The young 22 year old striker from Irvine, California has been thrust into the spotlight after two game winning goals against the Netherlands and the
The young 22 year old striker from Irvine, California has been thrust into the spotlight after two game winning goals against the Netherlands and the World Cup champions Germany. Wood could not have picked a better time to score his first two goals for the senior national team. These victories over two of the world’s elite soccer teams has proven that the US is ready to compete with best as well as vindicated Jurgen Klinsmann’s experimentation with some of US’s promising young talent.
Out of relative obscurity, Bobby Wood has emerged to seal the deal for the US in the past few days. But where did he come from?
Bobby Wood was born in Honolulu Hawaii, where he started out his soccer career with Power Edge FC in 1999 as the age of 7. In 2004 he relocated to the Irvine Strikers where he began to develop into the deadly striker he is today, catching the eyes of the US scouts while also making admirers abroad. With his breakout performances for the Irvine team, Woods was invited to Germany to play for 1860 Munich in 2007 and played there till this last year where he joined Erzgebirge Aue on loan. His future remains unclear with a bit of a management shake up at 1860 Munich but hopes to decide it quickly after this round of friendlies.
With his professional debut coming in 2011 and his first call up in 2013, the progress he is making should excite US soccer fans. He only has 7 international caps to his name so far, but Klinsmann’s faith in him and the other youngsters on the international scene means more opportunities for Wood.
These most recent performances will also help boost Bobby Wood’s case to be included on the 23 man roster for the Gold Cup coming up in July. He is one of the fringe players looking to prove himself in the final round of friendlies and if he keeps this up, he will be a sure secure a spot on the team.
