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Steffen becomes first American to lift Premier League and Columbus drops the Crew

Gameweek four delivered some cracking action, highlighted by LA Galaxy walking out victorious over their city rivals LAFC in El Trafico. Here’s a look at the stories heading into gameweek five

Zack Steffen's title win with Man City marks a first for US football

Manchester City secured the Premier League title last night with Man United failing to beat Leicester City.

With this came a new and momentous occasion for one American.
Zack Steffen, Manchester City
City's backup goalkeeper, Zack Steffen, became the first American to lift the Premier League.

The US international played in one Premier League game this season; a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in January, which also marked his Premier League debut for the club.

In all, Steffen played 12 games for the Citizens including the entire Carabao Cup run. 

Steffen moved to Manchester in 2019 and was sent out on loan in his first season to Fortuna Dusseldorf to gain experience.
He has established himself as USMNT first choice keeper through his impressive performances when given the opportunity.
In 2018, while playing for Columbus SC, he was named the 2018 season Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as named to the Best XI that year.

Columbus cuts the Crew out

Columbus SC have taken the controversial steps to remove the "Crew" from their team name.
On Monday, the reigning MLS Cup Champions made a statement saying that as part of rebranding efforts for the team, they would be dropping the Crew and opting for the simple Columbus SC.

Despite the change, team officials have stated that they hope fans will keep the "Crew" name alive.

The fans, however, do not seem to want to embrace the change.
Some die-hard fans showed up outside the team's stadium to protest the move.

The anger stems from the fact that the "Crew" and the team colours are a major part of the team's identity.

Despite the pushback from fans, the change seems to be final and will most likely be implemented for the 2022 MLS Season.

Orlando City to sell for $450 million

Orlando City's majority owner Flavio Augusto da Silva is close to reaching an agreement with the Wilf family over the sale of Orlando City SC.
The sale will include the main Orlando City SC men's team, the National Women's Soccer League franchise Orlando Pride, and the home ground, Exploria Stadium, all for $450 million.

Da Silva has owned the team since 2013, starting off in the United Soccer League before being franchised into the MLS.

The potential buyers, the Wilf family, own the Minnesota Vikings and also already have a piece of another MLS team, Nashville SC.

In the past, they had different MLS ambitions, having bid for a franchise in Minneapolis, which eventually went to Minnesota United.
Orlando City has made a fine start to the 2021 season, sitting in fourth position in the Eastern conference with six points and a currently unbeaten record of 1-3-0.
Their marginal success to start the season has been spearheaded by star player Nani, who has been putting in sublime performances so far.

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