The Vancouver Whitecaps announced the signing of Austrian midfielder Alessandro Schopf on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Bundesliga veteran is locked up through 2024 with a club option for 2025.
Acquired with targeted allocation money, Schopf will occupy an international roster slot with Vancouver.
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We are pleased to announce that we have signed Austrian ???? International midfielder Alessandro Schöpf through 2024, with a club option for 2025! #VWFC pic.twitter.com/FPXT1Clqv4
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) August 3, 2022
“Alessandro is a player we’ve been looking at for a while,” Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster said in a news release. “He’s an all-around midfielder with an incredible engine, covers a lot of ground and is good in combination play. He also has plenty of experience playing in some of the top competitions in world football. We’re happy to welcome Alessandro and his family to Vancouver as they begin this next chapter.”
Schopf, who has earned 32 caps with Austria’s national team, appeared in 299 professional matches in Germany and registered 51 goals and 38 assists.
“I’m really excited to be here now and it’s a big step for me to come from European football to North America,” he said. “I hope to bring a lot of success to Vancouver and look forward to seeing all the supporters at BC Place.”
Schopf spent last season with Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld, where he started 29 of his 33 appearances.
He came up in the Bayern Munich youth system and played with FC Nurnberg (2014-16) and Schalke 04 (2016-21) before joining Arminia Bielefeld.
–Field Level Media
