Brenden Aaronson turned in a man-of-the-match display for Union Berlin on Saturday but after the game, his mood was more reflective than ecstatic.
Aaronson was hugely influential in his side’s 2-1 win over Werder Bremen, playing a big role in Yorbe Vertessen’s opener before scoring himself just two minutes later.
The 23-year-old’s performance came on the heels of a major blow. Just days earlier, Gregg Berhalter omitted Aaronson from the U.S. men’s national team roster for this month’s Nations League finals. On Sunday, Berhalter would end up recalling the Union Berlin man after injuries to Luca de la Torre and Josh Sargent.
Aaronson has struggled to assert himself at the club level for some time. After a hot start with Leeds last season, his form fell off in the second half of the campaign. The attacker was loaned out to Union for the 2023-24 season after Leeds was relegated, but has found life in the Bundesliga difficult as well.
Saturday’s goal was just the second of the season for Aaronson, who has started only eight of his 30 total appearances for Union. After one of his best performances in some time, the New Jersey native admitted that things haven’t been easy for him of late.
“It’s been the toughest year of my life,” Aaronson told reporters. “Going from Leeds and then not playing much here, it’s mentally a battle all the time, staying confident.”
Even amid a downturn in form at the club level, Aaronson had been consistently called into the USMNT before last week’s roster was released. Berhalter said he called the attacker after leaving him out of the squad, offering some words of encouragement.
“The message for him was, ‘I know this hurts. I know it’s a setback, but use it,” the coach said. “Use it to make you stronger, and to keep going and to keep fighting your way through through the obstacles that you have to overcome right now.’ It was a good conversation.”
Aaronson has now scored two goals in his last five games, as he continues to find more freedom under coach Nenad Bjelica.
“The opponent put a lot of pressure on our sixes with their sixes,” Bjelica said after the game on Saturday. “This left Brenden free in some situations. With Brenden and Yorbe, we wanted to field players who could do something in the smallest of spaces.”
Aaronson added: “I felt very comfortable in this position between the lines. It was about finding the free spaces. It just felt really good to me.”
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