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Green excited to build off World Cup experiences with FC Bayern in USA

Julian Green

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

In just a matter of days, Julian Green will be playing soccer in the United States for the second time this summer. Only this time, he’ll be wearing a different jersey.

Green returned to training with Bayern Munich on Monday after taking three weeks off for vacation and is expected to play in both Bayern matches on their U.S. tour that begins this week. The German champions take on Chivas de Guadalajara at Red Bull Arena on Thursday and the MLS All Stars in the league’s All-Star Game on Aug. 6 in Portland, Ore.

The 19-year-old Green is coming off a dream World Cup debut, scoring in extra time as the USMNT mounted a last-gasp comeback against Belgium that eventually came up short. Despite the way the team the went out, Green is ready to build off his experiences playing with the USMNT before and during the World Cup.

“Its very exciting,” Green told reporters on a conference call about coming to the U.S. to play. “I have already played in the U.S. but right now I’m coming with FC Bayern, my home club and that’s very special too. I’m looking forward to playing and showing the people how good FC Bayern is.”

Green’s commitment to the USMNT in April ended a long pursuit from both head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and assistant coach Andreas Herzog, and gave the U.S. another key piece for the future. While Green showed flashes in friendly matches against Mexico in April and Turkey in June, it was the substitute-appearance goal that truly validated Klinsmann’s reasoning for including the youngster on the World Cup squad.

“The goal was very special to me and it gave me a lot of confidence,” Green said.

Green, DeAndre Yedlin, and John Brooks were all surprise inclusions when the World Cup squad was announced in May, but all three ended up making huge impacts during the tournament. Brooks’ game-winner against Ghana is a goal that won’t be forgotten for some time while Yedlin’s contributions against Cristiano Ronaldo and Eden Hazard helped give the U.S. a fighting chance in both of those games.

So it should come as no surprise that Green backs Klinsmann’s policy of giving youth a chance.

“I think its very important to get the young guys a chance to play,” Green said. “I think we did a good job, whether it was me or DeAndre Yedlin or John Brooks, we have a lot of good young players and I’m looking forward to playing with them.”

Last season, Green made his debut for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League as a late substitute in a match at CSKA Moscow. However, Green spent most of the season outside of the first team, either solely training with the starters or playing with Bayern Munich II.

Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola said last week that although Green’s first team opportunities were limited last season, he expects the German-American winger to remain at the club in the future. Green echoed those comments on Monday, stating that he wasn’t interested in looking for a loan and wanted his chance to make a mark in Bavaria.

“The most important thing right now is FC Bayern,” Green said. “I want to play for Bayern and I don’t think about some loan or something. That’s it.”

“Right now I just want to play soccer again,” Green continued. “I had three weeks off and I’m looking forward to play again with my teammates from the (German) national team. I just want to show the coach and the team that I can help them and if I get my chance I’ll try my best. I’m waiting for my chance.”

Guardiola had also mentioned that Green had suffered a minor knee injury, but the Tampa, Fla., native brushed off any reports of the injury being serious.

“My knee is very good,” Green noted. “It was just a little pain but not bad, its very good right now, and I can train in the U.S.”

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Think Green stays at Bayern this season? Looking forward to seeing him in action against Chivas de Guadalajara and the MLS All-Stars?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Stop this Wondo bashing over one very short moment. I wonder whose ax is being ground next. Wondo is still my favorite player. He is from here, and he is not as pretentious as so many of those big hair dudes who want to be noticed before their time.

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  2. One thing I have not seen anyone mention since Green scored against Belgium is that even though he mishit the volley, he hit it hard enough that Courtois got a hand on it and still couldn’t keep it out. And as I said at the time, Green made a play (the run + the finish) that most of the players on this team (shoot, most of the guys in our entire player pool) can only dream about. He deserves full credit for that goal.

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  3. I haven’t seen much comment regarding MLS picking Bayern as the All Star opponent. I think it was a terrible decision. Guardiola’s tikki takka style is impressive in terms of the skill level needed to make it work, but is like watching paint dry. This was a serious PR FAIL for MLS to pick an opponent that will have 70+% possession. I love MLS and I’ve always liked this All Star game format…but they dropped the ball picking Bayern as the opponent.

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  4. He is still very young, he has very quick feet, he made an intelligent run, he is slight and will need to get stronger, he is a good player now, he could be even better. We can only hope.

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  5. The kid scored a goal in a big moment in a big game period.

    He scored as many or more than
    Ronaldo
    Chicharito
    Rooney
    Wondolowski
    Aguero
    Higuin
    Forlan
    Podolski

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    • Are you saying Green has scored more “goals in a big moment in a big game” than the list of players in this list?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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  6. If Green is going to be limited to training with Bayern, and then either not dressing or sitting the end of the bench, I’d hope for a loan or transfer so that he can play against great competition every week of the season. It does a kid such as he, little to sit and watch, and then only possibly getting garbage time minutes on no consequence once or twice a month.
    RE: Green’s goal v Belgium… “GREAT WORLD CLASS GOAL”. All of you so called know it all, soccer elites are ridiculous to nit pick that stunning minute in the kids young football life! Hell, 95% of you wouldn’t know the technique to kick a 25 yd field goal off a tee! lol I am grateful that he chose to play for his American side, and will look forward to a nice development into his becoming a star. The fact that JK is in his life/career, will benefit him significantly..

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  7. GREEN SCORED GOL IN THE CUP
    WONODOWW SCORED NONE
    DAVIS SCORED NONE
    DONOVON SCORED A LOT
    SOMETIMES JERGUNN IS RIGHT SOMETOMES HE WRONG

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  8. The run Julian made is a run none of our other players make.

    None. Fabian made a straight line run against Nigeria.

    Julian was coming across the CBs and diagonally looking for bradley. He bended his run to stay onside and took his time.

    Used his body to keep the defender off and kept his balance to hit the ball. Although he mishit it it went in anyway.

    Thats a great goal with all of the work he put into it.

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  9. I watched the Bayern games this weekend. I don’t see how he gets playing time unless Bayern unloads more than just Shaqiri. Look at how little playing time Shaqiri received and even the biggest Green fan must realize he isn’t a Shaqiri.

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  10. Maybe he’s such a non-american he actually tried a clearance to benefit his european brethren and ended up scoring by mistake!

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  11. Julian took the a pass over his right shoulder, the defender had closed in and he had to volley it waist high. A world-class goal.

    Here is what Klinsmann said about his team at the end of regulation time. “They (his players) were all on their limit”. Then Belgium scored 2 in the first 15 minutes of extra time.

    Here is what Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne said after the game. “The 2nd extra time was a total turnaround. Suddenly they had all the energy”.

    I hope Klinsmann is gone before the Copa.

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  12. That was a shank and a fluke. Nice run and great job to get himself into that position (and also a great pass from Bradley) but let’s not make believe it was some brilliant shot. He got a little lucky and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.

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    • With his non-dominant foot? Certainly a fluke!

      I am sure the goal gets a deduction in your book because he is not a “real” American.

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      • He’s right footed and while I don’t think actively recruiting passport Americans for the national team is in the long-term interest of the game in the US, my view doesn’t really impact my opinion of Green’s goal against Belgium.

      • Julian Green was born in Tampa, FL and lived in the US for two years with his dad (a member of the armed forces). Not exactly a “passport American”, he is a natural citizen of the United States as much as anyone else born on US soil.

      • His dad was in the military and Julian was born in the states. He has a father that willingly fought for our country. He was living overseas at that time because his dad was stationed there. Please don’t refer to Julian as a “passport American.” That is actually a bit insulting.

    • Well, your book is wrong then because shanks can hit the target. You seriously think that’s how he meant to hit that shot?

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      • Wow, seriously? Why can’t you acknowledge it was a nice run etc. but he got a bit fortunate with the shot? Instead, you have to pretend that a player can mis hit a ball and still score. Weird.

      • Just exercising my right to nitpick your nitpick of Green’s goal. Not saying that Green’s goal was on the same level but using your logic we need to also devalue Rooney’s famous Manchester derby volley because if he meant to up it into the upper right corner. I don’t get why you need validation that Green’s goal is a fluke and a shank.

        Ok. I agree it wasn’t the cleanest stuck ball. Now you can go and have your highlander quickening.

      • Well, Ives seemed to think Ruiz meant to hit his goal vs. Greece with his heel, so anything’s possible.

      • People seem very defensive about Green’s goal.

        SlowLeftArm is right.
        100% obvious he mis-hit it. He made a great run, he has speed, but he mis-hit the ball and it went in.

      • The nitpicking on Green isn’t about Green, it’s about Klinsmann. If Green’s goal is a fluke then JK gets no credit for including him on the squad…he was just a lucky kid and JK was the even luckier coach who deserves no credit.

    • Thank goodness they all count the same. At least the kid did everything he was supposed to leading up to the “fluke”.

      We can pick nits all we want but the stats have him down as 1 WC appearance and 1 goal for the ol’ US of A. It’s all gravy to me.

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    • On targets shots are not shanks. Furthermore, there tons of plays where the player deflects the ball in. No one ever calls those plays shanks. Hustle plays are not luck because the player put him self in the position to score

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  13. Wow nitpick much? I completely agree that he didn’t catch it flush but why does that matter so much to you? The resulting volley beat one of the best goalkeepers in the world straight up. The level of difficulty on that volley was also so high that catching it at all is a pretty decent accomplishment. You also can’t discount the exceptional run that he made to get himself into that position, the stage he was on, the fact that it was his first touch, etc. Nobody that knows anything about high-level professional soccer is going to take anything away from the kid for not catching that volley flush.

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    • That was a mishit and a fluke. Nice run and great job to get himself into that position (and also a great pass from Bradley) but let’s not make believe it was some brilliant shot. He got a little lucky and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.

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    • He was a player with 0 league club games and unflattering minutes against Mexico at NT level. He was a surprise addition the same time the teams all time scorer, assist leader was excluded. Bound to be a controversy in any country, right or wrong. Ultimately I think now 90% of the people would agree Donovan would probably contributed more than Davis, not so much putting Green against Donovan. Greens goal was a huge save for Klinsmann in my opinion to save face. Because the a addition of Wondolowski and Davis looked poor. But hindsight is 20/20. That son of a gun had to hit it unclean and make the arguement a even more unclear whether he was ready. I hope the best for Green. But I do wonder why, if he was as impressive as Klinsmann said, did he not play green much at all. Only at the end when we were going out. Doesn’t show much confidence considering Klinsmann threw in Yedlin and Brooks with much less hesitation. People will argue about it for awhile I’m sure.

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      • “But I do wonder why, if he was as impressive as Klinsmann said, did he not play green much at all.”

        Did you see any place to play Green vs Ghana? The only sub I questioned there was maybe Wondo instead of AJ.

        I didn’t see the need for Green vs Portugal. Clint scored the second goal with 9 minutes left. Would you then have gone for a third leading 2-1 with 9 minutes to go? I was certain we could hold them until we did not.

        Against Germany needing only a draw or a 1-0 loss or you condemning JK for going defensive when he knew what Germany could do ( i.e. that 7-1 mauling of Brazil?).

        In the Belgium game JK said the early loss of Fabian tied his hands because the possibility of extra time meat he had to be careful with that last sub and as we all know, had Wondo scored then Green never gets on the field that day.

        Then, as you know, De Bruyne scores after only three minutes at which point Green was already warming up.

        If we had beaten Portugal I believe you would have seen Green and Mix against Germany, which is one reason why I think JK was so pissed off about that last second Portugal goal.

        I think it might have cost the USMNT the Belgium game.

      • I love how you run the keyboard ready to defend! Do you not see I am not hating on Green. I like Green and I hope he does well. I am stating the facts though, he had almost no pro experience or national team experience, which is pretty much unheard of for a player going to a world cup, even young players. ? Why the long lists of justifications from you guys.

        Klinsmann raved about Green more than Johannsonn, Wondolowski, Davis, Bedoya, Yedlin, etc. For receiving such high reviews, and being our “secret weapon”, I think it is fair to ask why didn’t he come onto the field. I appreciate the contributions of those players I listed about, but some of them have not set a high bar for Green to beat, especially considering the rave reviews he has gotten from the coaching staff.

        My brother-in-law, who cares none what so ever about he Donovan exclusion/controversy said it right away. If Klinsmann knew he was this good why was he not playing before.

      • So, you ask a question, he gives a few answersand you get defensive by saying he’s quick to defend?

        Hmm… Funny how this Internet forum thing works.

        If you are being fair in asking the question, is he not being fair in giving his answers—even if he is a bit snide in his opening?

        @GW: I, too, questioned bringing on Wondo instead of AJ, but didn’t an article right after the cup say that AJ had picked up an injury sometime before the Portugal game?

      • CJ,

        Actually, I was wondering why Wondo did not replace Jozy in the Ghana game. Seemed more natural to me.

        Apparently AJ did pick up a knock in the Ghana game.

        And Lorenzo, you asked a question I gave a few replies. Why so defensive?

        JK holding back such a young kid, being conservative and waiting for just the right moment, is hardly surprising.

      • Yes, with what happened in the second extra-time period against Belgium was very special. Everyone who watched saw it. And it does raise the question: Why did Klinsmann put Julian in at garbage time in the last minutes of a lost cause?

        Here’s why.
        1. Klinsmann had very little to do with Green’s transfer. It was mostly handled by Bayern, U.S. Soccer and Herzog. (Herzog made all of the visits and contacts with Bayer Munich, even meeting with Green at Bayern’s training grounds.
        2. Then the deal was made and the only input Klinsmann could offer is to go along with it. Does anyone believe that Klinsi could have said no?
        3. This affected Klinsmann to his ego driven core. No one takes any decisions pertaining to the USMNT, heck, everything concerning US soccer for that matter, except Klinsi himself.
        4. So, Klinsmann played Julian in the last 30 minutes of the second of the 3 send-off friendlies and only put him in for the last 15 minutes of the lost-cause loss to Belgium.

        I mean Klinsmann had to do it, US Soccer and the Germans forced his hand. Klinsi calls the shots.

        Thank Goodness it backfired on him. Soon everyone will see how good Julian Green is and how bad Klinsi messed up. US Soccer will be the better for it.

      • And I didn’t mention Klinsmann having to let his hand-picked trusted sidekick Vasquez go as part of the deal.

        The bigger mistake was renewing Klinsmann’s contract (thru 2018) before Brazil. That allowed Klinsi to………………………well, be Klinsi. If U S soccer had waited, then I believe we would have seen much different (and much better) play in Brazil. Maybe Donovan would not have been dropped and for sure Green would have played much more.

  14. I’ve never seen any comments, but IMO, Green miss hit his shot that went in for the goal against Belgium. Replays show it goes off the side of his foot. He intended to hit a full volley. The goal counts in the end, but, to me, all the hype about his goal is a little overblown for this reason.

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    • There were LOADS of comments about this, especially from people determined to down play Green’s performance vs. Belgium.

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      • That’s cool. Just must have missed them then. I do wish him all the best and can’t wait to see what he does in the friendlies.

      • The ball went in. The point is to score. Please don’t underestimate the difficulty of a one time volley

      • Pep and klinsmann forgot more about soccer then everyone on this site combined, knows. If they are hyping him then I thinks it’s well warranted.

      • Green himself said he didn’t hit the ball clean but he thinks that is why it went in. Great run, nice goal. Looking forward to more.

      • Brazilian friend says to me the other day, well at least our keeper didn’t have a 15 save performance so a forward could shank the best chance to score on another great keeper.

    • I see your point about the goal. I think more importantly was the run he made to get that volley. It was very smart, aggressive, and well timed. Nothing we saw from the US in that game or in the tournament from the wing.

      He also looked very composed on the ball – his touch was confident during a very high tense situation for a kid to be playing in.

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      • Yes definitely getting in that position was very impressive. He mishit but good things happen when u get in dangerous positions

    • Besides the intelligent, aggressive run he made, his technique was there, and with volleys good technique will often times result in a goal despite not being perfectly hit

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      • Yep, his technique (particularly how he adjusted to the flight of the ball and angled his body) was there even though the ball was not hit perfectly. The degree of difficulty and coordination needed just to connect with the ball on that volley was high. In contrast, one could see very poor technique on Wondo’s missed sitter – it made me cringe when I saw the replay. These two plays (Green’s volley and Wondo’s sky-hoof) summed up for me the difference in technical development here and in Germany.

      • Eurosnob, while I agree that technical development in Germany is better, keep in mind the bulk of his technical development was in the US. He lived in Germany until 9, then lived in the US from 9-16, then Arsenal for about 1.5 years (16-17). He got most of his technical training playing for elite DC area club teams. He played fro Herta Berlin from 7-9, DC area clubs from 9-16 and Arsenal from 16 onwards (now 17).

      • I think you are confusing Green (Bayern, USA) with Zelalem (Arsenal, Unattached to Ethiopia, Germany or, some hope, the USA soon).

      • No worries, we all make mistakes. But you are making a good point. There are some gifted players that trained within our system and are good enough to go to an elite European academy: Zelalem, Ledermann, etc. However, these players are the exception rather than the rule.

    • This is true but all Wondo’s goals were against sub par teams, Dempsey’s goal against Portugal came off his nuts. We’ll take what we can get. It’s not like there was some other player on the team that scored against Belgium

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      • You guys trying to downplay Green’s goal (or even Dempsey’s) are ridiculous. You either have never played soccer and/or know very little about it.

    • While he did miss hit the shot, it was the movement that made it more special. Not a single other American player was thinking of making that run. They all bobbed in and out of pockets in the defense, while Green, the youngest one, had the idea to run behind the defense, and he did just that. When players make decisions like that, movement like that, it makes guys like Bradley look so much better, because it makes their job easy. He looked up, saw a single runner heading towards the goal behind the defense and played a simple volley over the defense. While he miss hit the shot, it was the movement that was brilliant. You can hit that ball with his shoulder after a run like that and it is still a great goal.

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    • Two seasons ago Wayne Rooney hit an overhead bicycle kick vs. Man City that was a candidate for goal of the year. Closer examination of the replay shows it hit his shin and went in.

      In Ghana vs Germany game at the World Cup Muller whipped in a cross that hit Goetze in the face and then hit his thigh and then went in. Or maybe it hit his thigh and then hit his face before going in.

      The US’ second goal against Portugal was scored by Clint off a Zusi cross with either his crotch or his stomach.

      Green and all three were lucky but they were all lucky in the “luck is the by product of hard work” sense. Green and all three earned those goals and any hype associated with them is not overblown.

      You don’t get style points in soccer. You get points for doing what you have to do and getting results.

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    • Green specifically addressed this and said that if he hadn’t slightly miss-hit it, it likely wouldn’t have been a goal.

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    • This is sort of a bizarre argument. He made a well-timed run to get in behind the defense, but when the ball reached him (from over his shoulder), he had to twist his body around to make a play on it while shielding it from a (much bigger) centerback. He also recognized that he had to volley it, since if he let the ball land, it would have bounced away from him pretty quickly and he would likely have been unable to recover it.

      It was pretty unlikely under those circumstances that the strike would have been perfectly clean — there was too little time, the defender was too big and the ball was going past him. But he made the most of the situation and got a foot on it with enough power to generate a shot — one that ultimately went in. It wasn’t a shank or a mis-hit. It was a high-degree-of-difficulty play that he managed to convert in spite of having very little time or space to do so. In fact, good technique is probably the only reason he was able to generate a decent shot while not getting a truly clean strike on the ball.

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    • Jeez, everyone here is like the two guyts in the bleachers in Major League. “Too high, too hard”

      To this I say…”who gives a ***t, it went in.”

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