Julian Green secured Greuther Furth another year in the 2. Bundesliga even though the United States international faces an unclear future.
Green joined Furth on a season-long loan from Stuttgart last summer and, for the first time in his career, turned himself into a first-team starter.
Yet even though he made 24 league appearances, Green scored just three goals — including one in the 51st minute of a 1-1 draw at Heidenheim on Sunday that moved them ahead of Eintracht Braunschweig and Erzgebirge Aue in the table and kept them from relegation.
“I did not want a relegation [against my name],” Green told Suddeutsche Zeitung. “I have matured here and became a starter in professional football in 2. Bundesliga, but I could have scored four or five more goals.”
Green, 22, scored for the U.S. at the 2014 World Cup but has not appeared for the national team since Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as coach in 2016.
He said that while he doesn’t know anything about where he will play next season, he wanted to make sure that Furth did not drop to the 3. Liga.
“Those were demanding days, and we are all just super happy,” Green told reporters after the game. “Throughout the last few days I had a very good feeling. … I had a few shots that went wide, like in the games before, and today, the ball hit the back of the net. I don’t think there could have been a better time for it.”
Stephan Uersfeld is the Germany correspondent for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @uersfeld.
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