Football
10y

Pep Guardiola urged Bayern's Julian Green to join Hamburg on loan

U.S. international Julian Green says Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola encouraged him to join Hamburg on loan to prove his worth.

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Green, 19, joined Hamburg on a season-long loan on Monday and is set to link up with his new teammates at the end of the week after representing United States in a friendly away to Czech Republic on Wednesday.

The Florida-born attacker came up through the youth ranks at Bayern and appeared for the club in the Champions League last season before featuring for his country at the 2014 World Cup, scoring in the defeat to Belgium in the round of 16.

However, he has yet to play for Bayern in the Bundesliga and, after discussing his situation with his coach, opted for a temporary switch to HSV to improve his prospects of first-team football.

"Pep Guardiola motivated to put my foot down on the pedal, to come out on top and take my chance," he told Sport1.

"I trust my talent and work hard every day. I know the skills I have. I am looking forward to the task and treating it as an exciting challenge. My goal is to give my all in training in order to win as many minutes on the pitch as possible.

"It's about making it at the highest level. I would to contribute to the team with my skill. Let's see what comes out of that at the end of the season."

Hamburg endured their worst Bundesliga season in their history in 2013-14, only managing to preserve their top-flight status when they edged out second-tier club Greuther Furth in a playoff at the end of the campaign.

Since then, they have changed the structure of the club, and the football department now operates as a joint-stock company.

This left Hamburg logistic tycoon Klaus-Michael Kuhne, who supported the club with a "substantial loan" of 25 million euros in the summer break, dreaming of a return to the Champions League for the 1983 European Cup winners.

However, despite investing 26 million euros on new players, problems have persisted on the field, with a goalless Bundesliga draw against Cologne followed by a 3-0 defeat to another newly promoted club, SC Paderborn.

Mirko Slomka became the third coach to take charge at HSV last season, and he is now under pressure after a run of nine games -- including the two-legged playoff with Greuther Furth -- without a win.

Slomka told Bild that he needs "characters on the field," and suggested he would soon be dropping former Germany keeper Rene Adler to make way for backup Jaroslav Drobny, who impressed the coach with his attitude during the relegation playoff matches.

"The way you present yourself after a defeat is important, and the body language shown by Rene and Jaroslav is a part of that," Slomka added.

He also announced more changes to outfield positions as a result of the loan signings of Julian Green and Lewis Holtby.

"We have alternatives now," he said. "Julian Green can play on both wings, and his speed will do our game good. He is a great alternative."

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