By FRANCO PANIZO
Much has been made this week about Julian Green’s role with Hamburg. We’ll soon get a better idea of where he stands.
Hamburg are set to visit Green’s parent club, Bayern Munich, on Saturday, and the teenage prodigy will be hoping the game marks his first appearance for Die Rothosen since Nov. 29. Green has been in the headlines in recent days – first for reportedly being demoted to Hamburg’s Under-23 team, then for jointly refuting those reports with the club – but he will want to put that all past him while trying to help his current team grab a result against the Bundesliga leaders. Doing that will not be easy, however, as Bayern Munich will be playing at home and looking to pick up momentum with a win before resuming UEFA Champions League play next week.
The FA Cup returns to grab a share of the spotlight this weekend, and one of the bigger matches involving an American is Stoke City’s clash with Blackburn Rovers. Cameron and the Potters will be aiming to bounce back after suffering a lopsided midweek loss to Manchester City, but they will need to go on the road and grab a win if they wish to continue on in the competition. Cameron has played in both of Stoke’s games over the last four days, but still seems likely to get the nod vs. Blackburn on Saturday.
If you’re wondering what other match might be worth checking out, look no further than the 2. Bundesliga showdown between Ingolstadt and Sandhausen on Saturday. The fixture could see Americans square off, as Morales and Wooten attempt to be included in their respective side’s starting lineup. Morales and Ingolstadt are in first place in Germany’s second division, and will want to move another step closer to promotion with a victory at home.
Here is who the Americans Abroad battle this weekend:
FRIDAY
Joe Gyau and Borussia Dortmund play Mainz 05. (Gyau is out injured.)
Bobby Wood and FC Erzgebirge Aue play Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Aron Johannsson and AZ Alkmaar play PSV Eindhoven.
Greg Garza, Joe Corona, Paul Arriola and Club Tijuana play Pumas UNAM. (Garza is out injured.)
SATURDAY
Geoff Cameron and Stoke City play Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.
Zak Whitbread and Derby County play Danny Williams and Reading in the FA Cup. (Whitbread is out injured.)
Eric Lichaj and Nottingham Forest play Blackpool.
Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Watford.
Oguchi Onyewu and Charlton Athletic play Brentford.
Emerson Hyndman and Fulham play Ipswich Town. (Hyndman is out injured.)
Julian Green and Hamburg SV play Bayern Munich.
Fabian Johnson and Borussia Moenchengladbach play FC Cologne.
Timmy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt play Schalke 04.
Alfredo Morales and FC Ingolstadt 04 play Andrew Wooten and SV Sanhausen.
Alejandro Bedoya and FC Nantes play Bastia.
Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Jaguares de Chiapas.
Michael Orozco, Herculez Gomez and Puebla play Monterrey.
Jose Torres and Tigres UANL play Morelia. (Torres is out injured.)
Edgar Castillo and Atlas play Pachuca.
SUNDAY
Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Leicester City in the FA Cup.
Gedion Zelalem and Arsenal play Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
John Brooks and Hertha Berlin play SC Freiburg.
Terrence Boyd and RB Leipzig play FSV Frankfurt. (Boyd is out injured.)
Rubio Rubin and FC Utrecht play Dordrecht ’90.
MONDAY
Jann George and SpVgg Greuther Furth play St Pauli.
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Which of these matches are you most anticipating? What are the chances that Guzan and the Villains get a result? Confident that Johannsson will score again?
Share your thoughts below.
Alvarado starting.
So much for Greeeeeeeeeeennnnnneeeee playing
Anyone know why johansson was not playing fur az?
Well, we know that JG was left of the game-day roster and apparently he is refusing to play for the U-23 team. Bayern has commented on this as well…
Congrats to Bobby Wood on his performance today. Great way for Erzgebirge Aue to come out of the winter break.
Man, I wish I was on a team that had a bench that I could sit on.
Julian Green: the poster boy for DNP
With JG as the headline image, the real opinion story should be: In the eyes of USMNT fans, did scoring a WC goal put JG on the fast track to an Adu-like collapse?
WOW do we ever overreact to things in this country when it comes to soccer. It’s why Adu and Green were so built up in the first place — and now we’re ALREADY ready to call Green the next Adu. He is 19 years old, people. If he still cant get on the pitch when he’s 24 we can worry about it. Adu had two issues, IMO, #1 he was probably much older than 14 when we all thought he was 14 (so of course a 16 or 17 year old would dominate “fellow” 14 year olds) and #2 By all accounts now he had exactly ZERO work ethic. Unless we start hearing reports about how lazy Green is and that he has no desire to build his frame or improve his ability, I wouldn’t worry just yet.
I don’t talk too much on Adu, but I thought I would this time. Although, age fraud is common in soccer players coming from Africa and Latin America, you forget that Adu was playing against people who were typically 2-4 years older, and still dominating at the youth levels.
What fellow Americans fail to realize is that a majority of youth talents do not live up to hype/expectations placed on them. Adu just turned out to be the first American. His issue is that he does not defend, not particularly fast, small, and while technically skilled not particularly better than other 24yr old attacking midfielders at a professional level in technical leagues.
Adu and Green are 2 different players: Adu- Central, playmaker, Green-withdrawn forward/winger WITH SPEED. On top of that, Green seems to have a less inflated ego and, according to Bayern, is a hard working, good kid.
Plus, Green did something Adu should have done: avoid the whole MLS hype machine and go to an academy where you and developed and have to prove yourself.
Greg Garza went 90 minutes on Feb. 8th, so I think he can come off your injured list.
Make that Feb. 7th, but still…
yeah, he was fine last week. i have been busy all day today so i haven’t seen anything from Xolos, but unless something changed, he is healthy.
He’s starting for Xolos. So he’s good.
Can Bundesliga loanees play against their parent club in league play? I know they can’t in the Premier League, for example. Relatedly, is there any great website that describes the ins and outs of transfer / loan rules for various leagues around the world?
I believe Green came off the bench in there first meeting against Munich earlier this season. I think it’s just up to if they want to write it into the contract or not.
Ya they can play. Its totally normal in the Bundesliga.
yeah, Jack is right. Green played vs. Bayern earlier in the year. In fact Green caught Neuer out at midfield and tried to make a move past him in stoppage time to win the match but Neuer handled the ball and it was not called.