- Former Fulham, Reading and Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann watched the Hammers’ match against Seattle Sounders
- The ex-stopper had two stints with the Sounders during his playing career
- The 44-year-old is excited to see West Ham’s progression into the new Stadium
The 44-year-old, who spent time in England as a player for Fulham, Reading and Wolves, enjoyed watching his former Club beat West Ham 3-0 from the stands in the east Londoners’ first pre-season fixture.
And after greeting many Hammers throughout the day in and around CenturyLink Field, Hahnemann – who was capped by the USA on nine occasions – revealed his thoughts on the number of Premier League supporters in America.
He said: “There are a lot of West Ham travelling fans, and when you’re walking to the stands, you see everyone in their West Ham shirts. Hopefully it will get a bit more support for the Club out here.
“West Ham are a massive Club with a massive history. With the new Stadium, it’s bit of a new era, which is a little bit sad, but also it’s the future to get more fans in there. It’s going to be awesome. They had a great season last year and it was exciting to see.
“The Premier League is the most exciting league to watch, and [the number of fans here have increased] with the way West Ham played last year. Obviously some Leicester fans are now popping up, which you’d never have seen before!
“It’s great to see how much history West Ham have, and they’re just building on that now.”
Hahnemann made his senior debut in football for the Sounders back in 1994, and despite leaving two years and 65 appearances later, the stopper returned to play out his career in Washington from 2012-2014.
Looking back on his time as a player, the ex-Reading favourite admitted he always missed turning out in the US after moving to Europe.
“Seattle are obviously the best franchise! They have been my team since I played my first pro game for them. [Former West Ham man] Harry Redknapp played back then, and Alan Hinton, who played most of his football for Derby and Wolves [was here].
“I went off to Europe with Fulham, Reading and Wolves and I missed that experience of the MLS and seeing how the franchise is taking off.
“We have over 30,000 season ticket holders now and it’s incredible. It’s what all the other teams are striving for.”