Timmy Chandler,the son of an American serviceman and a German mother, is playing for the U.S. national team after growing up in Germany.
Here’s what you need to know about him:
1. He’s a Defender
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Chandler’s one of the eight defenders on the U.S. World Cup Team. According to his U.S. soccer bio page, he’s shown considerable versatility by acting as a left or right-side flank defender. After the World Cup, Chandler will return to his German team as a regular starter.
2. He Plays for Eintracht Frankfurt
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Chandler signed a three-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt on June 3, right before the World Cup started. Before signing with Eintracht Frankfurt, Chandler played for Sportfreunde Oberau and Eintracht Frankfurt before singing with No. 1 FC Nürnburg during the summer of 2010. He scored the first goal of his professional career on January 15, 2011.
3. He Trained in Eintracht’s Youth Academy
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According to SB Nation, Chandler rose through the ranks of Eintracht Frankfurt’s youth academy, but hadn’t made it to their senior team until June 2014.
4. He’s Given off the Impression he Doesn’t Want to Play for the United States
According to Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer, Chandler has turned down two U.S.-mens call ups in two years, signaling he isn’t interested in playing for a U.S. team. Galarcep said Chandler comes off as non committal, writing:
[He’s] a player who is either more concerned with his club commitments than his national team commitments, or worse yet, a player who still has one eye on playing for Germany while he tries to keep the United States waiting.
5. He Doesn’t Like Flying
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In an interview with Goal.com, Chandler talked about how he doesn’t like to fly, which may provide some insight as to why Chandler hesitated to fully commit to the U.S. National Team, which has to fly a lot for games. Chandler told the site:
I only had to think because I wanted to be clear in my head. With the U.S. national team, you fly all the time, I wanted to make sure that would be OK for me. … You fly all the time for 12 hours. I’m a guy that I can’t sleep on the airplanes. It’s a big problem for me.
