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U.S. Soccer hoping to lock down international commitment from Bayern prospect Tillman

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The name Timothy Tillman may not be familiar to fans of the U.S. Men’s National Team just yet, but that should change quickly as the 18-year-old midfielder generates interest from around Europe.

The Bayern Munich youth prospect was linked with Barcelona, according to Goal.com. Tillman’s home at the club level isn’t the only thing being fought over, as the United States is looking to make the 18-year-old the latest German-American to join up with the Yanks in a camp.

U.S. Soccer extended an invitation to Tillman in November, per Goal.com, and he initially accepted a chance to join the Under-18 team, but he passed on the opportunity for one with the German U-18 side instead.

“We even had his tickets and everything. He was all set and ready to go, but he decided at the last moment that he would accept a call from Germany,” U.S. Under-20 coach Tab Ramos said. “I think the door is still open. We’ve been trying, but at the moment obviously he’s still not with us.

“The contact started last summer, and we followed up to the point where he was going to join us in November when he got the call from Germany and decided to do that,” Ramos said. “We’re on top of it.”

Timothy’s younger brother Malik did accept a call from the United States U-15 team, and he appeared for the Yanks in a friendly tournament in Croatia. At the very least, it appears one of the two talented brothers is committed to the United States at the moment. Everyone in U.S. Soccer is hoping the elder one changes his mind at some point as well.

Comments

  1. Yeah, No player who wasn’t US Born and bred should play for this team … EXCEPT …

    Thomas Dooley
    Earnie Stewart
    Hugo Pérez
    Pablo Mastroeni
    Fernando Clavijo
    Dominic Kinnear
    Mike Windischmann

    And those are just the guys with 50 caps or more … Yes America, you should start developing your own talent and leave all of these guys out.

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  2. If he turned us down to go to the Germany camp, then it sounds like his decision is made. I don’t blame him or begrudge him, and wish him the best.

    But I can’t say I’m comfortable with us continuing to pursue him at this point. I want all the players on the USMNT to be 100% committed to representing our country.

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  3. If a player our coaches/scouts/technical advisers believe is good enough to play for our national teams wants to play for our national teams, I’ll welcome him as I would any player who would qualify.

    I don’t care how it happens, nor will I pass judgment on another player based on how they came to that decision.

    As long as they wear the shirt, play hard and represent our nation with dignity, I can’t wait to root for them.

    Hopefully Tillman ends up being one of those guys, because it appears he could really help us.

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  4. Wasn’t Green already playing with reserves and had made CL appearance by this age, not knocking Green cuz im a fan but let’s not get to hype about this kid especially since he seems to favor Germany

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    • They’re basicly in the same position. However, Green was seemingly breaking through at a time when Bayern didn’t have backups to Ribery/Robben, no Lewandowski, etc. So Green was realistically close to the first team. Since then, they’ve acquired Costa, Coman, and Lewandowski.

      So Tillman in the conversation of seeing first-team time is quite impressive (although thats arguably because of Greens departure), but I believe Bayern are also looking at promoting more homegrown players. When Green was there, they Had Lahm, Alaba, Muller, Schweinsteiger, and Badstuber. By next year, only Muller and Lahm will be left (Technically Hummels), so they’re looking for some type of promotion from their academy.

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  5. I’m reading the younger brother Malik is already in our youth U15 program, perhaps we still have a shot at Timothy. Is a long shot but you never know.

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  6. You mean Klinsmann isn’t the manager and we’re still doing this under a pro-American/MLS regime? Shocking.

    It’s almost as if managers want every talented prospect at their disposal regardless of where they were born. Hopefully Tim Howard and Abby Wambach can weigh in to remind Arena of his comments pre-(re)appointment.

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    • I don’t want to spoil your fun, but the article says November was when they attempted to bring him in. Klinsmann wasn’t fired until the end of November. This may have technically been under Klinsmann’s watch still

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      • I don’t want to spoil your fun, but the article says November was when they attempted to bring him in. Klinsmann wasn’t fired until the end of November. This may have technically been under Klinsmann’s watch still

        Because Arena has to keep Klinsmann-era pursuits and/or policies in place? Surely you aren’t that naive, but I don’t want to spoil your innocence if so.

  7. Let’s develop our own players instead of chasing after other countries’ sloppy seconds. As is the case with all “dual” nationals who grew up abroad, they will only choose the US as a backup option. Tillman rightly sees himself as German and will not choose the US unless it becomes clear that he isn’t good enough to feature for Germany.

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      • That is the case for some, but not Brooks. He was rated the 5th best center back in the bundesliga last year. Additionally, more than one report I have read multiple articles that have stated that he would be in the national team pool. Keiswetter, however, no chance of being near the Mannschaft.

      • I think it is a case by case basis. A lot is dependent on how they are brought up, whether they were born abroad or not. It is probably safe to say some take the U.S. call up as a second option but not all. While we absolutely should put a lot of our focus on development on home soil it would be a mistake to disregard the kids over seas.

      • This makes the most sense. I don’t know why it is hard for SOME people to understand that some if not most dual nationals have split loyalties ( I know I do). Additionally, growing up in a place does not mean you feel that is your home. I have lived in Germany, and I can tell you that if you don’t LOOK German, you were made to feel like you were an outsider. Hell, through the mid-90’s if your father was not German, but your mom was, you were still not a German citizen. Things might be different now.

        That being said, for most, it might be a 2nd option, but that does not mean you would not fight as hard for that country. That is a case by case basis.

    • “Let’s develop our own players instead of chasing after other countries’ sloppy seconds.”

      False dichotomy. We should indeed be developing players who have only US passports. We should *also* be going after US players who have multiple passports.

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