Topics: Josh Sargent, Werder Bremen, Zack Steffen, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Eintracht Frankfurt, Timothy Chandler, Bundesliga
Many North American stars have opted to eschew playing in MLS in favor of the Bundesliga. In the second of a two-part series, we take a look at who's currently playing their football in the top two tiers of German football.

The Bundesliga has rapidly grown in prominence since its founding in 1962, and players from America, as well as Canada have been steadily flocking to Germany in order to hone their skills.

We have decided to take a look at several of them that are featuring with teams in both the Bundesliga and the 2.Bundesliga for the 2019/2020 season.

Part one covered quite a few North American based players, and part two will do the same. (Note: all stats are current as of May 19, 2020, and the list will be grouped by team).

So, before you delve into the second part of this series, have a look at part one, which also highlights the American (and Canadian) stars plying their trade in the Bundesliga.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Experienced defender Timothy Chandler was also born and raised in Germany (just like Wolfsburg's John Brooks or Gladbach's Fabian Johnson). After a difficult 2018/2019 campaign that saw him sitting on the sidelines due to injury, Chandler has returned totally revitalized this season, especially since the start of the current year.

 

He started all but two of his team's eight matches in 2020, while being involved in five goals (four goals and one assist) prior to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic to Germany and the subsequent shutdown of football. Unfortunately for him, Frankfurt didn't resume action on the best of notes - they lost 3-1 to Gladbach on matchday 26, and he had to contend with coming on as a very late sub in the 74th minute.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Zack Steffen is currently featuring for Fortuna Düsseldorf while on loan from Manchester City. The 25-year-old has had a strong season with his side, despite them hovering around the relegation zone for much of the campaign and started all 17 of the team's games during the first half of the season. On matchday one, he made ten saves - which is more than any other goalkeeper, and usually ranked among the top three in terms of saves during the first half of the season. Although his team did concede quite a few goals, it can be easily said that without his performances, things would have been a lot worse.

Unfortunately for Steffen and Düsseldorf, he's suffered another injury setback and looks set to miss the remainder of the season. Will they be able to avoid the drop without him in between the posts?

Alfredo Morales is another player who has impressed for Düsseldorf this term, despite the team's struggles, and as a result, has worked his way back into the USMNT set-up after several years in the international wilderness. Morales has spent his entire professional career playing in Germany and over the past two seasons has become a reliable presence in the starting XI for his side, making over 40 appearances across the two campaigns.  

Werder Bremen

Josh Sargent is a player that many USMNT followers are quite familiar with due to his rise through the ranks from the youth national side. However, instead of featuring in MLS, he decided to begin his professional career abroad, with Werder Bremen, where he made waves in 2018 after scoring immediately after coming on in the 78th minute - as the fastest goal scored by a debutant in the club's history.

This season he's scored three goals in 18 Bundesliga appearances, while providing two assists. However, his team is in danger of relegation, as they sit in a very disappointing 17th spot and will really need to turn things around if they want to have any fighting chance of avoiding the drop.

In addition, there are a handful of Americans featuring in the 2.Bundesliga. Realistically, Hamburg look good to secure promotion, but Greuther Fürth could make a very late push for a play-off spot (if the teams above them suffer a monumental collapse, that is).

Here are some of the Americans playing their football in the 2.Bundesliga this season:

Hamburg

Like many of his USMNT colleagues, Bobby Wood has spent his entire professional career playing for various clubs in Germany at different levels in the German football system. The 27-year-old striker is currently on the books at Hamburg, who suffered relegation for the first time in their history during the 2017/2018 season.

Wood has struggled with injuries this season, which has limited his involvement to just six appearances so far, and he has yet to find the back of the net. 

Greuther Fürth

Remember Julian Green? Despite impressing with Bayern's reserve side, he struggled to gain a foothold with the senior team, but now appear to be slowly finding his confidence once again with 2.Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth, where he scored three goals in his first six outings before being sidelined with an injury. However, he's since returned to action after being able to recuperate during the forced pause as a result of COVID-19, and the team's fans will naturally be hoping to see him find his stride again quickly.

His fellow American international Timothy Tillman also opted to leave Bayern and eventually found his way to Greuther Fürth, arriving only this past January. Tillman is four years younger than 25-year-old Green, and like his counterpart, has dual German and American citizenship. Tillman has yet to score for his new side, but impressed many on his debut by chipping in with two assists.