Klinsmann: Julian Green will not feature on CONCACAF Gold Cup roster

Klinsmann: Julian Green will not feature on CONCACAF Gold Cup roster

Published Jun. 9, 2015 9:30 a.m. ET

COLOGNE, Germany --

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann confirmed he will leave Julian Green off his roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup next month.

Green burst onto the scene last year to earn a place on Klinsmann’s World Cup roster and score in the round of 16 defeat to Belgium, but he fell down the national team pecking order over the past few months after struggling to secure first-team minutes with Hamburg this season.

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The promising winger, 20, started five matches for the U.S. under-23 side at the Toulon tournament this month. His participation in that tournament -- plus his club situation after a trying year in the Bundesliga -- prompted the decision to rule him out of the Gold Cup picture, according to Klinsmann.

“He needs a break now,” Klinsmann said after a press conference in Cologne ahead of the match against Germany on Wednesday (live, 2:00p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Go). “We’ll give him a break. He goes back to Bayern Munich. Bayern will sort out where his next step will be. He keeps growing, so we leave him out of the Gold Cup and we give him a break. That’s how we manage, basically, a lot of our players who are not there yet. We manage their time. We manage their next steps. We see, OK, it’s good to bring him in. Maybe next time, it’s better to leave him out.”

The extra time off allows Green to step away from matters and wade through potential options for next season.

Bayern executive board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge indicated in March that he expects Green to spend next season away from the club after he made just five appearances for Hamburg during his year-long loan deal.

Green’s absence from the Gold Cup roster ensures he will be available for the duration of training camp for any potential suitor, while Klinsmann can select from several other potential options at his disposal.

Even though the omission draws Green's frustrating season to a close, it does not diminish his long-term national team future. Klinsmann touted Green’s potential influence over the Olympic squad to the German media and underscored his faith in Green despite his difficult season.

“We are not disappointed,” Klinsmann said. “We see everybody’s learning curve as a natural learning curve. Julian took the risk to leave his nest in Munich and go as a 19-year-old person to another club. It was very different. He gets into the relegation battle with a very big German club and has four different coaches in one year. It didn’t work out the way we all hoped. He struggled. And we want him to struggle in certain moments. The youngsters have to go through those rollercoasters. They are learning.”

Although Klinsmann will not name Green on the Gold Cup roster, he must give due consideration to other potential candidates with the final roster deadline quickly approaching.

U.S. Soccer must submit a final 23-player roster to CONCACAF no later than 10 business days prior to the opening match against Honduras on July 7, according to CONCACAF regulations. The federation is allowed to make up to six changes to the initial roster between the group stage and the quarterfinal match.

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