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Green enjoying career-best start to season with Greuther Furth

2019 marks Julian Green’s third season with German second-tier side Greuther Furth and the American speedster is off to his best start yet this season.

With September on the verge of ending, Greuther Furth is sitting sixth in the competitive 2. Bundesliga with 11 points through its opening seven matches of the season. The 24-year-old has three league goals including two game-winning goals in seven appearances, good for a share of the team lead in goals. Despite the club coming off a 2-0 road loss to relegated Stuttgart, Green still admits the team is in the right direction.

“It was a pretty good start for me and for the team we’ve been working very well,” Green told SBI. “When you are playing well it makes things a lot easier and even the last game against Stuttgart I thought we were the better team. We didn’t come out with the win, but I thought it was a good performance. This season we play more technical football with better ball control and more ball possession. For me, the details make a difference and I want to continue to work on my game.”

“It’s very important that we haven’t backed down to anybody. Stuttgart is one team that is a favorite to go back up to the first division. I think we showed that we can play with them and even play better than them. The most important thing is to play our style and I think it worked well against them. It’s a good sign for us as a team and we also have to continue this against the smaller teams too because you need wins to stay in the upper half of the table.”

After previous stops at Bayern Munich, Hamburg, and Stuttgart, Green has found a home with Furth. He’s totaled 62 appearances in all competitions for the club since joining originally on loan in 2017-18. After seven goals combined over the last two seasons, Green has scored three right off the bat this campaign under new manager Stefan Leitl.

Leitl originally arrived in February, but this marks his first new season with the club. He has the club playing attacking football, but is also having them now shy down to the big teams in the division. Green has benefitted from his tactics and looks to be taking his game to a new level in all areas.

“He’s [Stefan] been a big help not only for me, but also for the whole team. We have a clear plan of how we want to play and he has a clear plan as manager. We are all trying to do that on the field. It’s working pretty well so far and it was also a good move for me that he is here,” Green said.

“My game has definitely changed a lot since I’ve been here in Germany. People may not see that all the time since I’ve been with Bayern, Hamburg, and Stuttgart in the past. At Bayern, everybody knows it’s very hard to get minutes there. Since I am here in Furth, I have seen my game change because I am playing every weekend. I am feeling that I am getting better and I am still trying to get better as a player. Overall, I have been happy here.”

Not only is Green getting on the scoresheet and trying to make plays for his team, he is getting better on the defensive end as well. Leitl’s tactics has wingers coming back to help defend which is something Green has added to his game. Whether he is playing the No. 8, No. 10, or on the wing, Green knows he has to defend for the good of the team and for them to continue to be successful this campaign.

“I am always working hard for the team and defensive work is a part of the game,” Green said. “We have to do this in the matches and it’s better if we have the ball, but sometimes it’s not going to be that way. You have to be defensively good if you want to win as well. I think I am doing pretty well with that part of my game so far.”

Green is in the final year of his contract with Furth and reports out of Germany earlier this year stated the club is in talks to re-sign him. Whether he is a Greuther Furth player to start the 2020-21 season is a doubt, Green remains positive that he and the club are on good terms, especially after a sixth-place start.

“We are always in good talks with the club and we still have this season to figure things out,” Green said. “Right now I am just focusing on Furth and the next games. We still have time to work it out. If there is anything happening you will know it.”

Unlike earlier in his career, the Tampa native is joined at Furth by a pair of Americans who are trying to work their way into the first team. Blaine Ferri and Malik McLemore currently play for Furth II (the club’s Under-23 team), which has allowed Green the opportunity to watch them develop into professionals. It’s also another pair of Americans who have made the trek to Germany, a trend that hasn’t surprised Green with the amount of talent the U.S. produces.

“Blaine has trained and played with the first team in a friendly and I’ve seen him a few times in training as well. He’s a very young player and a very good player. I like what I saw in training from him. Overall, it’s nice to see American kids making the move to Germany,” Green said.

“I am not surprised with the number of players here in Germany. I think this is the normal way to do things if you are a player. All of the players should have a goal to make the move to Europe in my opinion. I am happy to see it happening because we have very good players in the U.S.”

After breaking onto the U.S. Men’s National Team scene at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Green is now waiting in the wings for his next opportunity to represent his county. Green won seven caps for the USMNT in 2018 under then head coach Dave Sarachan, which featured his first goal since 2016, against eventual World Cup winners France.

Green has yet to receive a call-up under new head coach Gregg Berhalter, but his strong start to the season could see him brought in for October Nations League matches against Cuba and Canada. With the amount of options for Berhalter to choose from it may be tough, but the delay in his National Team career isn’t dampening his spirits of getting back

“Yes of course I hope to be back,” Green said. “It’s always the biggest honor for a soccer player to play for the National Team. It’s a big goal to be there and be back soon. The only thing I can do is continuing to do well at Furth and being focused and ready for the chance. I will work hard for it.”

Comments

  1. One of the things that seems to be overlooked is that Green is actually not THAT speedy, he’s not slow but there’s plenty of guys in our pool faster than him.. And he seems to have grown into the number 10 role. Which is why it’s frustrating that he hasn’t gotten a call up yet. I’m not saying he’s a starter for us, but if CP is moved to the wing in GBs system then Green should at least get a shot to see how he looks. Sarachan liked him..

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    • CP has 10 g and 7 assists as #10, and 3 g and 3 a as a wing. The team is .500 when he was a wing and 9w 3d 2l with him as a 10. Some of that is related to a lack of a true 10 to give him service but the bottom line is we are far better when he plays the 10.

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      • Ok I don’t disagree, but considering we haven’t had our full squad together (whoever that is) I don’t think there’s enough evidence to say one way or the other, and it was GB that has played him at both spots, and even moving him during the game. With that being said, I don’t see a plethora of options in either scenario so having Green as an option should be in the discussion.

  2. Green is a technical player that can do well in tight spaces, keeping possession of the ball. What’s weird is that Berhalter doesn’t rate him to call him into camp, when he is wants the NATS to play a technical, possession style and are weakness was losing the ball too easily. I guess since GB has Arena in his DNA… those Germanicans are just not quite MLS quality enough.

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    • Stop he played seven years in Germany and was captain of 1860 Munich I hardly think he’s prejudiced against Germans. He played for Arena for 2 years his career was 18 years long, 17 years in Europe even having been in the US the last six years he’s spent 60% of his adult life in Europe.

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      • the germans i hear called for are old farts who weren’t playing well last time they were tried. i don’t think he has a problem with germans. what i think is he has some sort of stats nerd’s obsession with “proof positive” which means his players will trend older and he will lag well behind form. since many of our players are trying to break in, in europe, he is going to slow walk them into the team. he will instead play “regulars” from MLS who lack talent but get playing time. victory of age and career progression over talent. in that sense he is like BA who loved older players and was slow to integrate kids. which means you lose energetic years at the front end of your career but get to stay past your prime since you are then “proven” even if a shell of your former self.

    • GB is deeply confused, unsurprising from a usually mid table coach elevated beyond his merits. he plays a 433 but then as you note calls mostly 6s and workhorses, then seems befuddled why we can’t build or possess through the midfield. hmmm, because you call maybe one “mid” — CP — who is meant to play offense. so we show up in an offensive formation but then field 6 or 7 “defenders.” but not in a defensive formation. not only do are the selections odd and favoritism, they to me don’t even fit what he says he is trying to do. but then he has never had his strange ideas tested by lifting a trophy, has he??

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      • Is it Berhalter’s fault that we don’t create 10s? Even if he went young Mendez and Ledezma are Pulisic style score first rather than defense unlocking creators.

    • Beerholder is obviously of German American heritage/ancestry. Come on what your are saying is not making sense. You could probably trace his genealogy and like Donald Trump has a grandfather, great, or great grandfather from Germany.

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  3. happy to add another yank abroad to my list, but everything i’ve read indicates Malik McLemore is a dual nat who was born and raised in Germany.

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      • oh i’m not looking to call him into the NT or anything.
        i just enjoy being able to add another name to the 400 or so other Americans playing abroad.

  4. People know what I think about Green,(I hope he gets the call for the Nations League, and is playing as the 10, until CP takes over, ‘21), but the interesting piece was Blaine Ferri!! Was wondering where he was?!, after reading that George Acosta signed with Inter-Miami.
    2017 U17s WC midfield had an understanding, with one another, which made the overall game easy to watch. I know, Carleton hasn’t made a meaningful impact. C Durks just switch leagues, Lindsey & Weah injured, Akinola isn’t playing a lot for TFC, and ‘Is Chris Gosling still playing?’…but we have players like Pomykal, Richards, Servania, Mendez, Llanez, etc. will be the skeleton of the Olympic Squad. Let Green wear the Captains ban, (Age, & experience), and let ‘em pull the strings in the middle. We as a whole understand, that we haven’t qualified for 2 Olympics. I’m not that confident, Jason Kreis will call in the right combo of players being the YNTs are churning out talent. I think, that these up coming matches should be used for winning the Nations League, AND having the Olympic squad gain experience until Olympic qualifying.

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    • A technical correction. Since Green is 24, he can’t be used in qualifying for the Olympics. However, if the US does qualify, then 3 older players can be added to the roster, at which point he could be added.

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  5. And Zardes, Boyd, Arriola, Pulisic and McKennie all have multiple goals in 2019 so what’s your point. Morris scored in 15,17,and 19. Everyone who is ahead of him at his positions has scored for the US. Even Mihailovic has a goal. So instead of looking at how he did on the one play he actually did anything against France that took several fortunate bounces you look at how he plays week in and week out.

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    • you don’t know what you’re talking about. you act like it was one game but then ignore the overall statistics which would be the alternative to anecdote. overall, Green scores for the NT at a rate of a goal every 4.7 games. mckennie is 5. zardes is 5.3. arriola is 5.8. i grant that boyd is 3.5 but he had both those in one game he has not yet repeated. pulisic is under 3 but that is one player. to shove green out you basically have to say i have 5 starters better than you for attacking positions PLUS SUBS. “you’re going to need a bigger boat.”

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      • You said “continuing the absurdity of leaving off people who scored for the NT in 2018”. Yes he scored against heavyweights Cuba and New Zealand in 2016 and the deflected goal in 2014. 4 goals in 15 matches for an attacking player is a good average but when you look at 1 goal in 7 appearances in 2018 his recent form as a Nat is not so glorious. Combine that with his going 16 straight matches without a goal (with only 1 assist in those matches) and your absurdity claim is well absurd. He finished the season well 3g 1a in final 13 contests and kept the team up. He has 6 goals in 19 matches playing for Leitl since he took over last winter. He should be in the conversation but his inclusion based on his club and Nat is easily justified.

      • he scored against france in 2018 just like wood had 3, sargent 2, and weah 1. look at a calendar. you don’t get to say, well, that was isolated, ergo he didn’t score that year. it was a scheduled game against the team that went on to win the world cup. he gave us the temporary lead. there is zero way to erase that whether it suits your claims or not.

    • since you need education apparently, green does not have one goal. he has 4 goals. those include a goal in a world cup playoff and a goal on world champion france. comparing that to some camp cupcake one-off is stupid on its face. i won’t even dress this up with nicer language.

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    • It depends on what position you are talking about. If you are a striker, then goal rate is important. A winger or even attacking midfielder shouldn’t be judged solely on goal rate. Apparently Green is playing mostly as a winger in Germany, so help defense and crossing ability are probably as important as scoring from that position. What I like most about Green is his technical ability. In that regard, I think he is probably in the top half dozen best Americans. While midfield is a crowded field for the US, I think he would be a great attacking mid and should at least be given a chance to compete in a camp with others in that area.

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      • i watch all of Furth’s matches. he plays mostly as a CM/ CAM, and he’s often the best player on the field.

      • Stuttgart used him as a wing and Furth played him wide at first but the last two and half seasons he’s played exclusively as a CM/CAM.

      • i am lost with the lame attempts to pigeonhole. they remind me of the games “political” coaches would play with players they liked less. you stuff them in a narrow box and then claim they are down the list at that box. you don’t help them on the field by treating them as multitalented. i think he could play anywhere but 6, at least at a sub level. all he has to do then is be better than roldan or the other crap we call in. we have a 9 who can’t score on a better concacaf opponent than tnt or st vincent but yes let’s discount france and belgium.

      • IV: Gary was asking the validity of judging him based on his goals if he’s playing on the wing. East and I were just giving him information that he no longer plays on the wing for his club. The article says he’s improved his defense, he’d have to have improved his defense a ton to play anywhere by AM, LW/RW.

      • Here’s a line taken directly from the article: “Leitl’s tactics has wingers coming back to help defend which is something Green has added to his game.” Either the article is wrong or misleading, or the new manager has him playing on the wing. I haven’t had a chance to watch him since he has been in Bundesliga 2 so I have to rely on press reports. I find this annoying since I’m still not sure how we should rate him.

      • First I’m not trying to play gotcha on you. Soccer way and transfermkt that I use to check formations both have him starting exclusively as a CM/CAM. Sometimes these sites can be off a little but combine that with East who’s actually seeing matches I think it’s accurate. That doesn’t mean in matches he isn’t interchanging with the wings and having to provide cover. Bottom line is Green has been inconsistent offensively and defensively over his career, can he maintain his goal scoring and score maybe 10 goals and continue to contribute defensively if so he definitely will be getting call ups.

      • that’s exactly it, Johnny.
        beyond the natural interchangeability occurring mid-play, he’s occasionally moved to LW after the half if he’s having a hard time unlocking the press from the 10 spot.
        sometimes it happens after late subs, too.
        this is his job with Furth:
        get a pass from the backline, turn upfield quickly, maneuver into space, and pass it forward
        or
        get a pass from the backline, turn upfield quickly, maneuver into space, and carry the ball past as many guys as you can until you get fouled

  6. continuing the absurdity of leaving off people who scored for the NT in 2018 for “form” reasons who then produce as they start their new 2019-20 club season. eg sargent.

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