The United States Men’s National Team missed out on recruiting THIS Borussia Dortmund Starter | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund has had the tendency, in the last decade, to have a young, up-and-coming player from the United States of America feature in their squad. Who can forget Christian Pulisic, the American kid from Hershey, Pennsylvania, who blasted his way into the European scene at a time when Americans rarely saw their careers move overseas? Yet Pulisic joined Dortmund in 2015, and after scoring ten and assisting eight for the U19s, he was moved to the senior squad and, three years later, secured the highest-ever transfer fee for an American. But once Christian Pulisic was moved on, another young upstart was ready to join.

Christian Pulisic left for Chelsea FC in 2019, and by 2020, Giovanni Reyna was ready to shine in Black and Yellow. He was a new American teenager and the son of former USMNT star Claudio Reyna. Gio certainly made an impression in Dortmund, but he’s been plagued by inconsistencies and could even see the exit door this summer. Reyna’s performances for the USA have been decent, but for BVB, he’s been incredibly lackluster, and the lad will soon be entering the final season of his contract. I don’t think he’s earned a renewal.

There’s also another American in waiting, nineteen-year-old Cole Campbell. He’s been an impressive starlet for Dortmund’s youth squad since arriving last summer, as he even secured four appearances for the senior team this season. He’s been called up to both the U17 and U19 USMNT squads and looks to be developing into quite the attacking player. But he’s not the one the USA missed out on, as I mentioned in the title.

As the USA prepares to face Panama in the Nations League, they might be ruing the lack of a particular Dortmund right-back. That’s right, I’m talking about Julian Ryerson. While his mother is Norwegian, his father is American, which means that once upon a time, he was eligible to play for the USA. It’s worth noting Ryerson grew up in Lyngdal, Norway, which likely influenced his National Team allegiance.

LOSC Lille v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg | Franco Arland/GettyImages

Yet growing up outside of the USA is rarely a dealbreaker for the team’s recruitment, as they’ve seen numerous dual-nationals play for Red, White, and Blue. Just a few of these players include Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest, Yunus Musah, and Folarin Balogun. Former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann famously recruited dual-nationals from Germany, players like John Brooks and Timmy Chandler.

However, somewhere along the lines, Julian Ryerson was overlooked as a youth talent. Perhaps much of his early career was ignored because he was a product of the Norwegian Viking academy and eventually recruited to a little-known 2.Bundesliga side called Union Berlin. But that move proved vital for both Union’s promotion to the Bundesliga and Ryerson’s meteoric rise to become one of Borussia Dortmund’s most consistent players, nearly a year after I wrote a feature praising him.

Perhaps I’m overthinking this. Ryerson has been affiliated with the Norwegian National Team in one way or another since 2015. But I can still suggest the USMNT recruiters missed a hidden gem, and now the USMNT will never know what could have been with Julian Ryerson. Perhaps in a different timeline, Ryerson is the hero who lifts US soccer into the realm of respectability, but for now, I’ll keep dreaming.