Among the laments in last season's forgettable campaign by the Philadelphia Union was an inability to get young players on the pitch late in the season.
The team took a step toward rectifying that Tuesday with the announcement that midfielder Zach Pfeffer would be loaned out for the 2013 calendar year to German Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
The 17-year-old native of Dresher and former FC Delco member played just four games in two seasons for the senior side after becoming the Union's first signing under the MLS' Homegrown Player Policy. He made his debut Sept. 17., 2010.
He saw the field for a scant four minutes last season despite having been capped by the United States at the U17 and U18 levels. Pfeffer also helped lead the Union's U17 team to the 2012 Generation Adidas Cup championship last season.
"Loaning Zach to Hoffenheim is a win-win situation for all parties involved," Union manager John Hackworth said in a statement. "While we will miss Zach for the 2013 season, we know that the experience at this stage of his maturation process will be invaluable to both him and the Philadelphia Union in the future."
Pfeffer is eligible to join Hoffenheim in the new year, and his loan will extend until the Bundesliga breaks for its holiday hiatus in Dec. 2013, ruling him out for the entire MLS season. The Union have picked up his contract option for 2014 and will control his rights when the loan spell if over.
Pfeffer is familiar with Hoffenheim, having trained there each of the last two offseasons. The club name should ring a bell for Union fans, as it is the parent club of Kai Herdling, who was loaned to the Union for two fairly undistinguished months last spring.
While Pfeffer will likely start on the reserve team, he'll have compatriots in the dressing room, as American internationals Danny Williams and Fabian Johnson both call Hoffenheim home. The team also owns the rights to promising young forward Joseph Gyau, who is on loan to St. Pauli. Hoffenheim sits 16th, the relegation playoff spot, in the Bundsliga with just 12 points and a negative-14 goal differential in 15 games.