Date of Birth: 15 06 1972
Place of Birth: Seattle
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: USA
International Caps 4
International Goals 0
Marcus Hahnemann Rumours and Transfers
14 08 2007
Reading will be without forwards Dave Kitson (suspended) and Leroy Lita (hip) for tomorrow's visit of Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League.
Long term injured players Glen Little (Achilles) and Ibrahima Sonko (knee) remain absent however midfielders Bobby Convey and Emerse Fae maybe involved for the 1st time this season.
Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann will keep his place inspite of not having fully recovered from a broken hand.
Wayne Rooney is looking set for an extended spell on the sidelines after Man Utd said the £27 million forward suffered a hairline fracture of his left foot during the 0-0 draw with Reading
The incident occurred nearer to the end of the opening period when Rooney fired a low cross from Michael Carrick just over the crossbar.
In attempting to make a tackle, Michael Duberry accidentally trod on Rooney's foot.
It was clear instantly Rooney had a problem, as he went down and removed his boot.
Although he was able to continue briefly, he did not reappear for the 2nd half, with Ferguson sending the 21 year old for a scan.
Although the United manager expressed the hope the damage would not be too bad, his worst fears now appear to have been confirmed, even though the precise extent of the injury is not known.
However, having already suffered 2 broken metatarsals in his career already, the last against Chelsea in 2006 which nearly cost Rooney a place in that summer's World Cup finals, it could be a big surprise if the former Everton man was not sidelined for a few months at least.
Certainly, he will miss United's forthcoming Premier League encounters with Portsmouth and Manchester City, plus England's friendly with Germany on August 22.
In all probability England coach Steve McClaren will also be without his 1st choice forward for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia at the starting of next month.
Ferguson said, "There was no point in him continuing because there is a lot of swelling and he has quite a lot of pain."
With Rooney out and both Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only returning to training after long term injuries last week, Ferguson seems certain to hand Carlos Tevez his debut at Fratton Park Wednesday.
"I was thinking about using Carlos at Portsmouth anyway however obviously, he will come into our thoughts even more now," mentioned Ferguson.
The United manager had no hesitation in saying that his side could have won had Rooney remained on the pitch.
Undoubtedly, the 21 year old was the Red Devils' most effective performer until his departure and though United huffed and puffed afterwards, the nearest they came to breaking Reading's resistance was when Paul Scholes nodded straight at Marcus Hahnemann in the last minute.
"If Wayne was staying on, we could have gone on to win the match," claimed Ferguson. "That lack of a central forward cost us."
The hosts did not even benefit from the dismissal of substitute Dave Kitson, whose appearance was one of the briefest in Premier League history.
Kitson had only been on the pitch for 37 seconds before was sent off by referee Rob Styles for a lunge at Patrice Evra.
"I have looked at it again and his foot probably was a little bit high," mentioned Reading manager Steve Coppell.
"The difference between a malicious, red card challenge and a very good challenge is a milli-second. Possibly he deserved to be sent off however Dave is not a dangerous player."
Although his conservative game-plan, aimed at avoiding the trouncing Fulham suffered at Old Trafford on the opening day of last season, worked to perfection, Reading manager Steve Coppell was upset at the reaction afterwards.
"After watching the guys on TV, I almost feel like I must apologise," he said.
"It does bother me because I would like people to think we are more than only a defensive side. However, your season long dreams can be shattered very quickly here. I could have loved to have gone 4-4-2 and seen what happened however we could have got hammered."
On a weekend when Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all won, Ferguson's team already find themselves adrift of their major rivals.
However, the United manager remained upbeat, confirming he has no intention of bringing in any striking reinforcements, even though he was forced to pair John O'Shea with Cristiano Ronaldo up front midway through the 2nd period.
"There is no criticism at all today," he said. "We did everything we could; played with good panache and urgency and good tempo. It was everything you look for in the 1st game of the season, we only did not get the goal."
Kitson was stunned by his dismissal and urged Styles to look at it again.
He informed Sky Sports News, "I cannot think it was a straight red card and I'd implore Rob Styles to have a 2nd look at it. I know I caught him (Evra), I was trying so desperately to stop him clearing the ball up the pitch...sometimes you are successful and sometimes you miss. The last words to me were 'show passion on the pitch, stop them playing and attempt to sneak a goal'. It is a yellow card, however a straight red...I am lost for words."
12 08 2007
Man Utd dominated the game however lacked a clinical finisher on the day, something to which Ferguson was quick to point out as the main reason behind the 0-0 result.
'Well its there for everyone to see, we had so much possession and we had to take our chances however it was not our day. We had good movement in the 1st half and made good chances in the 2nd half, however credit to [Reading] they battled, fought and scrapped.'
Reading's man of the match was goalie Marcus Hahnemann, who after battling back from a pre season hand injury made a few vital saves and was understandably elated.
'United are an unbelievable side and with only 10-men it is a good result to get a draw here."
Upon being questioned about Reading's negative tactics the American responded by emphasising the situation his team faced.
'No, we came to get a result, we think we could have got one, however it was not our day up-front however we played well to get a draw.'
Team mate Michael Duberry was equally as happy with the result as he admitted that the man to man system Reading used was hard to implement however paid off in the end.
'Going man-for man is hard – I think I lost about 2 stone out there! – however it was testing going 10-men down because we had no outlet, however we stuck it out and luckily got a point.'
A further headache for Ferguson could be the extent of Wayne Rooney's foot injury which worryingly occurred on his previously injured left foot, however the Scot played down the fears of a long term absence.
'We'll send him for a scan, however I cannot tell you how long he will be out for – it does not look like the metatarsal – however he would not walk so we were not going to take any chances, however we have Ole and Tevez to come into the team so we will not be looking for a new striker'
Ferguson also pointed to Rooney's half time substitution as a pivotal point behind his team's inability to finish the chances they created
'If Rooney was on the pitch we could have won the match, however with him off injured we had no central striker'
12 08 2007
10 man Reading earned an excellent goalless draw at Old Tafford as champions Man Utd slipped up on the opening day.
United wasted several good chances and Royals keeper Marcus Hahnemann made a string of important saves as Steve Coppell's side frustrated United, who have a big worry over Wayne Rooney after the forward limped out of the action at half time.
It is unclear how bad Rooney's injury is however he was clutching his foot after a clash with Michael Duberry and Alex Ferguson will wait nervously to see how he is after the problem is assessed.
It was a memorable start to the season for Reading, though, inspite of Dave Kitson being sent off for a poor tackle on Patrice Evra only 37 seconds after coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.
Rooney and Michael Carrick had gone close early on before Ryan Giggs struck the outside of the post however the champions were struggling to find any sort of rhythm.
Rooney then headed wide before volleying over as he picked up his injury however the Royals, marshalled superbly by Ulises de la Cruz at the back, defended brilliantly.
01 08 2007
Reading manager Steve Coppell has confidence Marcus Hahnemann will be fit for the start of the new season.
The goalie injured his hand on the final day of last term and had to have 2 plates and 16 screws inserted over the summer.
Hahnemann has not featured in any of Reading's friendlies, even though he continues to train throughout pre season.
Coppell expects the American keeper to be ready to face champions Man Utd at Old Trafford on 12th August.
"He will be close for the start of the season I think. He's not close to a game at the moment however he will be come the 1st Saturday," Coppell informed the club's official website.
"At the age of 35 it is not like he requires 4 games to get up to speed. He knows what he's doing."
18 06 2007
Reading expect Marcus Hahnemann to be fit for the start of the new season, however Ibrahima Sonko will not be rushed back from his knee ligament injury.
American goalie Hahnemann suffered broken bones in his hand during the final match of last season and should return in time for the new campaign, inspite of the possibility of missing the start of pre season training.
However, Royals physio Jon Fearn admitted that it is a different story with Sonko, who was sidelined since suffering knee ligament damage in January.
"Marcus will not be ready for pre season training, however by the time the season starts he maybe okay," he informed the Reading Evening Post.
"His progress is slow because he has quite major surgery on his hand. He (Sonko) has started running and was doing light power work. He will hopefully start exact football work in August so he will definitely miss the start of the season. However, in those weeks he will step it up. It will be interesting to see how he copes, however if the carrot maybe playing at the end of August, that will be 6 months after he has the op in February and Michael Owen was out for 11 months with the same injury."
