John Brooks is not ready to give up on the U.S. national team just yet.
Once a fixture for the USMNT, the defender has not been called up since the fall of 2021. Last summer, then-head coach Gregg Berhalter explained that Brooks did not fit the team’s game model.
After an ill-fated move to Benfica, Brooks has found his feet again in Germany with Hoffenheim. The 30-year-old has started all but two of the club’s Bundesliga matches since joining in January, and has helped the club climb out of the relegation zone.
Speaking to Hoffenheim’s website, Brooks recalled how decided to represent the U.S., his father’s homeland, ahead of Germany, where he was born and raised.
“At the time I was very interested in American culture and wanted to get to know it better,” he said. “I always spoke English with my father and went to an English-speaking school, but apart from that I had a German life. For me, traveling with the national team was also a chance to learn more about my father’s origins.”
Brooks ended up making the 2014 World Cup roster as a 21-year-old. His World Cup debut turned into one of the greatest moments of his career, as he came off the bench and scored a dramatic 86th-minute winner in the team’s opener against Ghana.
“Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. You can’t even put it into words,” he said. “Somehow the guy from the flank found my head. I’ll never forget that moment.”
On his celebration he added: “I didn’t know what to do after that. I was stunned and just overjoyed.”
Brooks may not have fit Berhalter’s game model, but the potential of a new USMNT coach coming could offer the defender a route back to the national team.
Berhalter is still a candidate for the position, which is being filled on an interim basis by Anthony Hudson. After a tumultuous period following the World Cup, however, new sporting director Matt Crocker could opt to turn the page on the Berhalter era.
Nearly two years after the most recent of his 45 caps, Brooks is still hopeful he’ll get another shot with the USMNT.
“I think if I perform well here I can still be an option for the national team. I’m not that old yet,” he said with a laugh.
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