Sporting Kansas City announced on Friday that goalkeeper Eric Kronberg has signed a new contract with the club. Per team policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.
"Eric has been a solid contributor here at this club over the last eight years. He has truly been a team guy with an incredible work ethic. He is more than deserving of the opportunity to be our No. 1," Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. "From a coaching staff point of view, it is moments like these that are the feel good moments: when you see that a guy has put so much work in and dedicated so much time to an opportunity and now it is right in front of him. We believe he is absolutely ready for this."
"I'm really happy to be back with Sporting KC," Kronberg said. "Kansas City has become my home over the past eight years and I'm very much looking forward to the future and stepping into a starting role with this club."
Kronberg, 30, enters his ninth season with the club in 2014 and is the longest tenured player on the Sporting Kansas City roster. Kronberg has remained with his current club longer than any active MLS goalkeeper and only one player (Davy Arnaud) in club history has been with the team for more than nine seasons.
A backup to MLS goalkeeping greats Kevin Hartman (2007-09) and Jimmy Nielsen (2010-13), Kronberg has made five career MLS appearances with a 2-1-2 record all-time. He made his MLS debut in the 2010 season finale, a 4-1 victory over San Jose, and has recorded 13 saves and conceded one or fewer goals in four of his five appearances.
Kronberg has featured extensively for Sporting Kansas City outside of MLS competition. He started all four of the team's 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League group stage matches, allowing only one goal en route to an unbeaten record (2-0-2) and first place finish in Group 2. His three shutouts in the competition moved him into a tie with Tony Meola atop the club's all-time chart for clean sheets in international competition.
He has started 10 games in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition in his career, third most in team history, with nine goals allowed and a club record five shutouts. In 2013, Kronberg was 3-1-2 with four shutouts and a 0.33 goals against average in all competition.
Kronberg was drafted out of the University of California in 2006 and has also logged minutes in international friendlies against Manchester United, Newcastle United, CD Guadalajara, Montpellier Herault SC and Stoke City FC since 2010. Previously No. 18, he will wear No. 1 beginning in 2014.
Seasons with team in club history:
- Davy Arnaud 10
- Kerry Zavagnin 9
- Preki 9
- Eric Kronberg 8
Jack Jewsbury 8
Jimmy Conrad 8
Nick Garcia 8
Chris Klein 8
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City (MLS) re-signs goalkeeper Eric Kronberg
