CHARLOTTE N.C. — Julian Green had it down pat. He knew exactly what he was going to tell reporters after scoring a hat-trick against Inter in the first 35 minutes of Bayern Munich's 4-1 victory Saturday.
He told the TV cameras on the field after the game, the official website, the writers, anybody who was asking, really, the same thing.
"I'm a striker. That's my job," Green said. "To score goals is always good for me, but that's soccer. One day it's not so good. The other day, it's better."
Maybe so, but this was no regular day at the office for the 21-year-old. All three of his finishes were quality, even if the flag could've gone up on the third, and the fact that Green got himself into the right places at the right time spoke volumes about a player who has played fewer than a half-dozen first-division matches in the past two seasons.
Green can play off the big night all he wants, but he's catching attention from all the right people, namely new Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti, who continues to give Green minutes in pre-season with forwards Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller among the Bayern players resting up after Euro 2016 campaigns.
"He played well, really well because he scored three goals, he was great in the box. It was a really good performance," Ancelotti said after the contest. "The team built good offensive play, and Julian was ready to finish."
Just a day after the manager said that while Green was doing well in the preseason, "Of course, in Bayern, not only for him but for all the players, there is a lot of competition. The squad is really strong in all the positions. Maybe it’s not so easy to find space in this, but it doesn’t matter. The team is, as I said, 25 players, really really competitive, but only 11 can play," his tone was a bit different.
This time around, the Italian tactician said that Green is "with us, he trains with us and he will have the opportunity to start and to play. He’s a very good player, he’s improving, he’s working well during the training sessions and that’s the only way he’s going to get better."
It's just a preseason game, and Ancelotti isn't one to get carried away. But the hat trick certainly hasn't hurt Green's chances of being in Ancelotti's first-team squad when the Bundesliga season begins August 26.
Green clearly isn't getting carried away either with his measured comments after the game about this simply being a high in a series of highs and lows. He would know. He's experienced the high of scoring in a World Cup, and since then been mostly fighting through lows.
"In my mind, it’s always to work hard," Green told Goal after the game when asked how he can continue to reach high points. "I scored three goals today, so it’s nice. But tomorrow’s another day and I will keep working hard."
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With all the demurring and minimizing, there was one thing that Green admitted was a bit out of the ordinary, something that brought him joy — the game against Inter was the one game this tour his father planned to attend.
"Very special," Green said when asked about scoring with his dad watching in person. "I talked to him yesterday, so he was in the stadium today. I’m really happy about it, and I think he’s happy too."
Father and son have every reason to be happy, and while his the younger Green's public stance that he must continue working hard and scoring goals is a good one, privately the striker can reflect on a job well done and a step taken closer to the goal of staying with the Bayern first team.
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