The US Soccer Association has been looking for players for its national team abroad for decades, and it has also found players in Germany several times.
The first of his kind is called Mike Windischmann, was born in Nuremberg, was captain at the 1990 World Cup and ultimately made 50 international appearances for the USA national soccer team. Julian Gressel from Neustadt/Aisch in Central Franconia celebrated his debut for the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) in January. Lennard Maloney from Berlin could now be the next German native to play under the Star-Spangled Banner.
At least 15 German or German-born players have now completed international matches for the USA, most of them have an American father and a German mother. Like Tom Dooley, who, when he was a player at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, received a call from an employee in the marketing department of the US association on a December night in 1991. “Is Dooley a German or an American name?” she wanted to know.
For decades, the US Football Association has been specifically looking for players who were born abroad but could be available to their own national team. Thomas Rongen, a native of the Netherlands, took this to the extreme. Between 2001 and 2011, with a short break, he was coach of the American U20 team, during which time he found more than 400 young players who were eligible to play for the USA.
Lennard Maloney before debut against Germany
Dooley is still considered the best import from Germany today. He played 81 international matches for the USA and played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cup. Jermaine Jones, born in Frankfurt am Main, made 69 appearances, followed by Fabian Johnson (57), born in Munich. Your time in the national team coincides with the phase in which Jürgen Klinsmann was national coach and was specifically looking for players, especially in Europe, who could help his team.
John Brooks (45), born in Berlin, and Timothy Chandler (29), born in Frankfurt am Main, also played a decent number of games. Andrew Wooten from Bamberg and David Yelldell from Stuttgart, goalkeeper for SG Sonnenhof Großaspach, only played once. Gressel, from Franconia, who initially played college football in the USA, helped his marriage to an American in 2018 to obtain a US passport in 2022 and to make six appearances so far.
Hany Mukhtar could now follow Gressel’s example. They would be only too happy to see the Berlin native, who, like many Made-in-Germany imports, once played for German U-national teams, in the US national jersey. In 2020 he moved to Nashville SC in the North American Major League Soccer (MLS). Since then, the 28-year-old has been one of the stars of the league and was even voted MVP in 2022. But naturalization would probably no longer be possible before the home World Cup in 2026.
Things used to be easier for Windischmann: he moved to the USA with his parents as a child. Lennard Maloney also has no problem with citizenship – he is the son of a former US Air Force pilot and a German mother. The 24-year-old midfielder from 1. FC Heidenheim could now make his debut for the US team against Germany on Saturday in Hartford (9:00 p.m. CEST/RTL), after three U.S. appearances for Germany.