Report: John Anthony Brooks called in for the August friendly versus Bosnia

My thoughts on the potential US involvement of the talented 20 year old German-American:

Yesterday, Kicker (a German soccer website) reported that John Anthony Brooks has been called up by Klinsmann for the Bosnia friendly on August 14^th . The report was confirmed by Jeff Carlisle of ESPN through a “source close to Brooks.”

Brooks is a 6’4” 20 year old center back who plays and starts for Hertha Berlin of the German Bundesliga. He is the son of an American service man but grew up in Germany (where have we heard that one before?) and lived there his entire life. He holds dual citizenship and is being looked at by both US soccer and Germany.

Securing Brooks would be a gigantic get for the United States program moving forward. He is almost unanimously regarded as one of the top prospects with the eligibility to play for the US and, in my opinion, is one of the two most important targets for Jurgen Klinsmann (along with Julian Green of Bayern Munich). Brooks would do a lot to solidify a central defense that has tons of competition but no true standouts, and he would immediately jump into the discussion for a roster spot in Brazil. While he most likely wouldn’t challenge for a starting spot, a year of development for a 20 year old starting in the Bundesliga is a long time, so that could change between now and June.

While I have never seen Brooks play, I have read numerous scouting reports on him. They all say he is very technically sound and impressive but could work on getting stronger and better in the air. Jeff Carlisle reports that he is “Gooch-like (Oguchi Onyewu) in size. Not quite as strong, but better on the ball.”

Now, playing in the friendly next month will not cap tie Brooks to the United States, but it would be a very big and nice first step in the “recruitment” process of the big defender. If Brooks is willing, I see Klinsmann cap tying him in one of the October World Cup Qualifiers. By then the US should have already clinched, and will have the opportunity to play around with the lineup and get looks at different guys in different spots. My hope is that the games in Panama and home against Jamaica will essentially be the Gold Cup for the “A” team. What I mean by that is we will step on the field wanting to win, but the bigger goal will be to come out of the games with a better understanding of the future. They will be games to figure out how to fit Donovan, Zusi, Altidore and Dempsely on the field together at once and who Michael Bradley’s partner will be at holding midfield. They will also be used to cap tie players like Brooks who can help immensely in the next World Cup cycle.

If Brooks is to commit to the United States, he will be following in the footsteps of other German-American players such as Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones, and Timothy Chandler-all potential starters at next years World Cup. Brooks, however, would be a much bigger get for the United States, as he is considered to have a much higher ceiling than those three and is being looked at by the German national team. In the past, talented players who had shots with other more prestigious national teams have bolted. Think about where the US attack could be if Giuseppe Rossi hadn’t left the stars and stripes behind for the Azzurri. Getting Brooks to commit would represent the advancement of US soccer since Rossi left, and more specifically in the Klinsmann era.

America has always been a melting pot culturally, which means that we will always have battles with other nations over certain players. There are many players on the current national team who had the opportunity to suit up for other nations that were convinced to represent the US. Getting John Anthony Brooks would be the most important and talented player convinced to date, and could signal the start of something special.