Julian Green. Remember that name, American soccer lovers.
This past Saturday, Green, an 18 year old German-American, scored three goals in the second half of Pep Guardiola’s managerial debut at Bayern Munich.
Before we get too excited, the match was a 15-1 romp of Fanclub Wildenau in the annual FC Bayern Dream Game. But before we downgrade the performance too much, it’s worth noting that Green fired a second hat-trick one day later in Bayern’s 9-1 triumph over local amateur side, TSV Regen.
Adding further intrigue to Green’s feat is that Guardiola put out a legit side against both Wildenau and Regen, with Franck Ribery, Thomas Mueller and Toni Kroos all amongst the goal scorers against Wildenau and the later also scoring against Regen.
For those unfamiliar with Green, he is the son of an American military serviceman and a German mother. Born in Tampa, Florida, he moved to Germany at the age of two to live with his mother.
Green is known as an extremely versatile attacker who can play in multiple positions. He’s mainly deployed as a center forward but can play as a second striker or winger as well. Earlier in his career he even spent time as a full-back.
In addition to blazing speed and a coolness in front of goal, Green is adroit with both feet, making him a threat on either side of the pitch.
In 2011-12, Green starred for Munich’s Under-17 team, leading the team with 18 goals. Last season, he stepped up to Bayern’s A-Jugend team (the Under-19s) and fired home 10 goals in 26 matches. Holding passports for both the United States and Germany, Green has represented the U.S. National Team at the Under 18 level and is eligible to play in the 2015 Under-20 World Cup.
A name to watch for the future.