spoken in glowing terms about the set-up he has entered into in Colorado.
Having signed a three-year contract upon his return to MLS, the former Columbus Crew star exuded positivity as he looked back on his first month with the Rapids. Speaking ahead of the new season, he told Mirror Sport via a video link: "It's been great, it's been a great start."
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With his sights now set on challenging USMNT No. 1 goalkeeper Matt Turner for his jersey in the coming campaign, he spoke of the help he has received from the staff at his new club since arriving. Steffen continued: "I’ve made a lot of progress individually and collectively. [Goalkeeper coach] Chris Sharpe has just been incredible, so detailed, a hard worker.
"It’s been a privilege and an honour to work with him and grow with him. All the guys have bought into Chris Armas and his staff. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know the guys on and off the field. We’re excited for what the season has to offer for us. It has been tough but it was kinda good - I was able just to reset mentally, physically and spiritually.
"I’m probably in the best place that I’ve been in [in my] career, just in terms of strength. My knee is feeling great and my mind is healthy and spiritually, I’m very in tune. So, I’m really excited to start playing again and I can’t wait for the games to start kicking off."
Zack Steffen is back in the MLS after spells with Manchester City and Middlesbrough (Getty Images)Previous to taking the top job in Colorado, head coach Armas had served under former interim manager Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United, with the pair often receiving criticism during their half-season in charge.
Following on from this, he also had a stint at rivals Leeds as an assistant to Jesse Marsch, eventually becoming co-interim manager after his compatriot's sacking.
The purported enthusiasm of the Rapids players ahead of the new MLS term represents a sea change when it comes to the reception Armas received while at Old Trafford. He reflected on his time with the Red Devils previously, telling the Athletic: "When I initially got there, it wasn’t like, 'Oh, the American is here'. It didn’t feel like that.
"You talk to players and Cristiano (Ronaldo) is like, 'Oh, you’re from the Bronx'. They read a little bit about you, they know a few things here and there. But I would say at some point, when things were getting tougher for the club in terms of results, yeah, I think I was an easy target. Things came out publicly, the training sessions, what have you, that frankly were just not true.
"So journalists, or whoever is putting that out there, just flat out lying," he continued, as he opened up on the experience of coming under fire. "Just lies. So that part, is it because I’m American? I’m not sure. But I think I became an easy target at a certain point in the season when things weren’t going well."
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