Tag: Malik Tillman

The Americans Abroad Five season review: The best and worst of 2022-23

Some teams were fun, some very much weren’t. Some players broke out, while others broke down

With the European club season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take stock of the year that was for Americans Abroad.

In many ways, 2022-23 felt like a preamble, a precursor to a much more significant club season to come. For the future of the U.S. men’s national team, what comes next will be more significant than what came before.

That’s because so many vital USMNT players are unsettled due to the nature of their 2022-23 campaign — some are ready to move up the food chain due to standout seasons, while others need a change of scenery for less positive reasons.

Before we turn the page to next season, let’s take a look back by handing out a few accolades for some notable Americans Abroad.

Timothy Tillman files one-time switch to represent USMNT

The Tillman brothers could be coming soon to a USMNT lineup near you

FIFA has approved a change of association filed by Timothy Tillman, who is now eligible to represent the U.S. men’s national team.

The LAFC midfielder previously represented Germany in official competition at the youth level, and was required to file the change of association through FIFA in order to play for the USMNT.

“To represent the United States is obviously making me proud. I’m really honored to do so and I’m looking forward to the future with the United States,” Tilllman told U.S. Soccer’s website. “Telling my family about it was really exciting. As a kid, my brother and I dreamt of playing for a national team together and now we’re one step closer.”

Tillman and his younger brother Malik were born in Nürnberg, Germany, the sons of a German mother and a U.S. serviceman.

Malik, who starred on loan at Rangers this season from Bayern Munich, made his USMNT debut in June 2022 and has earned four caps.

After spending time in Bayern Munich’s academy, Timothy moved to Greuther Fürth in 2020, where he made 80 league appearances between the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. He then moved to LAFC prior to the 2023 season, where he’s become a key part of Steve Cherundolo’s midfield setup.

Tillman could make his USMNT debut this summer if he’s called in for either the CONCACAF Nations League or for the Gold Cup. The 24-year-old was named to the 60-man preliminary roster for the Nations League last week.

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The Americans Abroad Five: So, who’s getting relegated?

Several USMNT players are battling to avoid the drop as the season winds down

Last season’s crop of top-flight Americans Abroad saw their ranks thinned significantly after a number of relegations.

Some moved on to bigger and better things (Luca de la Torre), some dropped down a division and thrived (Tanner Tessmann and Josh Sargent), while some saw their personal stock sink along with their team (George Bello and Gianluca Busio).

This season appears to be mercifully lighter when it comes to Americans facing the drop in major European leagues, but there are still some notable names who could be sent packing to the second tier in the coming weeks.

This weekend saw some significant movement, both good and bad, for the relegation-threatened Americans Abroad. Let’s start the Five with a look at a vital weekend in the race to avoid the drop.

Carter-Vickers, Tillman make PFA Scottish Premiership Team of the Year

It was a good year for USMNT players in Scotland

It’s been a good year for U.S. men’s national team players in Scotland.

Cameron Carter-Vickers and Malik Tillman were both named to the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year for 2022-23, which was announced on Tuesday.

Carter-Vickers was one of seven Celtic players named to the squad, which is not particularly shocking when you account for the club winning the league by 13 points and winning 31 of their 34 matches. Carter-Vickers started 29 of those games, captaining Celtic seven times in the process. With Carter-Vickers in the lineup, Celtic conceded just 21 goals; their only loss to Scottish opposition this season (a 2-0 defeat at St. Mirren all the way back in September) was in one of the rare games he didn’t play.

Tillman, meanwhile, joined Rangers on loan from Bayern Munich this past summer, and has been a clear success at Ibrox. The 20-year-old became a critical part of the recipe for Rangers right away, going on to score 10 times and adding four assists in 28 league appearances. He joined James Tavernier — who leads Rangers in goalscoring despite being their right back — representing the blue half of Glasgow on the team of the season.

While Carter-Vickers has a contract running for the next three seasons at Celtic, Tillman’s future is far less clear. His loan from Bayern expires at the end of the season, and Rangers manager Michael Beale has repeatedly said he’d love to see the club make the move permanent. However, even if Rangers did opt to lay out the required fee, Bayern reportedly has a buy-back clause and could end up retaining him regardless of the Scottish side’s plans.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Carnage, carnage everywhere

It was the kind of weekend where those who played envied those who didn’t

This has not been the greatest season overall for Americans Abroad, and this weekend was a nice little encapsulation of that sad reality.

It was the kind of weekend where those who played envied those who didn’t. Where, in one day, three of the best performing Americans in Europe were lost for the season. Where more shocking performances left some top USMNT players staring relegation right in the face.

It was carnage. And relief may not be coming anytime soon.

Let’s look back on a truly ugly weekend in the Five.

Malik Tillman is still very undecided on his club future

Rangers or Bayern? The USMNT midfielder needs some time to figure it out

Amid his breakout campaign at Rangers, Malik Tillman has said he needs some time to sort out where he’s playing next season.

The U.S. national team midfielder has scored 10 league goals on loan from Bayern Munich this term, becoming one of the top attacking midfielders in the Scottish Premiership during his first full season of senior-team soccer.

Rangers head coach Michael Beale has consistently stated he’d like to sign the 20-year-old on a permanent basis at the end of the season, with Rangers holding a reported £5 million purchase option.

But Bayern also reportedly holds a buy-back clause that it could trigger immediately after Rangers use their own purchase option.

That has left Tillman’s future very much in the air. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s Old Firm derby against Celtic, the USMNT midfielder said he’d need to chat with both of his prospective managers before making a decision.

“I think I have to listen to both managers, the Rangers one and the Bayern one, and see what they say and where they see me and see what the plan is for the future and then I can decide,” Tillman said.

Tillman’s teammate Todd Cantwell expressed his desire to see the U.S. international at Ibrox for the long term.

“As a Rangers player but also as Rangers fans he’s the sort of player you want to keep here. He’s only going to get better as he gets older which is pretty scary actually,” Cantwell said.

“We want him here. He’s a fantastic footballer and I think he’s pretty aware of how much he is loved here.”

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The Americans Abroad Five: Is Malik Tillman ready for Bayern?

The on-loan Rangers star may have played himself into a state of purgatory

Every time Malik Tillman puts in a strong performance, which is pretty often these days, Rangers manager Michael Beale is forced to once again address the midfielder’s status at the club beyond this season.

And every time, Beale basically says the same thing: Yes he wants to keep Tillman. Yes, he thinks Tillman would like to stay long term. Yes, Rangers are in talks to make it happen. And no, he doesn’t know if it’s actually going to work.

Tillman’s one-year loan from Bayern Munich has a unique structure: Rangers hold a purchase option worth a reported £5 million. That’s looking like an increasingly easy decision for Rangers but there’s a catch: Bayern also reportedly holds a buy-back clause that it could trigger immediately after Rangers use their own purchase option.

It would see Rangers make an instant profit, and instantly lose a player they see as a cornerstone for the future.

Prior to the season, the 20-year-old was virtually unproven in senior club soccer. Now he’s played himself into a weird state of purgatory: maybe too good for the Scottish Premiership but also maybe not ready for the 10-time defending Bundesliga champions.

Tillman’s breakout campaign and his intriguing summer ahead lead this week’s Americans Abroad Five.

The Americans Abroad Five: How long can Matt Turner wait at Arsenal?

The USMNT’s starting goalkeeper is going to have big decisions to make this offseason

Matt Turner is going to have some big decisions to make this offseason.

When Turner got the chance to join Arsenal last summer, nobody could fault him for saying yes. It was, in some ways, the culmination of an incredible rags-to-riches tale that would’ve been difficult to make up.

But in other, highly important ways, it was very much not the culmination. Turner was making the leap to Europe relatively late at age 28, but he had every reason to believe he could enjoy a long and fruitful career abroad.

But will that ever happen at Arsenal?

Turner was always facing an uphill battle for consistent minutes with the Gunners, and the 2022-23 season has done little to dispel that notion. Aaron Ramsdale is firmly entrenched as the starter and Arsenal is the favorite to win the Premier League right now.

With all of his USMNT competitors playing every week, it is worth considering how long Turner can afford to be a backup — especially when it seems pretty clear he could start for more than a few clubs in top-five European leagues.

Turner has previously spoken of how much he’s grown in north London from training alone, but there is a limit to that particular benefit.

This week’s Five leads with a troubling week for Turner, who looks to have played his last game this season.

Steffen, Pefok headline USMNT snubs for World Cup roster

Gregg Berhalter had some tough choices to make

The U.S. men’s national team roster for the World Cup is out, and Gregg Berhalter had some tough choices to make.

While the most stunning news comes in goal, Berhalter left at least one strong candidate out in every position group. The USMNT boss had to deliver bad news to center backs, wingers, strikers, fullbacks, and attacking midfielders.

Some choices came down to injuries, while others may relate to tactical preferences. In at least one case, Berhalter openly stated that the choice boiled down to form.

Here are the six most notable snubs in the squad heading to Qatar.

It’s official: Rangers had the worst Champions League group stage ever

Six games, two goals scored, 22 conceded, and one big yikes

Rangers returned to the Champions League group stage this year for the first time since the 2010-11 season. It was a huge accomplishment for the Scottish giants, and a boost for USMNT duo Malik Tillman and James Sands.

The club surely knew the group stage would be a major step up from the qualifying rounds, but they could’ve never anticipated the pure carnage that would await them upon reaching the club game’s highest heights.

After losing 3-1 to Ajax on Tuesday, Rangers secured a piece of unwanted history. With six defeats in six games, two goals scored and 22 conceded, Rangers have officially had the worst group stage campaign in Champions League history.

Being drawn against red-hot Napoli and less-hot-but-still-Liverpool Liverpool was always going to be a big ask for Rangers, who lost those four games by a combined score of 15-1.

More curious was the team’s two defeats to Ajax by a combined score of 7-1. Ajax is in first place in the Eredivisie, leading PSV by just one point. To reach the group stage, Rangers defeated PSV 3-2 over two legs in the final qualifying round. Clearly, the transitive property didn’t quite bear out here.

Tillman and Sands each started four of Rangers’ six games and neither had any particularly shining moments. Sands was sent off against Napoli in Rangers’ second match, picking up a second yellow card early in the second half of a 3-0 defeat.

Speaking after Tuesday’s loss to Ajax, Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst sounded like the leader of a team who went into games knowing they were likely to lose.

“I won the competition (as a player with Barcelona) so I know the other side when you’re the team who comes on the pitch and already knows you’re going to win because of the difference,” he said.

It’s hard to escape the feeling that in hindsight, Van Bronckhorst and his players may well wish they’d lost to PSV and parachuted safely into the Europa League, a competition where they’d be unlikely to make the kind of unwanted history they must now carry with them.

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