Matthew Hoppe is on his way to Denmark.
Danish club Sonderjyske has signed the American forward to a two-and-a-half-year deal until June 2027, the club announced. Hoppe has been without a club since being released by Middlesbrough earlier this month.
We are very pleased that we can now present Matthew Hoppe in the light blue shirt,” Sonderjyske sporting director Casper Daather said. “He is a striker who, despite his relatively young age, has tried a lot, and he has been to some significant addresses.
“Since he kicked the door into the Bundesliga, there has been a bit of silence around him for various reasons, and this is also our chance to come to the table,” Daather added. “He needs a club that can help him return to the high level that he has so far shown that he possesses, and in that process Sonderjyske Fodbold is a good place for Hoppe to be.”
Hoppe broke into the Schalke first team in 2020, becoming the first American player to score a hat trick. He later joined Spanish club Mallorca before also spending time with Middlesbrough, Hibernian, and the San Jose Earthquakes.
The former U.S. youth national team forward scored nine goals in 50 appearances at club level. He’s also earned eight caps for the USMNT to date.
“I am very happy to have signed a contract with Sonderjyske Football,” Hoppe said. “I have had some good talks with the coaching team and the sports director, and I am looking forward to becoming part of the team.
“I have gradually tried a bit of everything here in Europe, so I come with a good experience, and I am pretty sure that I will quickly settle in Denmark and get to know the 3F Superliga,” he added. “I am just looking forward to getting started, and I am looking forward to the upcoming challenges, where I will do everything to help meet the club’s goals.”
Sonderjyske sits 10th in the Danish Superliagen and will conclude its season on March 16.
Quozzel, “ I also got the sense with Hoppe there was more than a bit of diva in him, and he thought he was better than he was…a lot of guys who are slick on the ball think that, actually.“ Similar thoughts after seeing him play a few times. Plus, kind of a bully and dirty player
Hopefully it will be a good move for him. A lot of raw talent to his game. Just needs some refining.
Didn’t Haji Wright rebound his career at Sonderjysky after a similar tumble from the bundesliga? Perhaps this could lead to big things for him.
Curse of Freddy Adu got him. I feel he was burnt out too. Surprised no MLS. Teams like San Diego didn’t pick him up.
I heard that he “trialed” with Vancouver last week, but that move seemed unlikely with Brian White there. He was better than Cowell during his brief spell with San Jose in 2023, forcing Cade to the bench.
Why didn’t the Quakes keep him then? Was it attitude or some such, or was it Hoppe himself who didn’t want to sign?
I had to look it up. Apparently there was an injury that caused the 12 month loan to SJ to be terminated. Middlesbrough really had no interest in him either. So here we are 12 months later with Matthew having played less than 200 minutes for their U21 team. Hoppe recovered enough to be on the bench for Middlesbrough before the start of the MLS season so I guess draw your own conclusions as to how interested SJ was.
Hoppe was a guy who would be hard to fit in a lot of systems. He’s really good on the ball and has some definite skills. He can score some filthy goals, and he’s got that nose and that attitude and swagger you want from a goal-scorer. The problems that I saw with him were: he’s a lot like Haji Wright in that he’s a lot better facing the goal than playing with his back to it, but while Haji is shockingly fast for a guy so large and can leave startled defenders choking on exhaust fumes, Hoppe’s slow. I also did not exactly see a rampaging ball of fire putting in defensive work, his range was limited, and his off-the-ball movement really never drew my eye either. And as a coach, one of the first things you look for is guys who are active and aware off the ball and are constantly anticipating the flow of play and getting away from defenders. (This is a huge part of why I love, say, Jesus Ferreira so much, along with his technical ability and that incredible speed and range he has…the guy isn’t just fast as a thief, he’s also crafty, clever, and knows how to disappear on the field even though his defender knows intellectually losing track of him is a bad, bad idea.) Hoppe seemed a lot more static and linear and often seemed to fade out of games.
I also got the sense with Hoppe there was more than a bit of diva in him, and he thought he was better than he was…a lot of guys who are slick on the ball think that, actually.
The thing is, though, the technical skills and confidence are there, and Hoppe has demonstrated a very high ceiling, so he’s a guy I’d never fully write off, either. The right coach might be able to do something with the guy. I mean, you don’t get a hat trick in the Bundesliga by being a putz, or get picked up by Schalke or La Liga, and we saw him be a force in the Gold Cup at times. But a guy’s ceiling and his typical performance are not the same thing, either, as so many guys show.
Q: I remember when Hoppe came on the scene at Schalke, Brian Kleiban and another youth coach from LAG, were doing a regular YouTube show going over the USMNT roster. They both were very dismissive of him. Hoppe had come up as a MF but couldn’t get minutes for LAG Youth because they had guys like Mendez, Llanez, and Efrain Alvarez so Hoppe left for Barca Academy. At Barca they switched him to forward. He did well enough that Schalke picked him up for their youth academy. Schalke was investing in American youth players having had Tatigue, Weston, and Haji all come thru. He didn’t put up big numbers for their youth teams, he only started 1 match for Schalke II before he started for the main squad. Kleiban and his buddy were basically like good for him, but he’s not going to be a star. They were trying to be nice but you could tell that they thought it was a fluke. Now at the time Kleiban was going on and on about Llanez and Efrain Alvarez and neither have been able to stick either.
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Barca Residency had Luna, Hoppe, Caden Clark, Julian Araujo, and Rokas Pukstas all there at the same time.