PHILADELPHIA– The search for consistent playing time across the different levels of German soccer eluded Julian Green for quite some time.
The 22-year-old, who was named to the U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup squad in 2014, failed to find a place with Bayern Munich’s first team after returning from Brazil. A stint in the Regionalliga with Bayern Munich II followed an unsuccessful loan spell at Hamburg. After scoring 10 goals for Bayern Munich II, Green then moved to Stuttgart, where he made 10 appearances in the 2016-17 season.
For the recently finished 2.Bundesliga campaign, Green was loaned out to Gruether Furth, where for the first time in a few years, he played consistently. Green scored three goals in 24 matches, one of which kept Greuther Furth from relegation.
“It made me stronger because, first of all, I made every game at the league and then we made it in the last game,” Green said. “It’s very important for me. As a player it gave me a lot.”Â
During his time at Greuther Furth, Green found a comfort on the field that helped land a return to USMNT camp ahead of Monday’s clash with Bolivia.
“I felt it in myself. I felt every game I got better and better,” Green said. “I just feel more comfortable on the pitch. It was a very important season for me so now for me I moved up my game a little bit. The season was very important for me.”Â
Green’s development was under a microscope after Brazil, but the midfielder never felt an unusual amount of pressure put on him as one of the USMNT’s next great players.
“Pressure is always there in soccer,” Green said, “I don’t feel a special pressure. I just want to do my thing and show the country I’m a good soccer player, that’s it. The rest, the pressure is all from the media, but I don’t feel the pressure so much.”Â
The 22-year-old most recently played for the USMNT in 2016, when he scored in back-to-back October friendlies against Cuba and New Zealand.
Although he’s had to wait for his call, Green’s been focusing on getting time at the club level first and foremost.
“It hasn’t been frustrating. Of course I always want to be here and play with the national team, but I moved from Bayern to Stuttgart and it was more important than to be here,” Green said. “I would say last season was very good for me. I played every game and now I’m back here. It’s perfect for me and I will continue.”Â
As for where he’ll land next season, that is still up in the air, as he has yet to talk to his parent club about the future.
“I can’t say anything right now,” Green said. “Right now I’m here and the rest will come. There’s no decision right now.”Â
For the time being, Green is excited to compete with the rest of the young squad called in by interim manager Dave Sarachan for a spot in Monday’s lineup.
“I’m happy to be back and looking forward to a couple days with the team,” Green said. “Maybe I have a little bit more experience than the other guys. They’re all good players. We’re all here. We are one team and I think the future is bright and we’re all looking forward.”Â
I have always liked Green, and have wished him success. I believe that his biggest issue has been his inability to find consistent minutes over an extended period of time. Hopefully this past season is a indication that he’ll continue to get good minutes.
I think the increased level of competition emerging from within the ranks of the USMNT will help keep him and the rest of the player pool honest and pushing for inclusion. Green & Others ability to help in multiple positions should help there cause so long as they perform.
LM: Saief, Green, Weah, Manneh, Amon
RM: Pulisic, Arriola, Gooch, Green Weah, Scott
ACM: Pulisic, Scott, Parks, Saief, Gooch
CM: McKennie, Adams, Parks, Acosta,
F: Sargent, Novakovich, Green, Weah, Morris, Wood, Jozy
Will hopefully get a coach who can mold this pool into an effective midfield/attack.
Manneh has hardly played in Mexico. I still hold out hope that Hyndman will break through and get regular playing time in a good European league. He did well at Rangers and he could figure in our future midfield and become that top assist player we need.
Emo started Bournemouth’s final game. He played 59 minutes and was subbed out. Publicly, Eddie Howe is still high on him, talking about how he worked hard to earn a start. He’s started out injured and then had to play his way back on the reserves. If healthy, he should get some PT or maybe they loan him, hopefully somewhere better than the Scottish Premier League.
I don’t know why fans insist on putting Kyle Scott in any USMNT conversations when we haven’t heard anything about him being contacted by USSoccer for a call up, nor have we heard anything from Kyle expressing his interest in suiting up for the States!
Because the grass is always greener. Our friend over at ASN would have another reason though.
There have been reports/articles of USSF reaching out to Scott, at least at the youth levels. There have also been messages (tweets) from Scott wishing US teams well in WC competitions (again at the youth levels). If there weren’t at least a little interest from the player to potentially represent the country in question I can’t see a player sending these types of messages.
@johnnyrazor – it’s less a case of the grass is always greener and more a case of having grass at all. What other players, not named Pulisic, do we have in the player pool who can play the 10 role?
There are some who could potentially make a claim: Parks, Saief, & Gooch. None of which have proven consistently at the club level they can/will be a solution. So the chance of adding another prospect/option is in our best interest.
I personally like all our potential options, and hope that they all do well. I want to see us with 3 to 4 quality options at each position. To that end I think we’re on our way for the Left Mid position, even with Manneh’s limited field time since moving to Liga MX. But we are thin true difference makers at ACM & RM positions, beyond Pulisic. I’m not sold on Arriola, Gooch can’t seem to get games, and Weah & Green are more accustom to playing on the left side.
Parks & Scott aren’t established/proven yet so there are still tons of questions at ACM.
2010’s WC Team was Devastated when Gooch & Davies were injured. 2014’s WC Team was heavily impacted with the injury to Holden, Jozy & Johannsson. Down the stretch during the 2018 cycle we were basically relying on an 18 yr old to carry the team’s creativity while trying to squeeze the last ounce of ability/magic out of our OLD HERO’s (Dempsey, Howard, Beasley). I don’t want our hopes to be hanging on a single individual anymore….or to be completely derailed by an injury of 2.
We need to strive to have a deep and quality group of players who’ll push each other to be better and continue to improve as individuals and as a team.
He has shown flashes and has some speed and technical ability. Hopefully he finds a good club situation with a lot of playing time and ups his game.
How many Americans have made it as a number 10 in top 4 league? Zero. Pulisic is getting close be even he is not there yet. How many American have made it as a number 10 in the Championship, Bundesliga 2… maybe one or two if at all? Those leagues are just better than MLS and much more competitive, especially for the creative, playmaker positions. Fact is, if Green becomes a consistent playmaker for a Bundesliga 2 team, he should be a starter for the NATs.
Well, Claudio Reyna played in both the Premiership and the Bundesliga as a 10, so…
Never really saw Reyna as an attacking midfielder or playmaker… more of a box to box (when younger) and then holding mid. He didn’t get much playing time at Leverkusan but at Wolfsburg he did well (<2 seasons) and I don't know what his exact role was there.
Well, probably more of an exception proves the rule example anyway, but he definitely played in an attacking mid role for Sunderland and Man City at times.I think his time at Wolfsburg, from what I remember (wasn’t much opportunity to see them at the time) was probably the most he played as a 10. But somebody could correct me… I really didn’t get much of a chance to watch him in early career except for the Nats, where he was actually #10.
I know BayernM is a big club but they have done him a disservice with the amount of talent that was around him. Failing to really evaluate him and find a position that he can excel at? He was always an undersized striker/forward and may have been better suited in the midfield or wide midfield position ? Just speculation on my part and not knowing where he played on the field this year?
He’s Stuttgart property now. But the same situation of being at the mercy of a B1 asset holder while playing better in lower divisions (on II teams or loans) remains his catch 22.
Your evaluation is in opposition to results. Bayern and Hamburg used him as a winger until Ancelotti arrived. Stuttgart played him as a winger as well last season and quickly soured to him there. Greuther began the season playing him as a wing and it was when they moved him centrally either underneath another strike or as the center forward did the team gain the momentum to avoid relegation. Green was a center forward in the final match of the season in which he scored the goal that kept them up. He’s not a target forward in the mold of Lukaku, but he seems to thrive when playing in the center of the pitch. Four of his six professional goals have come from a center position.
“I hope that in Stuttgart he can play with more continuity and show his quality, the top quality of a central striker, ” Ancelotti said of his former player. “He has the typical skill set of a center forward, he’s very good without the ball and he is so good at finding space and moving behind the defensive line. And he has quality on the ball too.”
3 goals in 8 appearances for the USMNT
And very fast. I get why he disappeared from the team, but the people who seem to almost delight in him struggling worry me. It’s not complicated. “Start scoring on Belgian level teams for us again.” If he does that the people who turned on him magically flip back.
He has so much speed and some skill and it would be nice if he turned out well as a player. But he like many of the Americans is kind of in the twilight between interesting youth player and then being a senior success who plays for his club team. It has obviously helped him to be getting minutes again in Furth. That seems to be his hangup, period, is since BM2 he just didn’t play.
Here’s the question, is do Stuttgart sell him to Furth, or let him go back there on loan, or does he go off to yet another team and they sit him again. He’s earned his way back finally but if he goes back to sitting does the US keep calling.
People keep cheerleading guys signing B1 or EPL but he’s played like 15 games in several years on B1 first teams. So. What. The same basic people then, without mentioning the cheerleading, rag him for the NT disappearing act. The two connect.
He’s technically under contract at Stuttgart through 2019 so it will be interesting — and perhaps pivotal — what happens this summer.
Played in 5 matches for Hamburg in 2014/15 these are his only Bundesliga matches. He did play in one cup match for Bayern against Augsburg a Bundesliga club. Also, played in one Champions League match vs a Ukranian squad in 2015. Stuttgart was in the 2.Bundesliga when Green played for them.
My point is most of his pro appearances are for second teams or lower division sides, and while he is Stuttgart’s asset, the consistent implication of his CV so far is that is the level team where he should be playing at, if he stays in Germany.
I would like to see him in Holland or MLS.
I think JG can play a role in the USMNT going forward, but I don’t think he’ll ever become a starter, even with the youth movement that we’re seeing with the Nets. In some way, I compare him to Jozy in that he showed great potential early on, but he just hasn’t been consistent. Actually, the Jozy comparison is probably too generous. Jozy was lighting up the Eredivisie at this age, while Green is barely making a dent. I hope he proves me wrong
when Jozy was Green’s age he just finished a okay loan in Turkey the year after a terrible loan in Hull. he also way much more physically matured and constant national team player
Potential was completely unlocked and peaked the next year in Holland but at this point in his career he had not yet found consistent playing time nor a double digit scoring season.
patience with Green, hopefully he is a year or two away from a breakout season but ya i think we all have our doubts with him, especially on how hyped he was four years ago.
Rob relishing free time at home while mom is at work.