Football
Doug McIntyre, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Pep: Julian Green to stay with Bayern

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola expects American teenager Julian Green to remain with the German champions for the 2014-15 Bundesliga season instead of being loaned out in search of more playing time.

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"It's never easy to be with a big club in the first [-team] squad, but he deserves to try to keep going here and play with us," Guardiola said during a conference call on Tuesday ahead of Bayern's preseason tour of the United States. "I think today he's going to stay -- we're going to see in the preseason -- but I know him. He's always training well, he's a good guy and my first idea is that he's going to stay for the rest of the season."

On Monday, Green, who made just one appearance for Bayern's senior team last season, was named to the club's squad for friendlies in Harrison, New Jersey (July 31 vs. Guadalajara), and Portland, Oregon (Aug. 6 against the MLS All-Stars), as part of MLS All-Star weekend (ESPN2/WatchESPN, 9:30 p.m. ET).

Guardiola revealed that Green is suffering from a minor knee ailment but confirmed he will still travel to the U.S.

"He will not be on the field for the next two or three days," Guardiola said. "But I hope he is fit and he can play as much as possible."

The 19-year-old German-American, who was born in Tampa but grew up in Germany, played one game for the U.S. at the World Cup in Brazil, scoring in extra time of the Americans' 2-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16.

His lack of experience at club and international level before the tournament made him a controversial addition to the 23-man U.S. roster, but Guardiola wasn't surprised that he took advantage of his brief opportunity on the global stage.

"He was with us in the preseason last year, and we were really impressed by his talent, his movement around the goal," the former Barcelona manager said.

"I spoke many times throughout the year with the U.S. national coach, my dear friend Jurgen Klinsmann, and we spoke about his skills. He played a little bit in the World Cup, but when he played he showed his level, scoring a beautiful, beautiful goal.

"We are so happy that he is with us."

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