Josh Sargent and Alfredo Morales have both done well for their respective Bundesliga teams this season, but one will ultimately suffer relegation by season’s end.
The German Bundesliga’s final slate of matches takes place this weekend with both Werder Bremen and Fortuna Dusseldorf at risk of losing their top-flight status. Bremen is 17th in the league table and is coming off a 3-1 loss to Mainz on Saturday.
Sargent started and played 90 minutes for Florian Kohfeldt’s team, but was ineffective in helping them grab a needed three points. The 19-year-old has played well down the stretch for Bremen and has three goals and two assists in 27 league appearances this campaign.
Bremen needs a win against Cologne at home on June 27th for any chance of remaining in the Bundesliga next season. Should they draw or lose against Cologne, they will be relegated to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in club history.
A win over the 14th-place visitors could also see them relegated, should 16th-place Fortuna Dusseldorf do enough against 12th-place Union Berlin. Dusseldorf is two points clear of Bremen at the bottom of the league table, but know a win will still see Fortuna face a relegation playoff against the third-ranked team from the 2. Bundesliga.
Stuttgart is second in the 2. Bundesliga table with 55 points and is led by American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo. Hamburg currently occupies the playoff place with 54 points, while FC Heidenheim is fourth with 52. There are two more match days in the second division, starting with Sunday’s full slate of matches.
Morales dressed but did not play in Dusseldorf’s 1-1 draw with Augsburg on Saturday, the third draw out of the club’s last five league matches. The 30-year-old veteran has scored one goal and registered two assists in 26 league appearances this season.
Fellow American Zack Steffen has returned to training for Dusseldorf over the last few weeks, but seems unlikely to feature due to lack of fitness. The Manchester City loanee made 17 appearances before injuries caused him to miss the second-half of the league season.
Whatever happens on Matchday 34, one American player will be seeing his team relegation by season’s end. A second player could join them in the 2. Bundesliga player should their team not win the relegation playoff later this summer.
Both Dusseldorf and Bremen have struggled for majority of the season, but could find some success with their backs against the wall.
If WB is relegated, which appears likely, will Sargent have the opportunity to move back to the Bundesliga? There is a team in Liepzig looking for a striker.
I mean he was robbed by a great save last week. He’s active most of the time. Has his off-moments, but he’s consistently getting minutes. At 20, that’s key. Outside of Bittencourt, there’s isn’t a creative player in that midfield most of the time. That doesn’t help. Yes, he will have to start scoring…maybe the relegation will change WB’s fortunes for the better…and perhaps more opportunities for Sargent?
Because of players like Pulisic and Reyna, perhaps fans have become spoiled. Josh Sargent is 20 years old. He has gotten regular minutes in the Bundesliga. This is not all that common. I like to point out that Clint Dempsey didn’t play his first professional game until he was 21, with the Revolution. He didn’t go to Fulham until he was a couple of months short of 24. Anyone remember when people were freaking out because Pulisic wasn’t playing for Chelsea? It wasn’t that long ago. Give Sargent and the other young ones a chance. Some will pan out, some won’t. But you certainly can’t brand someone playing in a top 5 league a failure when they are only 20.
IF you are talking to me, certainly not branding him a failure. Just can’t keep saying he played great. He doesn’t score and he barely touches the ball in the games I have watched. The team isn’t good. Fine. He is young. Fine, but qualify why he didn’t play well though, dont just keep saying he plays well while scoring 3 goals in a season.
They are being relegated and he had “three goals and two assists in 27 league appearances”
BUT he really played well.
I looked it up, 36 goals in 33 games for the team. tied for 2nd worst with Dusseldorf and the worst team is in last.
They need to score more, because HE needs to score more. Something he has 100% failed to do his whole pro career.
Not trying to rip on our Nat team guy who really gives it his all. I like him.
But to keep saying over and over and over he played well when he didn’t…..
Dont do that.
He is rated the 11th best player under 21 in Bundesliga by whoscored, but I agree with you overall. It’s hard to evaluate strikers on bad teams, is he not scoring because he’s not getting service or is he not getting service because he’s not putting himself in the right spots. That being said if he plays for Dortmund even as a backup his numbers would be better because the team is so much better. I think Sargent’s best quality to many US fans though is he isn’t named Jozy or Gyasi.
or Morris ( who could have played there…and it would have been interesting if he did. He obviously made the best choice, but would have been interesting the comparison.
The line was “played well” down the stretch. I haven’t seen Bremen since the break but it would be possible to have played well during a stretch even if the season was full of growing pains.