John Brooks (soccer, born 1993) facts for kids
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Brooks with VfL Wolfsburg in 2021
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Anthony Brooks Jr. | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | January 28, 1993 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Berlin, Germany | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Center-back | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Hertha BSC | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 25 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Hertha BSC | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Hertha BSC II | 37 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Hertha BSC | 119 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2022 | VfL Wolfsburg | 126 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Benfica | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | TSG Hoffenheim | 36 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Hertha BSC | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | United States U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | United States U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Germany U20 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2021 | United States | 45 | (3) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 15, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 8, 2021 |
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John Anthony Brooks Jr. (born January 28, 1993) is a professional soccer player. He plays as a center-back for Hertha BSC, a club in Germany. Even though he was born in Germany, he plays for the United States national team.
John started his career at his hometown club, Hertha BSC, in 2012. He played 130 games for them and scored nine goals. His team even won the 2. Bundesliga in the 2012–13 season. In 2017, he moved to VfL Wolfsburg. This transfer cost €20 million, which was a record amount for an American player at that time.
Brooks played for both Germany and the United States youth teams. He chose to play for the United States because his father is American. He first played for the senior U.S. team in 2013. He also played for the U.S. in three big tournaments, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
About John Brooks
John Brooks was born and grew up in Berlin, Germany. His father was an American serviceman from Chicago, Illinois. John has never lived in the United States. He has a map of Illinois tattooed on his left arm and a map of Berlin on his right arm.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Hertha BSC
John Brooks grew up playing soccer at his local club, Hertha BSC. He joined Hertha's reserve team in 2010. After that season, he signed a four-year professional contract with Hertha. He even turned down an offer from Bayern Munich.
In 2012, Hertha BSC was moved down from the top German league, the Bundesliga. John made his first professional appearance on August 3, 2012. This was in a 2. Bundesliga game against SC Paderborn 07. He played 29 games that season as Hertha won the league title. This meant they were promoted back to the Bundesliga. He scored his first goal in the last game of that season.
John scored in his first Bundesliga game on August 10, 2013. Hertha BSC won that game 6–1 against Eintracht Frankfurt. He missed some games that season because of injuries. He also missed time in April 2014 due to a large back tattoo, which his manager was not happy about.
In December 2014, John scored for Hertha in a 4–4 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. During the 2014–15 Bundesliga season, he was very good at winning duels against other players. He won 68% of his one-on-one battles in 27 league games. This was one of the best rates in the Bundesliga.
In the 2015–16 season, John helped Hertha reach the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal cup. He scored a goal in a 2–0 win against 1. FC Nürnberg in that tournament.
Moving to VfL Wolfsburg
On May 31, 2017, John Brooks joined another Bundesliga club, VfL Wolfsburg. His transfer fee was €20 million. At the time, this was the highest amount ever paid for an American soccer player. Later, Christian Pulisic broke this record in 2019.
John made his debut for Wolfsburg on August 13 in a cup game. However, he got a thigh injury in that game and was out for three months. He returned to play his first league game for Wolfsburg on October 28. He played only ten games in his first season due to injuries. But he played a big part in helping Wolfsburg stay in the Bundesliga.
On March 2, 2022, it was announced that John would leave Wolfsburg at the end of that season.
Time at Benfica and Hoffenheim
On September 1, 2022, John signed a one-year contract with Benfica in Portugal. He joined them for free. He played his first game for Benfica on September 18.
On January 26, 2023, John returned to the Bundesliga. He signed a two-year contract with TSG Hoffenheim. He left Hoffenheim at the end of the 2023–24 season.
Back to Hertha BSC
On August 29, 2024, John Brooks made a big return to his first club, Hertha BSC. He signed a two-year contract with them.
Playing for His Country
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John Brooks has both German and American citizenship. He played in training camps for both the U.S. Under-20 and Under-23 teams. He also played for the Germany Under-20 team once. His first game for the U.S. Under-20 team was in September 2010.
In July 2013, John was called up to play for the senior U.S. national team. He made his first senior international appearance in a 4–3 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
John was chosen for the United States' team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In their first game against Ghana, he came on as a substitute. He scored the winning goal with a header, making the score 2–1. This made him the first American player to score a goal as a substitute in a World Cup.
On June 5, 2015, John scored in a friendly game against the Netherlands. The United States came back from being down 3–1 to win 4–3. This was their first win ever against the Dutch team. He also played in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa América Centenario in 2016.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hertha BSC II | 2010–11 | Regionalliga Nord | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||||||
| 2013–14 | Regionalliga Nordost | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | |||||
| 2014–15 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| 2015–16 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 37 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||||||
| Hertha BSC | 2012–13 | 2. Bundesliga | 29 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 1 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 2 | |||||
| 2016–17 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 119 | 7 | 9 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 130 | 8 | ||||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 3 | |||||
| 2019–20 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 31 | 1 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 126 | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 7 | |||
| Benfica | 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| TSG Hoffenheim | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 36 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 2 | |||||
| Hertha BSC | 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 320 | 17 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 357 | 19 | ||
International Goals
- Scores and results list United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Brooks goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 16, 2014 | Arena das Dunas, Natal, Brazil | 5 |  Ghana |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | June 5, 2015 | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 11 |  Netherlands |
2–3 | 4–3 | Friendly |
| 3 | May 28, 2016 | Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, United States | 21 |  Bolivia |
2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
Awards and Honors
John Brooks has won several awards and honors during his career:
With Hertha BSC
- 2. Bundesliga: 2013–14 (They won the second division league)
With Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 2022–23 (They won the top league in Portugal)
With the United States National Team
- CONCACAF Nations League: 2019–20 (A big international tournament for teams in North and Central America)
Individual Awards
- IFFHS CONCACAF Team of the Decade: 2011–2020 (He was chosen as one of the best players in his region for ten years)
- CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI: 2021 (He was part of the best team of players in the Nations League finals)
See also
In Spanish: John Anthony Brooks para niños
