Julian Green sent down to Hamburg's U-23s

Things have not been going well for Julian Green at Hamburg. And they have gotten worse. The American has been sent down to the club's U-23s.

Bayern Munich loaned Green to Hamburg with the hope that he would get more playing time. It worked early on, as he got some looks in the beginning of the season, but that ended pretty quickly and he's made just five appearances on the year. It's gotten so bad that he struggled to get playing time even in the team's friendlies during the winter break.

Hamburg's U-23 team plays in the fourth division, which is where Green played last year for Bayern's reserves. He starred there, and could do so again with Hamburg, but the question at this point is what he can do with a first team, not a youth team or the reserves.

Green was last called up to the U.S. in November, coming off the bench late in the match against Colombia. He was, and still is, considered one of the Americans' best prospects, but he went to Hamburg knowing that he was joining a bad team that should ensure him playing time. Unfortunately, even that hasn't allowed to get him on the field, and the hype around him has cooled considerably. The good news is he is just 19 years old, which means he has plenty of time to turn himself into the player so many at Bayern and with the U.S. have been hoping he will become.

At this point, the best Green and anyone else can really hope for is that he plays well for the U-23s, builds his confidence back up and maybe even get a couple looks with the first team again so he can return to Bayern with a bit of momentum. But even if that happens, this has been a tough year for the American.