U.S. Under-23 Coach Andi Herzog was a star for Werder Bremen in the ’90s, scoring over 50 goals for the German club. Now, he’s used that connection to get aspiring pro Jordan Morris a training stint with them.
“Our goal is to bring as many players as possible to Europe,” Herzog told German newspaper Kreiszeitung.
Jurgen Klinsmann has been a long-time proponent of having American players play in Europe to ply their trade at the highest level, and Herzog’s latest comments suggest the U.S. coaching staff is hoping Morris chooses to play abroad rather than in MLS.
“The question is whether he can assert himself in a league like Germany or England,” Herzog said on Morris. “He is very fast, intelligent, has endless power, he’s a brawny forward. Defenders are mostly left standing when he goes into the one-on-ones. Werder don’t have a player like him. But he certainly still needs to refine his qualities.”
After bursting onto the international scene in 2015 with the USMNT, Morris announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving Stanford and turning professional.
___
What do you think of Herzog’s comments? Do you expect Morris to impress on trial with Werder Bremen? Is this just a ploy to get a better deal in Seattle?
Share your thoughts below.
And again!!
I think we are putting the cart before the horse here. From what I’ve read its just a trial, which means he trains with them for a couple of weeks as he is do in US camp at the end of the month. When the trial is over Jordan should have a pretty good idea what his prospects are and can make an informed decision. Maybe he wants to lead his hometown team to its first MLS Cup, or maybe he wants to get to the highest levels of professional soccer. Let’s all just relax and see how the trial goes.
Good point. He is doing the right thing in early January. If they pass at the end of January then he can join up with the USMNT before making a deal with Seattle.
If his only contract offer is from the Sounders, then it’s not much of a decision, so this is not just a trial to see what he wants, but a trial to see if he can get any offers from European clubs. Then he has a decision to make. I still think his best bet might be the Dutch League, which operates as an incubator and feeder league to the top 5 leagues. Remember A Johannsson’s career arc–Denmark, then Alkmaar, then the Bundeslioga. If Morris is good enough, he could start in Holland then go to Germany or England.
While it is pc here to complain about Klinsmann as coach, this is illustrative of the value of having national team coaches who have important contacts. With all due respects to B Bradley and B Arena, who are fine coaches, they both came up through US ranks and I doubt that either one of them had the contacts that JK and his staff have. JK is close to Wenger, so my guess is that he had something to do with encouraging Wenger to see that zelalem gets some PT with Rangers. Now Herzog is helping Morris perhaps go to the Bundesliga. I think that some US players have been overlooked in Europe in the past and having these contacts is proving to be a great benefit for the development of young US players abroad. Another point. Klinsmann often talks about the need for players to get out of their comfort zone. This is why it helps for US players to go abroad. There’s an old saying that adversity guilds character. Adversity certainly separates the tough from the not so tough. One criticism I have read of the English team is that because 90+% of their players stay in England, they don’t have the mental toughness required and this is possibly a reason why they seem to under perform in the World Cup. I think there is something to this and it is another reason why players need to challenge themselves.
Good on ya!
According to wikipedia, if Morris ended up at Werder Bremen, he’d play under Viktor Skrypnyk. I don’t care who that guys is, he’s no Sigi Schmid. No one is better at developing top draft picks. I hear he’s working on new drills for them to use in spring training camp. Morris would be making a huge mistake if he didn’t go.
Someone get me an ice bucket, so I can spank this kid.
Ya we need USSF to tell players that they need to stay home and work for the local business. It’s a unique take on the game that no other country besides North Korea have tried yet.
Get real, Hertzog needs to win big in March! And if he does he needs to win big in August. If he doesn’t then he is out. If there is an offer from a bundesliga\epl\etc club you encourage your players to take it!
No dig on MLS just a fact that competition and coaching is better over there. Jordan Morris certainly looks like an individual ready for a big jump up too.
It was good to see your reference to better coaching in Europe. It seems that that is usually overlooked, accidentally or deliberately! To me, the US coaching fraternity is much too insular! If the genealogy of our coaches was worked out, it would be primarily a case of one American with no international experience teaching another American, etc, etc, etc. The string would end with a Brit who earned his stripes playing lower division ball in England in the 70’s! We need to send coaches along with our players to Spain, Germany, France, Italy, etc. No need to send them to England since EPL’s top coaches are all from elsewhere! Congrats to Bob Bradley for having the guts to try the international scene. Certainly can’t be said for the stay-at-home Arena. Maybe his attitude rubbed off on LD?
In the case of Jordan Morris, I do not think that, although Seattle may have his MLS rights, as per the MLS rules pertaining to MLS soccer teams. He is NOT beholden to Seattle merely because he attended their academy for a period of time. He was, at that time an amateur, and, if under 18, a minor, and under FIFA rules cannot sign a contract for country/federation/league or team, not in his own country. So, he was somewhat restricted about where he could he play in the US.
Going to Werder Bremen, is a trial run, to see if he can adapt to the strangeness and training regime outside of his comfort zone, and to show others outside the USMNT and collegiate personnel, his abilities (and shortfalls) No doubt WB (and perhaps a few other Bundesliga teams will want to run the ruler over him. While Seattle is a known quantity, WB and Europe is not, and I would be disappointed if JM were to take the first offer to come along.
JM is far above the average collegiate player in terms of ability, But is his light years above most academy projects in maturity, scholarship and life ability. Moreover he is a leader, as shown in the recent College Bowl. All these attributes are treasured by the personal who select players be it in the US or abroad.
Pac10 athletic scholarship are not easily had. I know. I was a recipient of one. I was almost medically discharged form it once, as I did not seek treatment of a minor common malady and let it go until I needed surgery. This was a no-no and only my age (18) and a mistake by a coach, saved my butt from losing it. I learned a lot about college athletics and despite comments made on this board about the “waste of time” they are to people seeking a pro career in soccer, they come from those who are sadly misinformed, and worse, do not understand what must be achieved to get one. They are not given out to a athlete who may be the best in his sport, but to an athlete who CAN be the best at his sport and a superior student and person in general.
Yes, it may be that JM will turn down an offer to play for Seattle, but it’s not because the MLS is so inferior, or the play is less. It’s because, if he learned anything from competing at Stanford is that you are not complete until you test yourself against the very best.
Pac12…Just cause my Buffs suck at football, doesn’t mean we’re not in the conference.
Werder Bremen has been a great place to start a soccer career. It’s not doing so well right now. But that means his presence can make a big difference.
I find this highly insulting and am counting the days till Klinsmann and his Euro buddies are sent packing. Actively telling players to play elsewhere is not what I want to hear. What true Americans has that helped? Dempsey? He developed here and was a MLS star before Europe. Jozy? pleeeeeze. Freddy? almost ended his career….Passport Americans dont count as they most werent developed here.
MLS should push back on US Soccer to get these negative, anti MLS coaches OUT. Stop cooperating with US Soccer. Dont release players on non fifa dates. Do anything to push back. U dont care how many goals Herzog scored… his coaching skills suck. Anybody can coach star quality players. He can’t and has an anti American bias. Skilled players succeed in spite of their coach. The senior team is a perfect example. Klinsmann is an idiot and yet we still have some success.
Really? That is spoken like a uneducated American soccer fan. It’s a global game. The best players are developed from people around the world.
Get out of the American shell. There is good soccer out here!!!
Screw you… how about this…. why don’t you get out of America? If you can’t put the USA first… GTF out
Really Butch? I thought we had more educated and intelligent soccer people on this site. I never said I didn’t like the US. In fact, I want them to use the other leagues to make our players raise the level of soccer in THIS country. Sometimes, you can’t teach ignorant.
Good luck Butch. Fox News is back on!!!
Klinsmann may talk about wanting players in Europe (duh- of course you want our best players playing at the highest possible level and that ain’t MLS), but the reality is that he has less of a bias toward European based players than past American coaches, even accounting for the move of players back to MLS. He gave opportunities to MLS guys that past American coaches would not have. In identifying talen, the one thing he is very good at, he is willing to look anywhere- even amateur soccer and NASL.
+100
Smitty,
Judging you on this comment alone, you come across as a complete fool. Herzog is not saying anything that either Bradley/Arena/Klinsman has said before. Every player wants their best players or key players playing regularly at the highest level where they can play because that is how they can play. If they never play, then it’s not good. If they average at least 20mins a game for a season, that means they are a regular sub.
As far as being a MLS fan and a USMNT team fan, both of their goals don’t always align. If you do not recognize this nuance, then you should really refrain from posting. If Morris be part of the first team and make appearances in 7 of 10 game for Werder Bremen, then go. If he is never going to play, stay in Seattle. YOU WANT TO GO THE HIGHEST LEVEL WHERE YOU CAN PLAY, REGULARLY!!!!
As as Jozy is concerned, it helped him until he ended up in England, which was a bridge too far. I have said it before that he should never had gone there because he did have the touch for EPL or Spain nor the speed of play for EPL. I said it then and say it now he should have gone from Eredivisie to France or Germany. He didn’t and it killed his confidence and started relying on his physical tools. Freddy was just a mess (priced himself out and never developed – he should have gone to an academy instead of the hack a league MLS at the time (MLS is better now). That is a perfect example, it was to MLS’s benefit to leverage publicity to sign Adu, but it would have been to his (& USMNT) benefit to join the Chelsea academy.
Boom.. Well said.
*****I hate typing on my phone (I don’t like typing on my work computer) because between the size of the screen and auto-fill, I come across as borderline illiterate**********
**CORRECTED
Judging you on this comment alone, you come across as a complete fool. Herzog is not saying anything that neither Bradley/Arena/Klinsman has not said before. Every coach (and player) wants their best or key players playing regularly at the highest level where they can play. That is how they get better. If they never play, then it’s not good. However, if they average at least 20mins a game for a season (or appear in 6/7 out of every 10), that means they are a regular. YOU WANT TO GO THE HIGHEST LEVEL WHERE YOU CAN PLAY, REGULARLY!!!!
As far as being a MLS fan and a USMNT team fan is concerned, you do know both of their goals don’t always align. If you do not recognize this nuance, then you should really refrain from posting. If Morris can become part of the first team and make appearances in 7 of 10 games for Werder Bremen, then go. If he is never going to play, stay in Seattle.
As as Jozy is concerned, it helped him until he ended up in England, which was a bridge too far. I said it before that he should never had gone to the EPL because he did have the touch for EPL or Spain nor the speed of play for EPL. I said it then (and say it now) that he should have gone from the Eredivisie to France or Germany. He didn’t. It killed his confidence, and he started relying on his physical tools. Freddy was just a mess (priced himself out and never developed). He should have gone to an academy instead of the hack a league MLS at the time (MLS is better now). That is a perfect example of USMNT/MLS diverging interests. It was to MLS’s benefit to leverage publicity and sign Adu, but it would have been to his (& USMNT) benefit to join the Chelsea academy.
these comments make me sick and i can’;t wait until the people saying them pack their bags. they are the NATIONAL TEAM coaches. it is not a knock on MLS for the USMNT coaches to have a desire for their players to play at the top level!!! is there a risk? yes. but it’s worth the risk. this is the Bundesliga and if he can make it there, that is HUGE for the USMNT.
i love MLS but some fans are SO sensitive about wanting our players at the top level. this is not them saying go to Europe and sit on the bench. it’s saying, go to Europe, fight for your spot, and if not, figure out Plan B.
the inferiority complex is real among too many US fans…
Thank you. You are among a few here who bring real insight and perspective.
I really gotta ask… Whats so insulting about this? That JK and his staff actually think our players are good enough to play in the best leagues of the world? To compete against the best players? How is this an insult?
If he does go to Europe, do the Sounders get anything or is it a free transfer? Is it worth MLS investing in development if players can just leave? Not that the Sounders had a massive hand in his development it does expose a potential problem.
Since MLS refuses to pay youth clubs for player development (as mandated by FIFA) I highly doubt the’d even try to get any money for the six weeks Morris spent with them.
They get something because they were part of his development before 21, but not as much as they would get if they could sell him. There is a FIFA rule.
I don’t think so, because our academy products are not considered professionals in the same sense as Ajax academy kids are for example. I could wrong.
I don’t get it sometimes.
Where do the best players in the world go? Europe.
Where do the players who think they are the best in the world go? Europe.
Are the #20-40 players on the depth chart better in Europe or anywhere else? Europe
Where do the national team coaches from EVERY part of the world want their players to go? Europe
Where do you go for the last part of your career? Back to your home country or MLS.
Any questions?
I seriously don’t get some of you people. The MLS is getting better but if we want our best to play at the highest level, it is not the MLS.
The best player on the team never gets better. If you have to ask why, don’t be on this site.
Thank you, plus 1.
1. A lot of us care not only about USMNT, but also about MLS (which everyone who cares about USMNT should care about to some degree). What does this mean for the future when Seattle gets nothing for him at all?
2. While the quality of play in Bundesliga is undoubtedly higher than in MLS, that does not mean that it will be better for Morris’ development to move there. There are many other factors such as probability of playing time, personal level of comfort living in Bremen vs. his hometown and others.
3. Who is further ahead – Besler or Spector? Zardes or Pelosi? Yedlin or Lihaj? It’s not nearly as obvious as you portray.
P.S. Do you really think that Morris would be anywhere close to the best player on Seattle?!?!?
Why not? He has such a great skill set as a player. His pace, ability to play in pockets, and his finishing makes him the genuine package. So why couldn’t he be? If he went to Seattle now, he would probably be a starter with Dempsey sliding into mid. That’s because MLS teams, not just Seattle, are not very deep when it comes to depth. If he signs with Bremen, he goes to the reserve team and still has to battle for time there.
Better players = better play = more opportunity to develop into a world class player that will help the USMNT and soccer in this country.
Pretty weak way of looking at player development. Nothing builds a player like good trainers and competition. The better the two of them the better the player develops. If he doesn’t have the spine to compete for a spot in any team he’s given a chance then he can stay in school.
So playing for Werder Bremen reserves is better for him than playing in front of 40k+ every week in Seattle? I don’t think so. If he plays in the first team for Bremen, then sure, but in your scenario he apparently isn’t good enough to do that.
Holy crap. It’s not the number of people you play in front of. It’s the quality of the players around you so you can develop as a player for yourself and your country. Who cares how many people are watching? Does that make a player better? Come on?!?!?!?
Starting out in the Reserves and fighting for a spot in the first team, even if it takes a year or two. Then becoming a regular Bundesliga striker that produces. This would undoubtedly be better than MLS for his development. He has the talent to do this and it’s not unrealistic. Even better would then be at 26/27 after a couple successful seasons under his belt… in his prime he gets the big transfer to a to a Champions League team in a top 4 league. Sure there’s the chance of failure, but upside is much bigger.
1. Blame USSF/MLS’s unwillingness to compensate ALL academies (not just MLS) for the development of youth players. You’re worried Seattle won’t get anything out of Morris, but were voicing the same concern when Crossfire were denied some of Yedlin’s Tottenham transfer fee?
2. Nothing to refute here.
3. Why are you comparing Besler to Spector? Spector is hardly in the national team picture. Compare Besler to Cameron…Now who’s further ahead?
Why are you comparing Zardes, who is 3 years older than Pelosi? Thats like comparing Zardes to FabJo (4 years older)? Now who’s better? Doesn’t matter because all 3 are at different stages in their development. (Nevermind Pelosi is quite literally coming off an injury so severe, it left him sidelined for over a year)
How about a more meaningful comparison would be Zardes’ to fellow LA Galaxy player, Lletget, a West Ham academy product of the same age…Who had the better season? Who is a more complete player?
Yedlin vs Lichaj? Let’s stop kidding ourselves. Yedlin is ALL speed right now. The ONLY reason he is getting caps with the Nats is because of his massive upside. But if he doesn’t actually learn when its appropriate to attack (thank Sigi for never teaching him how) or be more consistent in defense (seriously, what did Sigi actually teach him), his career could end up like Lichaj’s, who also had a promising start in the EPL at 22, for an Aston Villa that weren’t relegation fodder like Sunderland are.
slowleftarm- I guess all of AFC Bournemouth’s players should just quit because their stadium only holds 11,500. SMH
This whole conversation just has a bunch of people pulling a$$umptions out of their a$$es. Bottom line is going to Germany COULD be better for his development and going to Seattle COULD be better for his development also. It would all depend on how things work out, and there’s no crystal ball to look at and see the future.
Therealchicago, do you think the Seattle Sounders would beat Bremen’s reserve or youth squad?? I am sure you would say yes, but you have no idea, and most would probably disagree with you. Would Morris be playing with better talent with the Sounders or with Bremen’s youth team?? Once again, I am sure you would say yes, but you have no idea, and most would probably disagree with you.
It all comes down to how much playing time Morris would get at either Seattle or Bremen and on what level (senior team or reserves/youth). Also, some of you are assuming that Morris for sure starts at Seattle and you also don’t know that.
I was making the point that playing in front of three men and a dog in the 3.Liga for Bremen reserves isn’t better for him than playing for Seattle. And yes, playing in front of big crowds in important games is better than the glorified training sessions that are reserve team games. Ideally he should go play at the highest level where he can actually get minutes. If the best he can do at Bremen is the reserves, he should go elsewhere.
I think the answer is Bremen/Bundesliga is clearly better than Seattle/MLS but Seattle/MLS is also clearly better than Bremen II/3.Liga.
I meant to say that the Realchicago might assume the Bremen reserve/youth team and talent would be better than Seattle Sounders, but most would disagree with him.
Bottom line is you can’t predict the future, so Morris should just go where he gets paid the most and then work hard and make the best of it wherever he goes.
I think Morris is a great fool that has been drinking his own kool-aid. Go to Germany and ride the pine. Develop Euro splinters on yur ass cause the bottom line is …yur s speed player..period. Once they figure that out… they will just hack the Hell out of you till the speed is gone….now what?
You have skipped your senior year at Stanford. You can never get that back. College years are the best years of anybodies life and you blew the last one off. For what? Sitting on some German bench if you go to Europe? That’s where the the Germanphobes want you to go. Good luck to you on that. Few Americans succeed there. Donovan couldn’t and he’s way better that you will ever be. So you go there, bomb, ride the pine, that is if you even make the pine, and as you sit there…ask yourself “where did it all go.”
You should have stayed in college. Those years are fleeting. You could have got your degree.. and played soccer after if you wanted. You can’t get that year back…ever. Now you have all yur eggs in one basket. You have “coaches” that think the word revolves around Germany. They will drop you like a hot potato if you dont succeed there. So have another slug of kool-aid. You’re gonna need it.
Benny Feilhaber would disagree
landon donovans career numbers would suggest otherwise.
Hi praise from a stoic German. Let’s all hope for the sake of the NATs, that Morris can make it in the Bundesliga.
I believe he’s Austrian actually. Yeah, the hype of players kind of worries me.
He’s Austrian….
He’d certainly be further along the development curve if he hadn’t wasted three years playing NCAA soccer.
*yawn
Bored at the prospect of our best players developing properly?
He turned pro already. You don’t have to keep bringing up the fact that he went to college. The point has been made plenty, the time has well past. A lot of our best american grown players went to college because we don’t have a lot of those european options, although that’s slowly changing. And also, I think turning pro as a teen is risky, if it was even an option for him. All that money and notoriety with no life experience doesn’t usually work out well.
there is literally no way to know this is true, let alone certainly. Who knows, in a different environment he might have pulled a Chuck Davies and derailed his career.
Do you even know if this was an option for him, going pro at 17?
College kids are allowed 20 hours a week for team activities that includes meetings, practices, weights, etc… Yes he can still do things on his own on the side, but I think its pretty safe to say he would have developed more with a professional side.
I am glad he cant vote….all Euro’s are commies anyway
And few Americans use proper orthography…
Bro, he has no idea what “orthography” means. Don’t worry, though, he’s probably the coolest kid in 9th grade.
I’m sorry, but why is Herzog a representative of the United States when he cannot vote in this country?
Because that’s often how national teams (and sports generally) work?
Kristaps Porzingis isn’t really from midtown Manhattan.
touche
What an idiotic comment, surely any country can hire a guy from any country to be their coach.
The xenophobia is real. Time to evolve, “WE THE PEOPLE”. The world is about to leave you in the Stone Age.
you are giving the world way way too much credit… especially regarding recent events and reactions too
Why is this even a question? Herzog is doing his job.