Update:
Oakland Roots announced they signed Switzerland international goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel to a contract on Tuesday.
The Blog predicted Oakland would sign a goalkeeper during the season, while dialogue between the two sides on a contract was first reported in December. Following the first game of the season, the paperwork is now fully completed.
According to Manuel Veth of Transfermarkt, Oakland Roots are “very close” to signing Switzerland international goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel to a contract.
Veth notes Spiegel’s contract details are still in negotiation but both sides “want to make it work.”
Roots would not confirm or deny the report, but mentioned “ongoing” conversations: “We can’t comment on ongoing negotiations. We can confirm we are in active conversations with a number of players.”
So what are Oakland Roots getting in Spiegel?
It’s further indication of Roots turning the page on Paul “The Wall” Blanchette after four years.
Spiegel turns 32 years old on December 19 and would enter Roots as the presumptive starter to replace Blanchette. Signing as an international player has big implications for teams in the USL Championship given organizations are permitted a limited amount of international slots.
The Swiss keeper is listed at 6 feet, 5.5 inches and possesses 16 years of professional experience including stays within the English Football League system at West Ham, Crawley Town, Barnet, and Carlisle United.
There has been no doubt about Blanchette’s ability as a shot-stopper in between the posts, but perhaps the largest knock against him has been as a distributor. In fact, Blanchette’s 65.9 percent completion rate on long passes in 2024 was his highest mark during his entire stay in Oakland. It equated to the bottom 43 percent of USL Championship goal keepers, per FotMob.
Although Spiegel’s stats aren’t available on FotMob, his highlight reels on YouTube shows a capable shot-stopper, but perhaps the marquee takeaway is someone who can make plays with his feet as a passer.
It’s difficult to remember any point when Roots had a keeper known for their passing skills with Blanchette, Tim Syrel, Benny Díaz, and Zeus de la Paz being the only players at the position in the team’s USL Championship history. Of the group, Díaz had the club’s highest long pass completion rate of 74.4 percent during his brief 13 starts in 2022.
De la Paz also seldom made impressions with his ability to quickly bomb the ball downfield, similar to the attached gif below of Spiegel. It’s a style of play Roots haven’t been able to execute on a consistent basis with any keeper from 2021-2024.
Roots head coach Gavin Glinton frequently made gestures to get the ball forward last season, often watching in frustration by the lack of execution. If Spiegel can add the ability can make these type of one-pass plays, it seems suitable to the demands of Glinton’s system.
He even scored a goal from the top of his own penalty area in 2020 with FC Winterthur of the Swiss Super League.
Spiegel, 31, began his career with Club Grasshopper II in Zürich in 2009 before being promoted to the first team the following year in the Swiss Super League. He was loaned to SC Brühl of the Swiss third division in 2011-2012. He then signed with West Ham United upon its promotion to the Premier League in 2012.
After spending time on West Ham’s U-21 side, Spiegel was loaned to Crawley Town of EFL League One and Barnet of the National League for separate one-month spells in 2014. He had another loan stay at Carlisle United of EFL League Two in 2015, then returned to the Hammers’ U-23 side in the 2016-2017 season to help them earn a promotion to Premier League 2.
He departed from West Ham in 2017 to sign a contract with Boavista of Portugal’s Primeira Liga, the top tier of Portuguese football in 2017-2018. From there, he returned to Swiss Super League for FC Winterthur from 2018-2022, making 117 appearances.
Spiegel signed with Lausanne-Sport of the Swiss Challenge League in 2022, helping them earn a promotion to the Super League in 2023.
For his career, Spiegel has appeared in 161 total matches over the course of his time with SC Brühl, West Ham’s U-21 and U-23 sides, FC Winterthur, and Lausanne-Sport.
Check our tracker for all of Oakland Roots’ roster news this offseason.