Latest news with #WilliamYarbrough
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Inter Miami sign free agent GK William Yarbrough
May 21 - Inter Miami CF signed free agent goalkeeper William Yarbrough for the remainder of the 2025 season on Wednesday. The 36-year-old veteran played for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2024 after four seasons with the Colorado Rapids. Yarbrough has recorded 34 clean sheets in 120 career MLS starts, including 13 with the Rapids in 2021. "I'm proud and excited to join Inter Miami," Yarbrough said. "I've followed the club's growth, and to now be part of that journey is something I truly value. "I'm looking forward to bringing my experience, competing every day, and doing whatever it takes to help the team reach its goals this season." Yarbrough will serve in a backup role to starter Oscar Ustari with Drake Callender sidelined following hernia surgery earlier this month. --Field Level Media
Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Inter Miami signs veteran Mexican-American goalkeeper William Yarbrough
Inter Miami announced the signing of veteran goalkeeper William Yarbrough on Wednesday, adding depth and experience to the team in the absence of injured Drake Callender. The 36-year-old Mexican American keeper, who has played in Liga MX and MLS, signed for the remainder of this season and has a fascinating backstory. He is the 6-2 blond, blue-eyed son of a Texan father named Lee Yarbrough and an Alaskan mother named Stacey Story, who were Christian missionaries and moved to Mexico in the 1980s to spread their faith. They settled in Aguascalientes, a colonial city in north-central Mexico, and that is where William and his three brothers were born. They spoke English at home but only Spanish at school and on the soccer fields, where Yarbrough gravitated toward the goalkeeper position. He signed his first contract at age 16 with the youth team of Pachuca. He stayed with Pachuca the next few years and in 2012 was loaned to Leon, where he spent eight seasons. He led Leon to two titles and was among the top goalkeepers in Liga MX. Yarbrough left Leon to move to MLS, joined the Colorado Rapids and made his debut in the MLS is Back Tournament in 2020. During his time in Colorado, he made 107 appearances and emerged as one of the team leaders. During the 2023 season, Yarbrough made 11 saves in a match against Sporting KC — the most by any goalkeeper in MLS that year. Most recently, he played with the San Jose Earthquakes during the 2024 season, making 22 appearances across MLS and Leagues Cup matches. He became a free agent this winter and got a call from Inter Miami last week, after Callender underwent surgery for a sports hernia. 'Unfortunately, Drake is in a difficult moment and it's a shame I have to arrive for this reason, with him out for a period of time,' Yarbrough said. 'It is a good opportunity for me at this point in my career.' Yarbrough stressed he is not here just as a backup. 'I am here to compete for a starting role,' he said. 'I have a very competitive spirit, a winning attitude. It would not speak well of me if I wasn't looking to start. That kind of internal competition is healthy for the team. We have a great group of keepers with [Oscar] Ustari and Rocco [Rios Novo] and I am here to add to it, on and off the field, to generate competition in the day to day because the team will benefit from that.' He has played over 350 professional games, including eight in the Copa Libertadores, 170 in LIGA MX, and more than 115 in MLS. 'I'm proud and excited to join Inter Miami; I've followed the club's growth, and to now be part of that journey is something I truly value,' he said. 'I'm looking forward to bringing my experience, competing every day, and doing whatever it takes to help the team reach its goals this season.' He added that he is confident Inter Miami will recover from its recent slump. The team has just one win during the past seven games, has given up 20 goals during that spell and slipped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference heading into a road game Saturday against the first-place Philadelphia Union. 'I have watched all of their games, and in soccer there are always bad stretches, I have lived through thousands of them, some worse than this one,' Yarbrough said. 'I think there will be no problem. What caught my attention from Day One is the chemistry in the locker room. When the group is united, the team can turn the page.' Yarbrough gave a hint about the kind of keeper Inter Miami fans can expect. 'I like to play out of the back with a high line, take risks,' he said. 'I think these days that is fundamental, for goalkeepers to be able to play out of the back. I am comfortable in those areas. For now, I will get to know the team, see what the coach asks of me, and adapt to whatever they need.' Yarbrough also has experience on the international stage. As he became more well-known, he continually faced the same question: Would he play for the U.S. or Mexican national team? As a dual citizen, he was eligible to play for either country. He played briefly for the Mexican under-20 team in 2007 but switched to the U.S. senior team in 2015 under then-coach Jurgen Klinsmann. In fact, he attended two U.S. training camps in Miami, in 2015 and 2019. 'I have such love and respect for both countries,' Yarbrough said. 'My parents arrived in Mexico in the early '80s and the country welcomed them amazingly. I was born there, raised there, and so I have enormous love and respect for both countries and cultures. I'm a proud Mexican American.'
