Kevin Kratz

Kevin Kratz (born 21 January 1987) is a German footballer who last played as a midfielder for Atlanta United of Major League Soccer.

Kevin Kratz
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-01-21) 21 January 1987
Place of birth Eschweiler, West Germany
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1994 SCB Laurenzberg
1994–1997 Germania Dürwiß
1997–2006 Bayer Leverkusen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Bayer Leverkusen II 89 (12)
2009–2012 Alemannia Aachen 68 (3)
2012–2014 Eintracht Braunschweig 32 (1)
2014–2016 SV Sandhausen 22 (0)
2016 Philadelphia Union 0 (0)
2017–2019 Atlanta United 48 (3)
2018–2019 → Atlanta United 2 (loan) 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:30, November 21, 2019 (UTC)

Career

Europe

After spending three seasons with Bayer 04 Leverkusen's reserve team early in his career, Kratz joined Alemannia Aachen in the 2. Bundesliga. After Aachen was relegated from the 2. Bundesliga at the end of the 2011–12 season, he transferred to Eintracht Braunschweig.[1] With his new club, Kratz won promotion to the Bundesliga in 2013. After the 2013–14 Bundesliga season, Kratz transferred to SV Sandhausen.[2]

Philadelphia Union

In September 2016, Kratz signed with Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer in the United States. Union Sporting Director Earnie Stewart indicated that Kratz would find a place in the Union midfield, stating "Kevin provides us valuable depth in multiple positions across our midfield."[3] Union coach Jim Curtin likewise indicated that Kratz would fit into a central position in the midfield but suggested that he would be used as a backup for existing Union players.[4] Philadelphia later announced that Kratz would not be returning to the team for the 2017 season.

Atlanta United FC
Kevin Kratz after playing for Atlanta United on 24 September 2017

On 11 December 2016, Philadelphia announced that it had completed its transaction to send midfielder Kratz to Atlanta United, acquiring the expansion club’s fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Kratz.[5]

After scoring on two free kicks, one being the game-winning goal, against Montreal Impact on 28 April 2018, Kratz won both MLS Goal of the Week honors and MLS Team of the Week bench honors for Week 9 of the 2018 season.[6][7]

Career statistics
As of matches played on 11 November 2018.
ClubSeasonLeagueCupOtherTotal
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayer Leverkusen II2006–07Regionalliga Nord282——282
2007–08Oberliga Nordrhein28410294
2008–09Regionalliga West336—336
Totals891210—9012
Alemannia Aachen2009–102. Bundesliga18110—191
2010–1130240342
2011–1220011211
Totals68361—744
Eintracht Braunschweig2012–132. Bundesliga18012—192
2013–14Bundesliga14110151
Totals32122—343
SV Sandhausen2014–152. Bundesliga15000—150
2015–16701080
Totals22010—230
Philadelphia Union2016MLS0000—00
Atlanta United201720121222
20182722010292
Totals4734110524
Atlanta United 22018USL2000—20
Career totals260191441027523
Source:[8]

Personal

Kratz earned his U.S. green card in July 2017.[9] This status also qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

References
  1. "Eintracht holt Kevin Kratz". eintracht.com (in German). Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  2. "Kratz von Braunschweig nach Sandhausen" [Kratz from Braunschweig to Sandhausen] (in German). DFL. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  3. "Philadelphia Union sign German midfielder Kevin Kratz". philadelphiaunion.com. 15 September 2016.
  4. "Philadelphia Union press conference recap". brotherlygame.com. 22 September 2016.
  5. "Philadelphia Union Officially Completes Transaction With Atlanta United FC". 11 December 2016.
  6. Boehm, Charles (3 May 2018). "Atlanta United's Kevin Kratz wins Week 9 AT&T Goal of the Week honors". MLS Soccer. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. Rodriguez, Alicia. "Team of the Week presented by Audi: Almiron is king of the hill in Week 9". MLS Soccer. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  8. "Kevin Kratz » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  9. J. Sam Jones (27 July 2017). "Tata Martino issues update on Josef Martinez injury; Kevin Kratz receives green card". DirtySouthSoccer.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.


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