We take a closer look at the league that has become the destination of choice for young American players by interviewing people who regularly talk or write about Werder Bremen, Hannover 96, Schalke and Dortmund. Josh Sargent, Bobby Wood, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic are the main events in this episode, but each guest gave a good sense of each club’s overall situation and addressed the rising population of Americans in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga academies. Greg and I had planned to talk about Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and Gladbach to talk about Timmy Chandler, John Brooks and Fabian Johnson, but we ran out of time, as you’ll see.

1:25 Patrick Davey from the podcast Radio Free Weser, on Josh Sargent, the cocoon of development that’s being built around him including Claudio Pizarro's mentorship, Sargent's prospects for first-team minutes, the bullish case for Werder Bremen this season and some quick thoughts on Aron Johannsson and Isaiah Young.

Podcast: https://rfwpod.podbean.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RFWPod

41:15 Ansgar Loecke from the HannoverliebtMSR (German-language) podcast, on the modest expectations for Bobby Wood at Hannover, a club that’s no stranger to Americans and one that should be a good place for Wood to get his groove back. We also briefly discuss Hannover’s efforts to revamp the academy, and Chris Gloster’s situation.

Podcast: https://meinsportradio.de/2018/05/09/hannoverliebt-klassenerhalt/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ansgar_L

1:15:00 Jack Mangan from the FC Schalke 04 Podcast, on a big year for Weston McKennie that’s full of opportunity, as well as Haji Wright, Nick Taitague, Zyen Jones and even Chris Richards at Bayern.

Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fc-scahlke-04-podcast/id1263701061
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JMMangan

2:02:10 Lars Pollman from the Yellow Wall Podcast, on an ultimately disappointing 2017/18 for Christian Pulisic and for Dortmund, the still open possibility of a transfer, and the high hopes for the young American winger in the season upcoming. Lars also discusses Lucien Favre as a manager, projects what would be a successful statistical season for Pulisic, and we venture into Lars’s NFL fandom.

Podcast: http://www.tyw.bundesligalounge.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarsPollmann