NEW YORK (AP) — Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola expects to keep young American forward Julian Green with the club this season instead of loaning him to another team.
The 19-year-old, who scored against Belgium in the World Cup, spent most of last season with Bayern Munich II in the German fourth tier. He made his first-team debut Nov. 27 as an 88th-minute substitute in a Champions League match at CSKA Moscow.
“I think he’s going to stay, but we have to see how is the market,” Guardiola said during a conference call Tuesday looking ahead to his team’s U.S. tour.
Green played for Germany in three qualifiers for the 2014 European Under-19 Championship, then switched affiliation and made his U.S. national team debut in April. The third youngest player at the World Cup, he made his only tournament appearance in the second-round match against Belgium and scored in the 107th minute of the Americans’ 2-1 loss, two minutes after entering.
“When he played, he showed his level, scoring a beautiful, beautiful goal,” Guardiola said. “Now he came back today. He’s a little bit injured in his knee. He will be rested. He will be not in the field for the next two or three days.”
After watching the World Cup, Guardiola said that “obviously, the United States made a lot of steps forward.”
“I was really impressed about the back line,” he added. “Their movement was really, really, really good.”
Guardiola concluded: “The United States is a reality in the football world.”
Bayer, the Bundesliga champion, plays the Mexican club Chivas on July 31 at Harrison, New Jersey, then is the opponent in Major League Soccer’s All-Star game Aug. 6 at Portland, Oregon.
“The league is better than before. That is a fact,” he said, going on to explain there is a need for higher salaries to attract more talented players.
“When they are stronger, they will be stronger in the national team, and in the World Cup they can make it better and better,” he said.
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