Joe Scally targets regular minutes with Borussia Mönchengladbach and USMNT World Cup place
After a breakout season at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Joe Scally has genuine designs on representing the USMNT at this winter's 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Signed from New York City FC in January 2021, Scally made his Bundesliga debut on the opening day of the 2021/22 season, against record champions Bayern Munich no less.
The 19-year-old remained in the Gladbach starting line-up for every game up until the winter break, and ended the campaign 33 competitive appearances better off.
Watch: Joe Scally - a fast-rising Foal
Scally's performances at right- and left-back have not gone unnoticed by US head coach Gregg Berhalter, who handed him his senior international debut during the June international break.
His appetite whetted in friendlies against Morocco and Uruguay, the Gladbach defender now has his sights on playing for his country at this year's World Cup.
"It was quite a good season for me personally, I think," Scally told journalists at Gladbach's Tegernsee pre-season training camp of his rollercoaster first full season in Germany.
"I featured much more often than I had expected and I was able to learn a lot. I want to build on that and keep improving."
"I'm really hungry to learn and I want to keep developing and help the team. If I am then able to travel to the World Cup with my national team then it would be an extraordinary season for me."
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Scally's first port of call is to convince new Gladbach head coach Daniel Farke he is worthy of a regular starting berth. Despite beginning every Hinrunde game under Farke's predecessor Adi Hütter, only five of his 14 appearances over the course of the second half of the season were starts.
Needless to say, the American is up for the challenge.
"It's been a fantastic time [on vacation], but now I'm back in Germany and ready to get to work," Scally said before sharing his first impressions of Farke and his objectives with Gladbach, who finished 10th in last season's Bundesliga.
"He's a really good coach and he speaks perfect English from his time with Norwich City. That's really nice for me; it just makes communicating much easier. He has his own philosophy, his own style. I'm really looking forward to working with him.
"I hope that I can help the team to achieve a better league position than last season. And then I obviously want to be on the pitch for as many games as possible."
Scally will have the opportunity to stake his claim to a place in Farke's starting line-up in pre-season friendlies against 1860 Munich, Standard Liege, Duisburg, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, before Gladbach take on minnows Oberachern in the DFB Cup first round (31 July).
The Foals begin the Bundesliga season against Hoffenheim - home to Scally's US compatriot Justin Che - on 6 August.
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