By DAN KARELL
Bobby Wood has seemingly turned two game-winning goals into the biggest transfer move of his life.
According to a report in German publication BILD, Wood has agreed on a transfer move to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. The report states that the move will cost €1.2 million.
The report from BILD adds that the move came about due to recently signed Stuttgart scout Alexander Schmidt. Schmidt formerly coached Wood at TSV 1860 Munich and raved about him. “I am convinced of his qualities. He has the makings of a Bundesliga player,” Schmidt said about Wood in Nov. 2012, per BILD.
After struggling at the club and international level for the better part of two years, many fans and media members were surprised to see Wood’s name included in the U.S. Men’s National Team squad to face the Netherlands and Germany. Wood though repaid the faith shown in him with a pair of key, late-game goals that served as game-winners for the USMNT.
At the club level, Wood most recently played for Erzgebirge Aue in the 2. Bundesliga on a half-season loan, where he scored three goals in nine games. According to reports in Germany, had Aue avoided relegation, Wood’s loan would have become permanent.
Instead, Wood finds himself making the jump up a division.
BILD reports that Braunschweig, Kaiserslautern, Darmstadt, and Ingolstadt were all interested in Wood.
Stuttgart are coming off a tough season, finishing in a surprising 14th place with just 36 points from 34 games.
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What do you think of this news? Surprised to see Wood move to the Bundesliga? Do you see him making the starting lineup next season?
Share your thoughts below.
Unlike some of the comments here, I am going to give Bobby Wood the benefit of the doubt.
He has been a professional in Germany since age 14. He knows what the expectations are. Klinsmann obviously sees something in him that we can not see here behind our keyboards.
The fact that he received a contract after going through a European academy team says a lot about him. It’s not easy to do.
To the naysayers out there, let him do his thing. He may surprise all of us.
Now, I wish Terrance Boyd would stop getting injured. I still think we could use him too.
Good for him, I had a feeling he Wood get a good transfer move!
If he can keep scoring missile strike goals like that directional turn and shoot goal against Germany he’ll see plenty of playing time. That was a thing of beauty.
Where’s Morris big contract offer? Maybe he wants to stay at Stanford longer.
Thanks for the kind words, I’ll do my best to keep you happy!
Wouldn’t it be cool if the real Bobby Wood actually reads SBI?
We’d have so much in common! Like, um, reading this site… and… Huh, I guess that’s where the similarities would end, probably.
I was realy hoping he would come here to Kaiserslautern…opportunity wasted 🙁 But Wood should do well for Stuttgart.
So can someone tell me why Wood, Williams, and Cameron were not called up to the 35 man roster? Still not getting it? Brad Davis? Perry Kitchen?? Chris Wondolowski??? Why is JK still calling up that dude?
Rumor is Cameron requested time off after a non-stop grueling year. I think he has had 1 month off in 2 years. Williams has just finished recovering from his major knee surgery, so he shouldn’t push it and just make sure he is ready for Reading pre-season (which I think overlaps a little with the Gold Cup). As far as Wood is concerned, there are other forward candidates ahead of him right now (and he needed to get his club situation settled). Maybe he will get called in as a replacement after the group stages. If you know Chris Wondolowski can do the job against CONCACAF minnows in the groups stages why not give other guys a break.
+1. It’s also possible that JK had gotten wind of the potential bid from VfB, and decided he wasn’t pllanning on using Wood enough to deprive him of some rest and a chance to hit the ground fresh and ready for Stuttgart. Could be tons of things.
However, it should be noted that there is no chance of Wood being called in for the knockout rounds. You have to be on the provisional 35-man roster to be eligible here, No new players can be drafted in outside of this pool.
Not knocking Cameron for requesting time off, he definitely deserved it. However, we know how much Klinsmann loves players who ask for time off, especially asking for time off instead of playing in a first rate Gold Cup team…
MLSsnob,
You are right JK is fine with players who ask.
LD didn’t ask, he just took off and didn’t say if or when he was coming back.
Very big difference.
JK had a personal grudge against LD long before the sabbatical. Cameron doesn’t have to worry about that. JK’s refusal to play Cameron at RB, where he does well on a weekly basis in the EPL and instead persist with Chandler is a bit puzzling. I know Chandler gets forward more but overall his performance has been pretty lackluster on those occasions when he can be bothered to put on a USMNT shirt.
neither you nor I know if JK if he has a personal vendetta against LD.
So his son tweeted what he tweeted for no reason? Give me a break, JK had it out for him since day one.
slowleftarm,
That is your evidence that JK’s personal grudge kept LD out of the WC?
His son’s tweet proved that JK has said some nasty things about LD to his son.
That is all it proves.
Going from there to exclusion from the World Cup is a huge leap.
If JK doesn’t like you as a player he just freezes you out (see Benny, Lichaj, Adu, Chad Marshall, Will Bruin, etc.).
Do you really think he gives a f++k what anyone thinks?
If he had it out for LD all along he never would have invited him to camp.
I doubt there is a great deal of love or personal warmth between Mikey and JK but that hasn’t stopped JK from building the team around him.
JK may or may not have had a personal grudge against LD. And that grudge may or may not have influenced his decision to leave LD behind.
None of us here, least of all slowleftarm, can prove it one way or another.
What is clear is that Mikey and JK do not appear to have any love lost between them yet JK is building the team around him.
What we also do know is that Tim Howard spoke to JK about his absence and set a beginning and end date.
While I have yet to see an article backing this up, one must presume the same thing for Cameron and note that it sounds as if it was more Stoke, not Cameron who was asking JK for Geoff to be excused.
While Stoke are happy with Cameron, having just renewed his contract, Geoff did not have as good a year this year as last. It seems much of that can be attributed to injury and Cameron’s brutal schedule. Stoke asking for an extended break for their guy from international duty is therefore reasonable and plausible.
And Cameron’s absence is not likely to hurt the team in the Gold Cup.
As for Cameron at right back, Phil Bardsley, formerly of Sunderland, is Stoke’s regular right back.
In any event, the USMNT management is well informed on Howard’s and Cameron’s extended hiatus’ in contrast to LD’s which was an open ended affair where no one had any idea if or when he would be back.
As I said, big difference.
I don’t know if Bardsley got injured, but while Bardsley started the season at RB, for about the last 10 games or so (I;m guessing at the number) Cameron started at right back. Before he did that, he started some games at defensive mid. If they weren’t happy with him, I doubt that he would have gotten such a long contract. So, while Cameron started slowly, he finished well. Several US players had what Klinsmann warned about–a World Cup hangover and Cameron may have been one of those.
Gary Page,
JK told Cameron early on that he does not see him as a right back.
Cameron does not want to play right back as he has stated publicly many times.
And if you’ve watched Stoke play their right back does not play right back the way JK wants the USMNT right back to play.
Bardsley played 25 of Stoke’s 38 league games all but one as a starter. I don’t know if he got hurt at the end but as far as I know Hughes sees him as the right back.
And if Cameron did get the dreaded WC hangover then letting him have a real rested off season only makes sense.
After all we wouldn’t want to over train him would we?
JK may have had a grudge against LD, but there is at least as much evidence that LD didn’t like JK. LD went from being a team leader to sitting out multiple matches with phantom injuries and then finally taking a sabbatical during WC qualifiers at a time when JK seemed vulnerable (post ugly loss at Honduras and Sporting News hatchet job using unnamed sources “close” to the USMNT.) You also had Bruce Arena, LD’s priotector lobbing occasional potshots JK’s way. Why wouldn’t JK conclude that LD was becoming a distraction? As far as that goes, he still is.
Again, I am a big fan of LD (as I have stated on this website before), but there is probably more evidence that LD has issues with JK (given his actions before and after the World Cup omission).
It is also clear that M.Bradley doesn’t have a lot of love for JK, but he is more professional (I think all these guys are, but MB is more so) and respects him. I also think JK respects MB and thinks highly of him. It is as obvious as the fact that JK loves Dempsey, Jones and Beckerman.
Coaches have favorites. Soccer/Football is not a 100m race where you pick the clear 10 fastest guys. There is room for subjective maneuvering.
From his son’s tweet, I am sure JK said something around the house about LD. However, like my father, who talked about his workplace (in a limited sense in my presence), talking does not mean he has grudges as much as he has opinions (BIG difference).
The preliminary roster is not set in stone.
As I understand it:
Wood – JK wants him to get the club situation straightened out, be there for pre-season and get time – “The whole national team is involved, Wood told MLSsoccer.com before Tuesday training session at RheinEnergieSTADION. They always want the best for each player. After this game (Germany), I will sit down and see what’s best for me. (mlssoccer.com)
Williams is not 100% with his knee and will be allowed some rehab time before the new season (I can’t find where I read this)
Cameron – “while Stoke City defender Geoff Cameron has heeded the requests of his club team, that he not play in the Gold Cup and instead take the summer to rest various injuries ahead of the 2015-16 Premier League season.” (various soccer outlets)
VFB was in crisis mode at the end of the season… gonna be plenty of shake-up…. situation could be less than ideal for Wood starting next season.
Great news. With Fox covering the Bundesliga next season, that gives us another player/team to follow. A good chance that every week we will have an opportunity to see 2 or 3 Americans playing on TV. And if they cover it like the covered the EPL, it could be more like 6 or 7. I can’t think of him, who is on the Dortmund roster? Anyway, there’s Brooks, Chandler, F. Johnson, Woods, maybe Julian Green and someone else I can’t think of whose team was promoted. Now, let’s see if a European club comes offering a big contract to Morris.
the speedy Joe Gyau is on Dortmund if i’m not mistaken. I’d put my money on Gyau beating Yedlin in a foot race, lol
Junior Flores is also in the BVB system- U-20s or U-23s.
You should wait until you see how much speed Gyau has lost from his knee injury before you bet.
touché, i was truly sad when he hurt his knee with the NT, then again with his club. Where in the world is Josh Gatt…?
Gyau’s knee injury was not that bad. It was a cartilage injury, not a ligament injury.
He is not coming back from a torn ACL or MCL. So, we should seem him make a full recovery.
I hope you are right. You just never know with knee injuries.
“someone else I can’t think of whose team was promoted”
Morales
Wobby, I follow Stuttgart and it depends who else they bring in. Ginczek has been labeled not for sale by the club and will be the starter. Ibisevic and Abdellaoue both appear to be done at the club. Also Harnik who starts on the right but backed up the Forward position is being shopped. Right now he should be second string but will depend on other signings.
I think its great he’s leaving that mess of a club 1860 but I wonder….
A question to my Bundesliga followers, do you think he’ll get enough PT?
If anything I think he’d make an ideal sub
Helps when the coach trusts and can rely on him. His coach is convinced…it had nothing to do with scoring two goals against Holland and Germany.
Schmidt the Stuttgart SCOUT who recommended him is Wood’s former manager.
Zorniger is the current manager. Of interest is that Jerome Keisewetter is also on that club.
…but according to the Bild article, Schmidt was a former coach at 1860 who coached Bobby Wood and rates him very highly.
Anthony,
Yes, but Schmidt would not be Bobby’s manager/coach at Stuttgart.
That was then. This is now.
MikeG’s point was :
“Helps when the coach trusts and can rely on him”
If Schmidt was Stuttgart’s head coach that would be true but he’s not.
We don’t know what Zorniger thinks of Wood. Hopefully, he and Schmidt see eye to eye on Wood..
haha +1
yup, and Keisewetter got promoted to their first team.
bryan,
I haven’t seen much of Keisewetter. Are he and Wood similar type players? Would they compete with each other?
all i’ve seen is when he is with the US youth teams. but based on the performance data i found, he played on the wing for Stuttgart II. Wood has spent the large majority of his club time as a center forward, occasionally playing on the wing. so i’m sure they will be competing in some capacity. i’m not sure how Stuttgart sets up, but i’m sure that will play into it.
I certainly believe that Wood was on Stuttgart’s list prior to this week as a potential target, but to say the 2 goals had nothing to do with it is probably too much for me.
Ultimately, you have to convince a lot of people at an established club like Stuttgart when the time comes to upgrade a player from “guy we are tracking in the lower divisions” to “guy we need to move on NOW”, and this was probably exactly what the coach/scout were looking for to bring to the board, and say “we can pay a scant $1.2 mm for this guy now, or $5 million down the road”. German clubs do not like paying big transfer fees for anybody
I wonder where he would have ended up if he didn’t score those 2 goals…
Chivas USA…
Apparently the moves were in motion before those friendlies though the goals certainly did not hurt.
1.2 m is less than the 1.5 million that Julian Green is rated at. And he had a non- season.
Wood did well but he was not on the field that long and was part of two very well orchestrated team moves when scoring those goals. Hopefully this is a stepping stone to regular playing time
wasn’t Yedlin’s deal for a mil also? i think it’s an interesting perspective them 3 being relatively close in price.
also, you’re right about wood but on the second goal, that was a great shot by him; low and to the post. i was way more excited about his second than his tap-in first.
Yedlin’s fee was $4million.
Was that Euros or dollars? The figures I gave for Wood and Green are Euros.
4 million dollars is about 3.6 million Euros
And yes Wood’s second goal vs Germany was Aguero-like.
Minnesota United.
Wow look what two goals can do for you
I get the argument but you’re acting like it should have zero impact for a German based player to score a winner against Germany in Germany (or Holland).
I see the issue more as the running peter principle problem our Euro players have of occasionally signing above their heads and struggling for PT. I may think teams couldn’t ignore what he did, but he might have been wiser to dial it back himself.
Yep, this will be a disaster and he will be on loan to a 2 or 3 Budisliga team next year and in two years he will make a move to Austria or Denmark and “get his career back on track.”
Why do we keep repeating this movie?
Wood has struggled with injuries and confidence. But when healthy and confident, he has looked as he did in these friendlies (a legitimate top 4 league prospect/starter). He is healthy now and the goals against the Netherlands and Germany will give him a confidence boost. That doesn’t mean he will make it, but he has a decent shot.
It is a risk for him personally, of course with a reasonable pay rate. It is great for the national team. We are never going to compete to win a World Cup with a bunch of players that 2 bundesliga and Championship (england) quality. It is good for us to find players that take risk even if it only works 25% of the time. 25% of the time, we will add a real threat and quality addition to the US national team. All the players on Barca, Real, Manchester, Chelsea and Bayern come from somewhere why not have a few of them come from the USA.
Remember these players have a coach (or coaches) who push them to try the highest level. Their egos can work against them as well, plus these teams are courting them.
It’s almost to be expected.
I think it provides cover for the coach. I think American players still suffer form the
“No coach ever got fired for playing a European / Latin American” saying. If a coach plays an American and loses, that is the reason that everybody will cite.
That’s Klinsmann’s old club. Hope he does well!
Ginczek will start, but Wood should see time.