Julian Green's struggles at Hamburg continue as the U.S. national team forward was blasted by German media after failing to impress for the HSV reserves.
Green, 19, joined Hamburg on loan from FC Bayern Munich in the summer of 2014. Following his Bundesliga debut for HSV at Hannover in September 2014 and the sacking of coach Mirko Slomka in the aftermath of the game, his season has gone from bad to worse.
The USMNT hopeful, who picked up a rib injury last October, and then was no longer in contention for a place in the starting formation under new head coach Joe Zinnbauer. Green still made the match day squad on a few occasions, but only won a handful of Bundesliga minutes.
In the winter, HSV reportedly tried to offload the Bayern loanee to local rivals 1860 Munich. When player and agent rejected the idea, Green was demoted to the club's reserve.
After some public back and forth, Green debuted last weekend for the fourth tier side in their 3-1 defeat at local rivals St. Pauli II.
According to kicker, the defeat also was down to Green's lackluster performance, which the magazine said effectively reduced the club to 10 men.
"At the behest of the club bosses, Green agreed to take part in the fourth-tier match," the magazine reported. "But nothing more than that. The 19-year-old only played one-touch back passes and jogged while trying to avoid direct duels."
Green will return to FC Bayern Munich in the summer.