John Brooks (soccer, born 1993)

John Anthony Brooks, Jr. (born 28 January 1993) is a German-American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the United States national team.[2]

John Brooks
Brooks with the US national team in 2013
Personal information
Full name John Anthony Brooks, Jr.[1]
Date of birth (1993-01-28) 28 January 1993
Place of birth Berlin, Germany
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 VfL Wolfsburg
Number 25
Youth career
Hertha BSC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 Hertha BSC II 37 (2)
2012–2017 Hertha BSC 119 (7)
2017– VfL Wolfsburg 63 (3)
National team‡
2010–2011 United States U20 4 (0)
2011–2015 United States U23 2 (0)
2012 Germany U20 1 (0)
2013– United States 38 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:05, 27 June 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2019

Born in Berlin, Germany, he began his career at hometown club Hertha BSC, making his professional debut in 2012 and totaling 130 games and nine goals for the club. The team won the 2. Bundesliga in 2012–13. In 2017, he transferred to VfL Wolfsburg for €20 million, a record for an American player.

Brooks represented both Germany and the United States at youth international level, qualifying for the latter through his father. He made his senior international debut in 2013 and represented the nation at three tournaments, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Brooks is the son of an American serviceman from Chicago, and was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. He has a map of Illinois tattooed on his left elbow and one of Berlin on his right. He has never lived in the United States.[3][4]

Club career

Hertha BSC

Brooks came through the ranks of his hometown club, Hertha BSC. He reached Hertha's reserve team halfway through the 2010–11 season, although he still had a year and a half of remaining eligibility for the U-19 team. Brooks signed a four-year professional contract with Hertha after the season, turning down interest from Bayern Munich. Brooks spent nearly all of the 2011–12 season with Hertha II, taking a brief foray back to the U-19 team. Brooks continued to grow during this time, reaching 6'4".

Hertha suffered relegation from the Bundesliga in 2012. After the departure of some players and his form in preseason, Brooks made his professional debut as a starter in Hertha's 2. Bundesliga opener on 3 August 2012, a 2–2 draw with SC Paderborn 07 at the Olympiastadion. He played 29 matches over the season as the team won the league title and promotion, and scored once in the last game of the season on 19 May 2013, a late equalizer in a 1–1 home draw with Energie Cottbus.[5]

Brooks scored in his Bundesliga debut on 10 August 2013 in Hertha BSC's 6–1 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.[6][7] His appearances over the season were limited by injury and poor form, and he also missed time in April 2014 while recovering from the application of a large back tattoo, a decision that did not please manager Jos Luhukay.[8]

On 17 December 2014, Brooks opened the scoring for Hertha in a 4–4 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt that saw Berlin throw away a two-goal lead in the final minute.[9] During the 2014–15 Bundesliga season, Brooks won 68% of his direct duels in a total of 27 league appearances for the club, ranking third best among Bundesliga players making at least 17 appearances.[10] Brooks also had a pass accuracy of 75% while finishing top 12 in the Bundesliga in clearances per match.[11]

In the 2015–16 season, Brooks played four matches in Hertha's run to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal. On 15 December, he headed the second goal of a 2–0 win at 1. FC Nürnberg in the last 16 of the tournament.[12]

VfL Wolfsburg

On 31 May 2017, Brooks signed with fellow Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.[13] The reported €20 million transfer fee is the record highest for an American soccer player.[14] He made his debut on 13 August in the first round of the DFB-Pokal away to fourth-tier Eintracht Norderstedt, but suffered a torn thigh tendon and was substituted in the first half of the 1–0 win, being ruled out for the next three months.[15] On October 28, he returned to the team to start on his league debut for the club, a 1–1 draw at FC Schalke 04.[16] Affected by injury all through his first season at the Volkswagen Arena, Brooks totaled just ten appearances before playing the full 180 minutes of the 4–1 playoff win over Holstein Kiel that kept his team in the Bundesliga for the following season.[17]

International career
Brooks with the United States in November 2013

Brooks, who holds both German and American citizenship, participated in several camps for both the U.S. U-20 and U-23 team and in one for the Germany U20 team.[18] He made his international debut for the U.S. Under-20 team in a 5–0 loss against Paraguay in September 2010.[19]

In July 2013, German magazine kicker indicated that Brooks had received a call-up from the U.S. senior national team to feature in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[20] Brooks made his senior international debut in the 4–3 victory over Bosnia. Brooks was named in the United States's final 23-man roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[21] In the opening group match against Ghana, he came on as a halftime injury substitute for Matt Besler and scored the winning goal in the 2–1 victory, a header off Graham Zusi's corner kick.[22] He became the first American to score as a substitute at the World Cup.[23]

On 5 June 2015, Brooks scored in a friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam as the United States fought back from a 1–3 deficit to win 4–3, their first victory against the Dutch.[24] Later that month, he was named in coach Jürgen Klinsmann's squad for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup,[25] playing four matches as the team finished fourth.

Klinsmann also called Brooks up for the Copa América Centenario, the centenary edition of the Copa América held in the United States in 2016.[26] He played all five matches as the nation lost 4–0 to Argentina in the semi-finals, but did not take part in the bronze medal match loss to Colombia.

Career statistics

Club statistics
As of 27 June 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueDFB-PokalContinentalOtherTotalRef.
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hertha BSC II2010–11Regionalliga Nord160—160[27]
2011–12150150[28]
2013–14Regionalliga Nordost3232[29]
2014–152020[29]
2015–161010[29]
Totals372—372—
Hertha BSC2012–132. Bundesliga29100——291[30]
2013–14Bundesliga16210172[29]
2014–1527110281[29]
2015–1623141272[29]
2016–17242302[lower-alpha 1]0292[31]
Totals 11979120—1308—
Wolfsburg2017–18Bundesliga 9010—1[lower-alpha 2]0110 [32]
2018–1929330——323
2019–202501041—301
Totals 633504110734—
Career totals 21912141611024114—
  1. Appearances in the Europa League
  2. Appearances in the Relegation playoff

International goals
As of match played 28 May 2016. U.S. score listed first, score column indicates score after each Brooks goal[33]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 June 2014Arena das Dunas, Natal, Brazil5 Ghana2–12–12014 FIFA World Cup
2 5 June 2015Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Netherlands11 Netherlands2–34–3Friendly
3 28 May 2016Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, United States21 Bolivia2–04–0Friendly

Honors
Hertha BSC

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 32. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  2. "Brooks: 'It Was Not A Hard Decision To Play For The USA'". ussoccer.com. 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  3. Powers, Scott (5 June 2016). "USA's John Brooks return to 'hometown' Chicago for first time in 20 years". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. Peralta, Eyder (17 June 2014). "After His Game-Winning Goal, We Ask, Who Is John Brooks?". NPR. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. "Brooks rettet die Aufstiegsparty im Olympiastadion". Der Tagesspiegel. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  6. "Berlin : Frankfurt 6–1(2–1)". bundesliga.com. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  7. Honigstein, Raphael (12 August 2013). "Hertha Berlin return with a bang and give the manager a sleepless night". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  8. Uersfeld, Stephan (17 April 2014). "Reports: Tattoo gets Brooks benched". ESPN FC. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  9. "MEIER MAGIC RESCUES FRANKFURT IN EIGHT-GOAL THRILLER". Bundesliga. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  10. "John Brooks close to sealing United States spot – Jurgen Klinsmann". ESPNFC. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  11. "A year removed from Ghana goal, John Anthony Brooks ready to step into bigger role for USMNT". MLS Soccer. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  12. Banizo, Franco (16 December 2015). "John Brooks scores header in German Cup win". SBI. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  13. "Brooks signs: The central defender is making the move from Hertha BSC to VfL Wolfsburg". VfL Wolfsburg. vfl-wolfsburg.de/en. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  14. Rosenblatt, Ryan (31 May 2017). "John Brooks sets American record with transfer to Wolfsburg". Fox Sports. foxsports.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  15. "Wolfsburg's John Brooks ruled out for at least three months". Bundesliga. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  16. Valentine, Ben (30 October 2017). "Americans Abroad: Brooks makes Wolfsburg return". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  17. Henry, Larry Jr. (22 May 2018). "John Brooks, Wolfsburg remain in Bundesliga after playoff victory". SBI. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  18. "Brooks, John Anthony" (in German). bz-berlin.de. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  19. "U.S. U-20 MNT Drops Opening Match to Paraguay". ussoccer.com. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  20. "Hertha einigt sich mit Schulz" (in German). kicker.de. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  21. "Klinsmann Names 30-Player Preliminary Roster for 2014 FIFA World Cup". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  22. Fanning, Evan (17 June 2014). "USA vs Ghana, World Cup 2014: live". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  23. "USA vs. Ghana – Brooks Stunner Hands USA 2–1 Win". U.S. Soccer. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  24. "U.S. rallies from two down to stun Netherlands in friendly". ESPN. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  25. "Klinsmann Calls 23 Players to Defend Gold Cup Title". U.S. Soccer. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  26. "Klinsmann names 23 player roster for historic Copa America Centenario". U.S. Soccer. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  27. "John Anthony Brooks". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  28. "John Anthony Brooks". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  29. "John Anthony Brooks » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  30. "John Anthony Brooks". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  31. "John Anthony Brooks". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  32. "John Anthony Brooks". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  33. John Brooks at Soccerway
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