CONCACAF in the 2015-16 Bundesliga

With the end of the Bundesliga season lets take a look at how players from the CONCACAF nations did team by team.

Mexico had only two players participating in the Bundesliga in Javier Hernandez and Marco Fabian and each transferred to Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively for this season.

Marco Fabian had an indifferent start of a Bundesliga career as prior to the relegation playoff 11 appearances with only one assist as the four million dollar transfer found getting things underway difficult with a coaching change mid season for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Chicharito became a revelation for the Bundesliga. On a media imprint the attention focused on the league was more than what could ever be anticipated. A star had arrived for Bayer Leverkusen at 11 million euros. In the end the team reached third place and Hernandez had scored a total of 17 league goals and 26 in all competition.

Coming to the Bundesliga is not one for the faint of heart and for any current Mexican players they need only look at two different examples of how to succeed in a new league.

Central America is a region that is rather devoid of players in the Bundesliga. The lone banner carrier has been Costa Rican Junior Diaz who has been with Mainz 05 since summer of 2012 until this past season. Transferring to newly promoted side Darmstadt Diaz was a good locker room presence for a side that managed against the odds survival in the Bundesliga. 12 appearance during the season was more of a bit part but that ended up helping ensure safety by end of the year.

United States has plenty in the Bundesliga that have been brought into the fold since Jurgen Klinsmann became manager of the USMNT. There are many players who have their own roles in the national team setup and they are all over the Bundesliga.

Christian Pulisic was signed as a 16 year old in January of 2015 and there was hope. Suddenly in 2016 a substitute appearance led to a start and at seasons end this 17 year old made nine appearances with two goals and is seen in the Bundesliga as the next great star and that’s beyond just the wildest dreams of Americans and Dortmund fans alike.

Fabian Johnson made the move to Borussia Monchengladbach and since then he has been an absolute home run of a acquisition. The Foals were able to finish in fourth place and Johnson was a vital part of the puzzle as under Andre Schubert there were six league goals and two in the Champions League as the side was one of the best attacking teams out there. Playing wide in midfield really opened possibilities and showed the talents of this 28 year old brought in by Klinsmann.

2015-16 was a different sort of year for Timothy Chandler after a rather good first season in Frankfurt. Armin Veh put the player in the doghouse for much of his time in charge of the squad and until Niko Kovac came in it was going to be an uneventful year but in the last two months Chandler has returned to the first team and while 10 appearances isn’t much it has come mostly at the tail end of the year under the new management. Hopefully his efforts will lead Eintracht Frankfurt to survive their upcoming Bundesliga relegation playoff against his old club Nurnberg.

John Anthony Brooks has had as good of a season as can be expected. Playing under Pal Dardai this season Hertha Berlin qualified for the Europa League after a solid season where the club finished in seventh place. During their run Brooks signed a new contract to keep him with the capital club for the long term as he firmly established himself as the a first choice center back. Hertha’s success going forward will be firmly linked with Brooks.

Aron Johansson was on a roll as he moved from AZ Alkmaar to Werder Bremen. While he started brightly scoring two goals in his six appearances he never recovered physically from his hip surgery that kept him out since late October. Rumors continue to circulate on his future at the club.

Alfredo Morales helped Ingolstadt reach the Bundesliga and survive their first ever season. Making a solid contribution of 25 total appearances with a goal and two assists it is clear that he will be a big part of the club going forward.

Despite playing in the second division of the Bundesliga, Zweite Liga, for Union Berlin Bobby Wood has special mention for what he has accomplished. His move to HSV will mean Erste Bundesliga for him next year after a great 2015-16 playing for the cult club from the former East Germany. His small stature is something that Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia thinks will better work for his side next season. Question is whether he can replicate his 17 goal tally, a new American record in German football.

With this summer’s Copa America many of the Bundesliga’s talents will be on show and it will become apparent that the league is one that more from CONCACAF should strive to land in this big European league where players from a young age are given their chances.