I think Frankfurt will end up at 8-10th; however, just like Frankfurt, Hertha has a good chance to establish themselves in the Bundesliga again. They're a different animal compared to Augsburg or Fürth.
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...ikel_brooks-unterzeichnet-beim-fc-bayern.html Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler Please don't ban me!
In the German U20 roster vs Italy (6th February) http://www.dfb.de/fileadmin/user_upload/2013/01/Kader_U20m.pdf
I'm sure any club would rather a player not choose an international career that involves constantly flying over the Atlantic, but ultimately there is only so much a club can do to influence a player's decision. What are they going to do? Bench/punish an important prospect over a relatively minor issue like this? I think the simplest and most likely explanation is that if given the choice, Brooks would prefer to play for Germany.
While the US U-20's have had some recent matches, due to JAB's standing with Hertha, it's just not possible for him to suit up for the US -- right now. So as a means to gain interenational experience, JAB has been participating with Germany. There's no harm in that. But when push comes to shove and there's an "official" match for the US I think he will be there. I have nothing to base that on other than a gut feeling, though.
I suspect the first true test will be the U20 WC this summer - of course pending US qualification. Otherwise, I think he's still awhile away from anything binding with the US - and even longer for any real significant (ie, more than meaningless U20 games) opportunities with Germany.
Agreed. I'm almost positive an invite will be thrown his way but in the mean time I hope Ramos is keeping in contact. The worse thing to do is ignore him while he's playing for germany and then throw down an invite to the WC just expecting him to say "yes'. That's a recipe for a rejection. I suspect that Ramos is taking the neccessary steps.
Ramos coached him for a week in the U20/23 combined camp in Nov. 2011, so I would tend to expect there is ongoing contact of one sort or another.
we shall see. The U-21 European Championships are a few weeks earlier. If he is nominated for the Germany roster
Me too. When I lived in Germany.................the Euro U21's were considered a more prestigious tournament than the U20 World Cup. Let's face it. This kis was born in Germany, has lived his entire life in Germany, has grown up in German football, etc. It wouldn't be some shock for him to choose Germany over the United States.
And the thing is ... he won't be lost to us conclusively, even if he goes the German path for now. Getting onto the NT will be a tough climb. If he makes it there, good luck & congrats. If he decides the wait is too long, we will (probably) still have space for him to make his switch.
Lets also remember that he is playing for the German U-20 National Team, not the U-21's. There is a big difference, and as of now, it looks doubtful that he will make their Euro U-21 roster. He has a few months, but as of now, he has never been capped for the U-21's, and he has not even really established himself with their U-20's. Maybe some of the German posters can add more, but I think as of now, its a long shot that he makes their Euro U-21 roster.
Our U21 central defense sucks though . It's the weakest part of the team, midfield ist great with all those Bundesliga starters Holtby, (Gündogan), Leitner, Rode (...), forwards are decent enough for a U21 tournament, full-backs are starters in the Bundesliga, goalkeepers are great anyway. But the central defense is Germany's biggest worry. Sobiech is warming the bench at Fürth and Kirchhoff is warming the bench at Mainz, both had rather bad performances in some of their U21 games. I would have expected Freiburg's Bundesliga starter and great central defender Matthias Ginter in the roster sooner or later but he injured himself a few weeks ago and has been nominated for the next U19 game, so it looks like he will stay at the U19 National team and play the U19 qualification (+Euro) with them instead of the U21 Euro. If Brooks continues to start for Hertha and impresses, I could see him getting a late invitation to the U21. Although it's still not too likely right now since the U21 could have called him up for their preparation match in a few days to test him, yet he is still "only" nominated for the unimportant U20. It's difficult to predict since the German U21 coach is rather...ahem...unorthodox when it comes to player selections. ( For German football fans, the U21 Euro is usually much more interesting than the U20 World Cup (which is a bit sad imo). The last U21 Tournament with German participation had TV ratings of 10+ Mio viewers, comparable to friendlies of the A-National team. I expect it to be of similar interest this time, probably again broadcast by the two biggest German TV channels ARD and ZDF who already broadcast the U21 playoff games vs Switzerland)
Well, CB is actually one of the weaker spots on the team. There is Kirchhoff from Mainz, Sobiech from Fürth, Rüdiger from Stuttgart (promising, but with very little BL minutes so far) and Ginter from Freiburg (missed the last part of the first half of the season with injury, have to see how he comes back). If Brooks continues showing well with Hertha and they make a push for promotion, a call- up to the U21 might not be that far away. Edit: Basically everything that Smithfan said.
oh, I somehow missed that article from 6 days ago. http://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/he...-nebenmann-fabian-lustenberger/7680312-2.html
call him up for Honduras and if we get a decent lead captie him, if Corona can get all those callups I dont see why not Brooks
Preemptive "Fire Klinsmann" for when he fails to call in Brooks for the Hex or Gold Cup. (please prove me wrong)
I liken the dual eligibility Germans as High School football(Americano) players in Texas. Theres a ton of very good prospects, but no one else is getting a shot if the the home school offers. The good thing is that they can't offer all of them, and many Texas all-americans didn't play for the Longhorns. So who knows, Brooks might be our RGIII.
I hate this type crap. If he ultimately decides he wants to play for Germany, let him play for them. This trickery is BS, though. Hope he makes it wherever he goes.