Julian Green interview: 'Fourth division is not a solution for me'
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Version 0 of 1. “Even as a three-year-old, Julian was a force,” says his dad, Jerry. “He was a very intense kid from jump street.” Headstrong? “Absolutely! He was a tough, tough kid. It was always a struggle.” It’s a fine line between being determined and stubborn, and Julian Green’s attitude is likely to be defined by the career that eventuates. If the 19-year-old turns out to be a star, or even just a very good pro, people will say it was his determination that got him to the top. He never budged from his vision. He knew the right way. He wouldn’t let coaches with other agendas put him off track. Coaches, for example, like those he has had at Hamburg this past season. Green is signed to Bayern Munich, but was put on loan. It was hoped the young midfielder would get more opportunities in the harbour city than he would in Bayern’s star-studded line-up. Instead, he played just 111 minutes and had a falling out with some at the club after being asked to line up with the Under-23s. “When you are coming back from an injury or have not been on the pitch for 90 minutes over a period of weeks, a match with the U-23s can be helpful,” Green tells the Guardian. “But fourth division is not a solution for me and it will not get me anywhere.” Too young for a spot in the top flight? Green doesn’t see it that way. “Just like at the World Cup, when I get the chance to play, I will prove that.” His appearance at last summer’s tournament put him in the unusual bracket of players who have scored in a World Cup knockout match before they have even made their league debut. So you can see why he might not warm to playing in the youth team of a loan club that was desperately fighting relegation. But not even his father or Jürgen Klinsmann, his coach in the US national side, were able to convince him to make a tactical retreat. “Klinsmann still has every confidence in Julian, he supports Julian, that’s not an issue,” says Jerry. “But his philosophy is that players need to be in what he calls game shape. It’s the difference between being in shape because you practice every day and being in shape because you’ve been playing games. Julian is unquestionably in physical shape, but he’s not in what Jürgen looks at as match shape.” He’s not yet an irresistible force. He is certainly an immovable object. Club coaches, national coach, father – none can make him do what he does not think is the right thing for him. It’s the way he’s always been. Even as a boy, a young boy, he was happy to do his own thing against the advice of his seniors. Jerry remembers Julian would go with his older brother to ice hockey practice, but always turned down the coach’s invitations to join in. Instead, he spent two years “in the corner by himself” learning to first become a good skater. “So when he started to play, the thing that I realised above anything else was that he was a better skater on the ice than anybody else. You give him a stick and a puck, his concentration was on using that. He already had his skating down. “Julian outsmarted everyone. That’s what he was doing.” Show me the boy, and I’ll show you the man. He spent most of the season training but not playing, something he admits was very hard. “[But] I’m always staying focused on doing my best, and I’m still the same. I didn’t lose any confidence. I just do my thing, and that’s it.” It was a different story, however, when he didn’t make it onto the park for the recent friendly against Mexico. “He was upset obviously and Jürgen knew that and that’s why he wanted to talk [to us after the game],” says Jerry. “Jürgen realised that his debut came a year ago against Mexico, and he was shaky ... and I think he badly wanted to play in this game to show ‘This is how far I’ve come.’ “And yeah, he scored a goal in the World Cup, and that’s not easy, but I just think there was something about this game, he wanted people to see, ‘Hey, that was a year ago and now here I am.’ “But I believe, and Jürgen alluded to this somewhat, when you haven’t been playing in games, your confidence is not as high, and in Jürgen’s mind, it doesn’t matter if you are playing in Bundesliga first team games, or U23 games, as long as you are playing in games, it’s OK from Jürgen’s point of view. You just need to be playing in games. Because of your confidence.” He didn’t get a run against Denmark or Switzerland either, and wasn’t even included in the squad for friendlies against the Netherlands and Germany. Instead, after a season of avoiding the under 23s, he was sent with the national equivalent to the Toulon Tournament – where he played very well. Klinsmann revealed in Cologne that Green would also not be included in the US squad for next month’s Gold Cup. “No, we are not disappointed [with how Julian has handled the situation at Hamburg],” says Klinsmann. “Julian took the risk to leave his nest in Munich and go as a 19-year-old person to another club, very different, gets into the relegation battle of a very big German club, and has four different coaches in one year, so it didn’t work out the way we all hoped.“He struggled, and we want him to struggle as well, you know, at certain moments. The youngsters have to go through those roller coasters, they are learning. He had this extreme long year, and he plays [at the Toulon Tournament where the US finished third] which for us, actually is big result.“He needs a break now, now we give him a break. He goes back to Bayern Munich, Bayern will sort out what his next step will be. Sometimes it’s good to throw them in the cold water … and sometimes it’s better to take them out of the cold water, and let them breathe a second there.” As for next season, Bayern have said Green could do with another spell on loan, and there’s been talk of him heading to the Premier League. But Green is in no doubt where he’ll be. “I’m looking forward to going back home. Go to Bayern. Yeah, that’s the plan.” Has he spoken to the club? “No, [but] the plan is just to come back to Bayern and then we can talk.” Is the Premier League an option? “No. No. I’ve been playing with Bayern since [I was] 14, so Bayern is my club. All my friends and family are there in Munich, and that’s very important for me, and I’m looking forward to see them all again and that’s the most important thing.” His contract with Hamburg runs out on 30 June. For Julian Green, that day cannot come soon enough. |