Rough year for Yanks in Germany

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, May 22, 2013

[AMERICANS ABROAD] It was a rather rough year for many of the Americans in Germany, where seven of the 11 players who saw action are dual citizens. Injuries kept several players out of  Bundesliga action in the second half of the season. The best player at the top level was Jermaine Jones, who helped Schalke return to the UEFA Champions League with a fourth-place finish. The star of the year in the Ami ranks, though, was John Anthony Brooks of 2. Liga champion Hertha Berlin.

Germany (Bundesliga 1)
GP/G PLAYER (TEAM) AVG. RATING
31/3 Fabian Johnson, Hoffenheim (3.87)
30/1 Timmy Chandler, Nuremberg (4.07)
25/1 Jermaine Jones, Schalke 04 (3.37)
21/1 Daniel Williams, Hoffenheim (3.92)
20/0 Steven Cherundolo, Hannover 96 (3.85)
2/0 Michael Parkhurst, Augsburg (4.25)
0/0 David Yelldell, Bayer Leverkusen (-)
AVG.=Average Kicker sportmagazin rating (scale: 1=high; 6=low).

Jones received a three-game suspension for a red card picked up in December -- it was cut down from four -- but he reduced his caution count from 14 yellow cards in 2011-12 to six.

He was sixth among Schalke field players in the Kicker sportmagazin player ratings and tied for fourth on the club with five assists.

Fabian Johnson did not have quite the season he did in 2011-12 when Jurgen Klinsmann said he was one of the best left backs in the Bundesliga, but he led Hoffenheim with four assists in 2012-13.

Johnson and American-German teammate Danny Williams will miss the start of national team camp because Hoffenheim is in a promotion/relegation playoff against Kaiserslautern. Williams struggled, making only seven appearances in the second half of the season, and none after March 30.

Steve Cherundolo missed most of the second half of the season with a knee injury, but he returned to earn his 300th league appearance for Hannover 96, a club record. The Hannover captain was rewarded with a one-year contract extension.

Timmy Chandler started 29 of the 30 Nuremberg games he played but missed the last three games with a knee injury that will force him to miss national team action for the third straight summer. His form suffered late in the season as he received three "5s" and one "6" -- in his final game of the season against Hoffenheim -- in the Kicker ratings of his play over the final seven games.

Fellow defender Michael Parkhurst got his wish and moved to the Bundesliga after playing in the Champions League in the fall for Danish champion FC Nordsjaelland, but he didn't play after making two appearances early in the winter.

Germany (Bundesliga 2)
GP/G PLAYER (TEAM) AVG. RATING
29/1 John Anthony Brooks, Hertha Berlin (3.12)
28/7 Andrew Wooten, Sandhausen (3.68)
15/3 Bobby Wood, 1860 Munich (3.64)
15/0 Joe Gyau, St. Pauli (4.00)
9/1 Alfredo Morales, Hertha Berlin (3.43)
AVG.=Average Kicker sportmagazin rating (scale: 1=high; 6=low).

Brooks, who turned 20 in January, was the fifth highest rated defender in the German second division, helping Hertha win the title.

He said he'll rest up for his first Bundesliga season rather than join the USA for the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey.

Hertha teammate Alfredo Morales won't be joining him in the first division. He has decided to join second division FC Ingolstadt.

Both Andrew Wooten and Joe Gyau played on loan in 2012-13. Wooten's seven goals for Sandhausen should earn him a recall to Kaiserslautern. Gyau was in and out of the St. Pauli team. His rights are owned by Hoffenheim, Kaiserslautern's opponent in the promotion relegation series that kicks off on Thursday.

Hawaiian-born Bobby Wood started the season on 1860 Munich II, the club's reserve team, after injuring his knee, but he played well enough to earn a recall to the first, for which he scored three goals.