By FRANCO PANIZO
The battle for playing time reportedly just got tougher for Julian Green.
According to a report from Germany, Green is one of three young players to be dropped from Bayern Munich’s first team and sent to train with Bayern’s reserve team, Bayern II. No specific reason has been given for the demotion, but the development comes as another bit of bad news for the 20-year-old U.S. Men’s National Team winger.
After making one appearance and scoring a goal at last summer’s World Cup, Green left Bayern in search of competitive minutes during the 2014-15 season. He landed at Hamburg on loan, but was limited to just one start in five appearances. Green was eventually dropped to Hamburg’s amateur teams after falling out of favor with the club’s head coach.
This season, Green opted to stick with Bayern Munich instead of heading elsewhere despite knowing it would be tough to crack into the club’s starting lineup. He had yet to dress this season, but the uphill battle for playing time has apparently become even tougher now that Green is no longer with the first team.
A regular call-up under U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann since last spring, Green was left off the Americans’ roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July in an effort to allow him to sort out his club situation.
What do you think about Green getting reportedly demoted? Worried about his immediate and long-term future? Should he look for a loan? Think it was a bad idea to stay with Bayern this season in the first place?
Share your thoughts below.
We forget that he’s still a 20 year old kid with tons of upside. No big deal that he’ll likely get more playing time with the reserve squad. Americans need to stop putting lofty expectations on kids, thinking that they’re the immediate savior for the USMNT.
Ridiculous move by Bayern. The only reason they’re demoting him is because he’s a terrible soccer player.
Unlikely. Bayern don’t keep terrible soccer players around.
He would take valuable space and time away from other promising players of which Bayern have many.
If he was a terrible player they would just let him go the way Dortmund let Terrence Boyd go..
Bayern Munich’s reserve team is also referred to as “Bayern Amateure”. Pro clubs have been dealing with converting their reserve squads from U23s to U21s (mostly all player either in Regionalliga or Oberliga – that is the 4th or 5th tier); and then there are clubs that have scrapped the whole reserve team concept and are adding talent directly from U19 division (Youth Bundesliga).
IMHO Green needs to be the big fish in a small pond, realistically he is not cracking FCB for significant minutes; the best case would be if he showed well and was offloaded to a B2 side as some former Bayern reserve players in the past (think Emre Can).
i’ve been waiting for someone to formally spin that key goal into a negative.
Sregis,
Hmm was it really a “key goal” if we were losing 2-0 late into extra-time and still lost 2-1 after the goal? If it had been a tying goal or a goal that eventually allowed us to tie the game then yes it would have been a “key goal”, but that wasn’t the case. It was definitely a goal that gave us all some short-lived hope that we could maybe tie the game though, I will give him that.
Not his fault Wondo couldn’t finish, it made the end of the game relevant and gave us a chance, it certainly was key
If Wondo could finish Green would have not never been on the field. US would’ve won 1-0 in normal time.
froboy,
You should have written, “Its not his fault that Clint couldn’t finish”.
Plus as I’ve said on here repeatedly the strike itself was a fluke. He made a nice run to get in that position and MB hit a great pass but he shanked the ball and happened to get lucky that it went in anyway. Plus, other than those 15 minutes, he’s looked like he’s never played football before in his life every other time he’s played for the USMNT.
Yes but Donovan would have been at midfield with his hands on his knees sucking wind. We know you love Landon you hate Klinsi and you have secret emails from Green to Klinsi that says he’ll only switch nationality if he is guaranteed a spot in Brazil.
There really is no negative for that run and finish. Great moment.
He just hasn’t come close to showing anything close to that quality since (or before for that matter).
I have been saying ever since JG scored in the WC vs Belgium. That goal was the “Kiss of Death”. All it did was swell his head & make him he had arrived!!! So sad of what could have been, thanks for nothing JK!!!!
Not sure that it swelled Green’s head. All indications are that the kid is working hard and trying to earn his place with his club and national team. He just isn’t that caliber of player yet.
For many of the USMNT faithful though, that one moment created an unrealistic perception of his caliber of play and development level. Pushing expectations of his form to a level that he has not been able approach.
IMHO…Spain, Netherlands or France better for him right now. Get real minutes in a “technical” league.
I think he has touch and athletic qualities and might benefit from a change of scenery. You hear sometimes that German teams evaluate people based on work ethic and perceived dedication and he’s going to have 2 strikes against him anywhere in Germany for that HSV fit. So he can perseverate or he can find a fresh start. If he got out of Germany he would be judged more as a player.
If he’s smart he will ask for a loan to the second division.
This seems to be the exact same story from a month ago it just changed the the terms for U23s to amateurs. He’s played in four games for Bayern II already this season. Bayern clearly decided its better to have him in their system where they can manage him instead of the debacle that occurred last year at Hamburg. Plus this will leave him much more open for Olympic qualifying.
Green will always be a polarizing figure for American fans because they feel it was his inclusion that cost Landon Donovan a trip to Brazil. So no matter what happens with him people will always criticize.
Nah, we criticize JK for his hairbrained decision regarding LD. We fairly criticize Green because he’s shown a poor attitude and basically done nothing in the last year or so.
The real issue, which he may or may not quite grasp, is that on as cosmopolitan a team as BM, there is really a jump from the U23 team to the senior first team. They don’t need to develop people, they can buy them.
The irony to me is that he resisted the HSV experience and yet his best chance is probably to leave BM and go someplace where he they see him as first team material, and they don’t have so much transfer money they don’t really need their developed players.
He’s kind of like some of the American names, some remembered, some forgotten, who started at Man U or Liverpool or Arsenal or Dortmund, some of whom came to their senses and found someplace a little less rarefied to play, some of whom never found footing once their big club dream fell apart. But he’s the one insisting on BM.
“he resisted the HSV experience”
I suppose that is one way of looking at it. My take is the place blew up shortly after he got there. Four managers in a season is head spinning. You might remember Mikey’s loan at AV went just about as well.with Houllier conveniently having a heart attack shortly after Mikey’s arrival.
I didn’t blame Mikey for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and neither do I blame Green for the same thing..
All the while Bradley was with AV he was at minimum impressing enough to make the game day 18. A small step maybe, but making the 18 is a step up from not making the 18.
At home, Bradley was still performing well, competing and earning time for the USMNT. Green has yet to “up” his play to a sustained level to compete and earn time with the USMNT.
Can’t really compare Bradley’s time with AV and Green’s with HSV. Bradley had a progressing track record when he arrived at AV. Green’s jump to 1st division from the 4th division Bundesliga proved to be too big of a jump.
“Can’t really compare Bradley’s time with AV and Green’s with HSV. Bradley had a progressing track record when he arrived at AV. Green’s jump to 1st division from the 4th division Bundesliga proved to be too big of a jump.”
Of course you can compare the two loans.
.
Both players barely played.
Both saw the manager who brought them in depart shortly after they arrived.
And in both cases we do not know if their limited playing time was because they were not good enough or because .
the men who brought them in were not around to put them in the team. We do not know how much organizational turmoil which they had nothing to do with.them directly, affected their status with the replacement managers who may have had a completely different idea about players and playing style.
“The jump from the 4th division Bundesliga”
What it the jump? Or was it the fact that Bayern have a first team squad full of some of the best players in the world particularly at Green’s position?
,
Differences
1) Bradley had a track record of progressing through professional clubs/leagues prior to Aston Villa. Green did not.
2) Bradley at minimum consistently earned a regular place on the matchday 18. Green did not.
We do know that Bradley was a top 18 player for AV because he consistently made the 18. We don’t know if Green was #19 or #40 on a team fighting relegation because he failed to impress 3 trainers to get on the matchday 18. Based on the fact that Hamburg wanted to send him back to Hamburg’s reserve team, we can guess that he was closer to #40 than #18, no?
3) Although getting limited play time at AV, Bradley had earned a consistent place and demonstrated sustained international caliber play with the USMNT. Green has not.
Big difference between the two.
To suggest that Green is at or even close to Bradley’s 2010-2011 form or caliber is laughable.
Like it or not, there is no way to spin Green’s jump from the 4th division to a 1st division team fighting relegation (Hamburg) as anything but a failure. He could not secure playing time with Hamburg. He could not secure a place on the 18. And in the end was sent back to the reserve team (4th division) because he could not secure a place on the 1st team roster for a team fighting relegation.
Despite all this, you do not consider his jump as too big of a jump?
Green right now is a wonderful prospect for both Bayern and the USMNT. Don’t attempt to “spin” him into anything more than that until he can demonstrate sustained quality at a level higher than the 4th division of the Bundesliga.
You cannot dispute his inability to play himself out of the Bundesliga’s 4th division, can you? This is a fact that is so far undisputed.
SDIC,
I am comparing the two loans. Both players found themselves in very similar situations for very similar reasons.
You are comparing the two players and their careers, which was not what I was discussing.
Is that amateur team the one with Don Ovan and “Hat Trick” Rick?
heh
Don’t forget about me!
Is this news? The real news, absolute shock actually, would have been if he actually made the first team roster.
My understanding was that this was the expected result when Green decided to stay at BM. This is what he insisted on and felt was best for his development.
I fail to see how this is good for his development. Already played and produced at that level. It wasn’t enough to make him first team ready. All it’s done so far is create a catch 22 for him (not good enough for 1 but too good for 2) that also impacts his value to the NT. He needs a loan or transfer.
it’s news because while his playing time was always going to be with BM II, his training was expected to be with the first team.
Next stop Toronto FC! Lol.
Pretty sure everyone knew he wasn’t playing with the big boys this year
Count me a little confused also.
Training with amateurs? What does that mean..I’ve never heard of that. I thought he was set to return to Bayerns 2 team?
playing with BM II, training with BM. but now it’ll all be with BM II.
Right, but what’s with this Amateur wording..
I don’t see the point, in the year before the World Cup he was playing for BMII and had 15 goals and they won the league. Even that level of performance did not catapult him to the first team. He clearly needs something else.
You do know who Bayern has on their roster right? Its not like playing for Galaxy II and you can make it to MLS. There is not one forward or winger in MLS that would start on a consistent basis for Bayern.
You’re missing my point which is that if the world cup and tearing up the II league aren’t enough to either make him attractive or develop him for the first team why would another year? As I said elsewhere it seems like he needs a higher level of play than regionalliga but lower than BM b.1. The whole point is the jump he has to make will not be handled by another year walloping people in the third division.
Bayern have arguably the best group of forwards in the world.
Not displacing them is hardly a failure. Eventually he will either displace them or move on. There are plenty of good teams that do not have such formidable forwards..
Sunderland…
Are you telling me would rather face Defoe and Fletcher then Robben and Lewandowski?
Brave ,man.
I think Tom either wants him at his favorite club Sunderland or was making a joke about Altidore.
Does anyone know how much is Green making with Bayern?
By my math, and with current currency exchange rates, Julian Green’s annual salary at Bayern is $436,683
Sent to train with amateur sides?
Does this mean he’s being sent to the Bayern reserve squad or youth squad? Or is he ineligible to play because he didn’t start the season with the reserve/youth squad?
yea the use of “amateur” threw me off too, is it not the same as last season when he played with the U21s i believe? just seems using “amateur” is a little misleading with the contextual connotation…
I think that means he’s with the II team, which is basically the culmination of their amateur youth age group sides. He’s under contract but I think this basically means for their purposes, the decision is not first team for now.
I am not a Danny Williams fan and it might be “different” for up and coming Germans to play in England, but rather than being caught in this catch 22 of not good enough for a B.1 first team but probably too good for U-23 ball, why not a loan to England, like Championship level?
Or, why doesn’t Bayern loan him to a Bundesliga II side? Wooten, Wood and some others have done well there.
You can only hope that Green will temper his desire to fight for a place on BM 1st team and consider a loan with a team/league more in line with his current development level.
Because he’s wasting years of, ok, too good for the II team, not good enough for HSV and dropped to their II team, maybe it might be the sweet spot, maybe not. I think he needs a change of scenery, and someplace where he’s not Just Another German.
Franco do you understand the difference between local amateur side and Bayern II? yes neither are the bundesliga and champions league contenders however that would two completely different stories!
Before 2005 the II teams used to be called Amateure teams. Up through the 90s the teams played in the Amateurliga. When they created the Regionalliga and integrated the II teams with the others, I guess it no longer made sense.
The Germans still talk about their II sides this way routinely. In the linked article the first team (Bayern) is described as the “Profis”; the second team (Bayern II) are described as “die Amateure.” The term does not necessarily imply people who are not paid for what they do (they are paid), but rather those that are not fully developed (“mature”) enough for the first team.
If I am not mistaken, he will be playing for the U23’s (Bayern Munich II) in the 4th tier of the German leagues (Regionalliga Sud if I am not mistaken).
I think all these coaches that have seen him and dropped him now outnumber JK who still defends him as a WC and NAT selection, despite the mounting evidence that the kid doesnt have it. He should come to MLS where he might get to play and develop before he becomes a total washout
Kid was put in a really difficult situation. Not cracking the Bayern lineup at 20 years old does not remotely make you a washout- doesn’t rule out being a fantastic talent. A player that age breaking through at that level always was, is and will be a huge upset….. a once in a generation type player. Going where he can get some playing time simply makes good sense. A key component to overhyping destroying players is the equal and opposite reaction… the ludicrous act of blasting/chopping a player off at the knees and writing off a career in it’s infancy. He….. just…. turned…. 20. Hopefully he chooses wisely and finds a team with management, system and viable playing time to help in his development and busts his butt proving himself. The next few will be crucial years in setting a tone for what is to come. Guess the photo has some small consolation as it looks as if he has matured a bit physically/put a little meat on his bones.
Just a bit confused with your statement, “A player that age breaking through at that level always was, is and will be a huge upset….. a once in a generation type player”.
Are you referring to Julian Green as a “once in a generation player”?If so, where exactly has Green broken through? Which level are you referring to? What do you define as “breaking through”?
As of now, the only place Green has proven himself (“broken through”) is the 4th division of the Bundesliga. Most “once in a generation type player(s)” have attained a sustained level of quality at a higher level than the 4th division of the Bundesliga by the age of 20, no? Does that make Green a washout? Absolutely not.
I think the greater harm in evaluating Julian Green right now is the perception that Julian Green was a higher caliber level that for whatever excuse has “regressed”. In my opinion, Julian Green has never proven to be a higher caliber player, yet. There was never a higher caliber level to regress from.
IMO, Green is a very skilled and talented player who has yet to progress to a high caliber level. There’s no need to chop him down from a level that he has yet to reach. Let the kid develop to a point where he can progress himself to be a competitive 1st team player for a club then hopefully compete for and earn a spot on the USMNT.
Soccerdad: No. not saying he has broken through at all- I am saying it was a HUGE ask/long shot that he would- that there is no shame that he has not in one of the deepest, most talent laden clubs on the planet. Saying there are great players that couldn’t have pulled that off at that age. There is middle ground between being an absolute phenom and a washup.
I’m glad to finally see someone who is not negative and said things that make good sense on this blog. Thank you!
Klinsmann doesn’t need to defend anything about his selection of Green to the WC. Results prove it was a fine decision. The kid scored a brilliant goal in the short chance he had to play and gained invaluable experience. In other words, you have no idea what your talking about.
That doesn’t even begin to justify it. We lacked offense because of who JK left off the team so Julian could be on the team.
More generally, Klinsmann doesn’t need to defend anything about his descions coaching the NATs 2011-2014 given the teams results during that time. They exceeded expectations and gave Belgium a run for their money, I team that has about 10x the talent of the US. This current cycle is a different story.
We won ONE (1) game at the WC!!! Exceeded expectations? HAd not Germany wasted Portugal, we would not have backed into the elimination round as we did. If you expected we would lose every game, then we exceeded expectations, despite having one of the most talented and experiences team ever to play in a WD tournament. JK left one of the nation’s finest players to satisfy his ego that HE was in charge. We are in no better a place than when he took over, hell our ranking elo or fifa is lower than when he took over. Even most knowledgeable football pundits feel that having JK as Technical Director and USMNT coach is too much on his platter and that he is trying to do too much with increasing negative results. Yes Green was an unproven talent who did just average at the WC and he was chosen only because of his being on a prestigious German Club and not what he had done as a footballer at any senior level. His constant striving to find the uncut diamond that will turn he US into a powerhouse has him putting untested and inferior players on the field at the expense of much better domestic players, only because he is convinced the MLS is an inferior league to ANY Euro League.
We are only paying attention to Green because he was the supposed great soccer messiah that JK got to claim for the USMNT, but his talent and skill levels would not make him a starting candidate for some MLS teams, much less BM. Without JK propping him up, I really do not think that Green will, even in the near future, play for the USMNT
Bottlcaps,
You seem upset that the US only won one game in the 2014 World Cup. That is hardly a disgrace.
In the 2014 World Cup the USMNT won one game
In the 2010 World Cup the USMNT won one game
In the 2006 World Cup the USMNT won no games
In the 2002 World Cup the USMNT won one game and one additional game in the next round
In the 1998 World Cup the USMNT won no games
In the 1994 World Cup the USMNT won one game
In the 1990 World Cup the USMNT won no games
My take on the 2014 tournament is they beat Ghana, who had always previously ruined the US’ World Cup and who were the only team to take a point off of the eventual Champions Germany.
In spite of the suitcases full of cash, they were hardly a push over.
As for Green, at 20 years old, you are burying him way too early. Perhaps you don’t realize just how talented the Bayern system and that Bayern 2 squad are.
Thank you for pointing out that Klinsmann is as good a manager as Bradley and not quite as good a manager as Bruce Arena.
SDIC,
That is your perspective.
Mine is that Arena was luckier in his first WC campaign and we will see about the second WC campaign..
except that’s not true. Green was coming no matter what. JK brought in Davis and Wondo over a guy like LD. stop making Green out as the scapegoat.
Bingo! Hit the nail right on the head.
Donovan’s talent and form was never the issue. He just didn’t drink the Klinsmann Kool-Aid. If Klinsmann doesn’t feel like you are 100% committed to his “way”, then you’ll find yourself on the outside looking in. Donovan is the most glaring example.
Green was on the WC team the day he committed to the USMNT. A dangerous precedence, but a decent gamble if Green ever develops into a quality international caliber player.
SoccerDadinCali,
“If Klinsmann doesn’t feel like you are 100% committed to his “way”, then you’ll find yourself on the outside looking in.”
You say that as if it were a bad thing.
Just about every good manager in pro sports, outside the NBA, insists on players buying into the program; otherwise they are gone.unless their talent is at LeBron level.
And actually LD’s talent and form were an issue because it wasn’t LeBron level anymore.
If the 2010 LD had shown up in 2014 then there is no doubt JK has him on the team. But that LD didn’t exist anymore.
And LD as a sub? After never really doing it ever?
Well it did not work out very well against Rafa when JK subbed LD in in the Mexico friendly.. I don’t know how it was at the Galaxy but Landon as a USMNT offensive spark plug sub probably wasn’t going to work out.
Yedlin took that role in Brazil and did rather well.
GW, you are one silly rabbit…lol.
Are you really going to suggest that Donovan wasn’t good enough to be on the World Cup roster? And your evidence is a single 1v1 play vs Rafa Marquez?
Your love of single moments are what leads you to believe that Julian Green is an international caliber player, right? Despite 2 years of being unable to play himself out of the 4th division in the Bundesliga. Lol…not smart.
You are aware that Donovan went on to score around 15 goals and assist on around another 15 in about 20 matches immediately after the World Cup. Really? Players are (were) a little ahead of him?
Put the Klinsmann Kool Aid down buddy.
Athletes are judged on a what have you done for me lately basis. So when you are on the wrong side of 30 and have a questionable attitude, isolated 1 v 1 plays matter.
Donovan showed up for a game that was clearly a test for him and he failed to impress.
You are judging Wondo on the basis of that one miss I’m sure.
aren’t you?
I did not say it was fair. I am saying it clearly did not help LD’s overall case for inclusion.
As for LD playing well after being cut, aren’t you supposed to impress them DURING the job interview not AFTER they hire someone else?
Besides impressing with the Galaxy wasn’t the issue. We all already knew he could do that.
The issue was could he do the job for this edition of the USMNT for this World Cup.
And the man in charge decided he couldn’t. It’s his team and his choice.to make.
LD is a big boy and knew what he had to do to make the team and he couldn’t do it. That’s on him.
That might make your LD Kool Aid sour but it is a reality..
He was one of three that were not better than LD and everybody knows it
Yoda,
You are wrong. Everybody can see what your three guys did at the World Cup.
But no one can know what Donovan might have done because he wasn’t there.
He might have been worse he might have been better,
A lot of people believe he would have done wonders but that’s just BS. No one really knows what would have happened.
Well he couldn’t have done worse and that’s the problem, you leave off the best player to ever suit up for the USMNT for players who have never proven anything on that level. Your hypocrisy is alarming, Wondo, Davis, Zusi, Green not anyone else was lighting the world on fire and yeah Donovan had one bad game but who doesn’t. He was a proven scorer and creator for others but clearly like JK you want to make excuses that everyone with general soccer knowledge can see right through.
Let’s not forget Yedlin was included in that groups as well, but because he played and relatively well, no one complains about that.
Klinsi made it pretty clear to everyone including LD what he expected of players to make the team. LD either did not take that advice or was unable to meet those conditions do to his form. Either way to hold him as an innocent victim of a tyrannical manager is just not true. In several interviews before cuts were made LD talked about how he wasn’t physically prepared when camp began, even after 3 months of MLS season.
Stop it, he never said he wasn’t physically prepared but what he said was that it would be hard for him to go all out everyday in practice during the WC preparations. Any manager in the world with any pedigree examines the situation, his players etc leading up to a big tournament and no one other than JK would leave his best player behind especially considering he had tons left in the tank. That team was short of a lot of things depth being being the main one so any one who says that LD couldn’t have at least been a spark off he bench is just hating out of general principle
Ronniet,
That is your opinion , one that you are perfectly entitled to.
My own opinion is not aligned with yours. And guess what? As it relates to Landon Donovan’s reality, our opinions are totally irrelevant and worthless to anyone other than ourselves.
And Landon’s reality is that, whatever he had to do to get JK to pick him for the 2014 WC team, he did not do enough of it. That failure is on him and absolutely no one else.
JK told him what he wanted. JK has been very, very clear as to what he wanted and LD had plenty of examples from his USMNT team mates to follow. LD had plenty of time to research JK and learn what he needed.
I don’t know if LD thought like you do, that his past accomplishments alone were enough to guarantee his inclusion on the team, but they weren’t.
You talk about any other manager in the world , LD was not supposed to win over any other manager , he was supposed to win over JK. DMB did it, Howard did it, Clint did it. LD failed.
If he thought like you do then no wonder LD got cut. He was trying to impress the wrong guy. In case you don’t realize this, JK is the only person whose opinion mattered. Not my opinion, not yours, not every other manager in the entire world, only JK.
If you apply for a job in the marketing department you don’t try to impress the person hiring for the IT department.
not the point Yoda. if LD went, Green would still be there. this is simple to understand. JK chose Davis and Wondo. Green had the golden ticket. i won’t argue that he deserved it, but that is not what kept LD off.
GW, I must have missed the part where you were named a part of the coaching staff because you seem to be pretty confident you know what the parameters were for making the WC squad. Can you give us a link to that tidbit of info?? Listen, at the end of the day it was no secret to anyone but you that JK had a grudge against LD for whatever reason and it hurt the team as a result. You can make all the excuses you want regarding how smh, Dempsey and Howard did what it took to impress JK but all I know is LD was the MVP of the GC the year before and there is no way a player of his caliber skills can diminish to being an after thought in a year’s time without some prejudice against him. Tell me what it was that those players you named did so well that put them in such good stead ahead of Land n since you seem to have had the inside scoop. But you’re right, JK opinions are the only k we that matter and look at where that has got us…..no further than any previous coach in US history and surely behind many of coaches who have got this team beyond a fourth lma e finish in our continental championship, so yeah were really into something here ha
Ronniet,
I was not on the coaching staff but there is thing called Google. It helps you find articles about JK’s coaching philosophy , what kind of characteristics he likes in players and so on. My guess is LD has access to a computer and knows how to use search engines.
The articles I read were all written well before the World Cup camp and were not very hard to find.
You are welcome to use it to check on the statements I made about things like, for example Dempsey’s loan to Fulham.
As for players dropping off suddenly, LD did not drop off that suddenly, he has been declining since the end of the 2010 World Cup. He had played 426 senior games between 2001 and 2013.
In any case, sudden declines are not that uncommon in players of his age and with that much wear on the tires. Particularly in a player whose game had always been heavily dependent on his unnatural fitness and his speed and quickness.
Maybe you remember that LD took a sabbatical before the World Cup. There was a good reason for that.
Now your just making too much sense…..stop it!!!
The two other players would be starters on the usmnt. This isn’t a big deal.
Based on what? The fact they are in Bayern’s youth system? Not everyone in Bayern’s youth system becomes a big-time professional player. Most of them flame out like most youth prospects everywhere. Those guys wouldn’t get near the USMNT’s starting lineup at this point and neither should Green.
Prob shouldn’t speak for Phil. It is hyperbole to say the other players would be automatic starters.
But if his jab is based on the fact that Green, a Bayern youth player last year, was heavily recruited, coveted by US Soccer, and put on the 2014 World Cup squad, I get it.
Gianluca Gaudino is only playing with the reserves this season because of two reasons. 1) Bayern bought Arturo Vidal. 2) He’s 18. He started league games last season (yes, injuries played a part). He’d start for many Bundesliga teams right now.