ONLY IN AMNEWYORK
Ethan Horvath was born and raised in Colorado and has represented the United States men’s national team for the majority of the last decade. Yet, the veteran goalkeeper is dealing with a significant culture shock after signing with Red Bull New York last month.
The 30-year-old veteran has not lived stateside since he was 16, when his professional journey began with Norwegian side Molde in 2013. In a matter of days, he had to find a home for his family in a community that could at least loosely resemble the convenience of Europe — coffee shops, grocery stores, and a nursery within walking distance — for his wife, who hails from Norway and lived her entire life in Europe, and their daughter. But he also had to buy two cars, stressing the importance of “getting the benefits of New York,” and being just a short trip to the heart of the Big Apple.
Even grocery shopping had its challenges.
“You have option A, B, and C in Europe,” Horvath told amNewYork in an exclusive sit-down. “But here, you have options A through Z. It’s overwhelming, not living here for 15, 16 years. When you come back for national team camps, you’re only back for a week, 10 days, and you’re just in the hotel, training, back to the hotel, to the game. Now, this is your everyday living.
“I even had to text my mom while I was at the grocery store. I was like, ‘They have all these options. Just give me what is best, and I’ll try to find it.'”
If you were to ask Horvath just a few months ago if he would be back stateside playing for a team in Major League Soccer, the answer would have been a resounding no.
Within three years of his departure to Norway, he was called into the American national team. It was the first stop on a European journey, which had stops with Club Brugge in Belgium (2017-2021), and five years in England with Championship sides (second tier) Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City, including loans to Luton Town and, most recently, Sheffield Wednesday.
While Horvath was on a half-season loan with Sheffield Wednesday from Cardiff City, which ranged from August to Jan. 2, it was revealed that his parent club had no plans for him upon his return. So the search for a new home began.
“I had different pictures and different goals, different ambitions in my head,” Horvath said. “I wanted what was best next for me, moving my career along and forward, and for my family. Almost every transfer window, the door to MLS was always there. I never closed it, just in case. I wanted out of England; I wanted to go back to mainland Europe. We were maybe thinking Belgium, the Netherlands, something like that. But when the Red Bulls came, I had a really good conversation, a two-hour talk with Michael Bradley in early January.”
The Bradley effect
Red Bull. New York had initially approached Horvath and his representation in November, though exploratory conversations did not make much progress.
It was not until Bradley, at just 38, took over in mid-December and got settled at the club in what is his first top-flight head-coaching gig. New York was without a bona fide No. 1 keeper after long-time stalwart Carlos Coronel departed following the 2025 campaign.
He made no qualms about wanting Horvath.
“They said they needed an experienced goalkeeper back there,” Horvath said. “Michael was telling me that when my name came up, he was like, ‘No questions, get Ethan.'”
The deal runs through June of 2027 with options for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons and provides a reunion of sorts between Bradley and Horvath. The two were teammates with the US national team during the final acts of Bradley’s brilliant career with the Stars and Stripes, considered by many to be one of the greatest midfielders in the program’s history.
“Having the career that I’ve had so far in Europe and being lucky enough to spend 10-plus years with the full men’s national team, this football world is a small world, and you build relationships and connections everywhere,” Horvath said. “Michael is still the same Michael that I remember when we were together on the national team: Very driven, very intense on the pitch. He expects a lot from us, and he’s very demanding of everybody.”
Both Bradley and Horvath passed their first tests as members of Red Bull. Despite being the first MLS manager ever to trot out three players 17 or younger to start a match, New York downed Orlando 2-1 in its season opener on Saturday behind a brace from 17-year-old Julian Hall.
Horvath was superb, making six stops and losing his clean sheet in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time. He was named man of the match.
“It’s the right time to join Red Bull, with last season not being up to standard,” Horvath said. “They’re trying to change the culture, change habits in the club, which is good. It was and is the perfect time to join Red Bull with new, fresh faces, new ideas, and a new identity. They want to get Red Bull where Red Bull belongs, which is back on top.”
