Frankfurt right back and former U.S. National Timmy Chandler joined GOAL Convo to talk about his legacy as a dual national

Timmy Chandler was part of a unique era of the U.S. men's national team. In the early 2010s, under the reign of Bob Bradley, the USMNT changed its recruitment strategy. Sure, American talent would be the focus here. But dual-nationals, players with eligibility for multiple nations, would be brought into the fold. These days, it's a fairly standard part of U.S. Soccer. But back then, with the USMNT doing anything to find an edge, it was novel. Chandler loved every second.

"It was a great opportunity for such a big country with great players. Directly, I said yes, got invited for the first time, and it was great for me," Chandler tells GOAL.

Chandler was born in Germany to an African-American father and a German mother. His parents separated with Chandler was still young. He stuck around with his mother and underwent his footballing education in Germany. The USMNT didn't even register until Bradley arrived. There were complications. He was in and out of the side under Bradley and didn't technically declare as a USMNT national full-time. But when Jurgen Klinsmann stepped into the fold, Chandler committed in full – and pledged his international future to the USMNT.

He would go on to make 29 caps for the U.S. and was named on the roster for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. To date, just being there was the highlight of his international career.

"The World Cup in Brazil will definitely be in my legacy when I write a book one day," Chandler says.

But more than that, Chandler is now seen as an important figure that many would follow. The current USMNT team is stacked full of dual nationals. Ricardo Pepi flirted with both Mexico and the U.S. — he is now Mauricio Pochettino's best striker. Yunus Musah captained England sides at the youth level; he is now a versatile all-round midfielder who will certainly be a part of the XI if the World Cup started today. Chandler is part of the reason why this has all happened, a solid right-back who scored just one international goal influencing a generation.

Chandler discussed dual-nationals, his best days for the USMNT, and what might lie next for him as he enters the twilight of his career in the latest GOALConvo, a recurring Q&A with central figures in the American soccer scene.

GettyON HIS DECISION TO PLAY FOR THE USMNT

GOAL: Can you take me through your decision to play for the U.S. Men's National team? What was that like and how did you make it?

CHANDLER: Everything happened very quickly because I started playing professional football at Nurenberg at the time. I got they get some calls from Bob Bradley. He said, 'You can play for the men's national team.' And I was starting my professional career in Germany, so I said, 'OK, great opportunity.' I never thought about playing for the U.S., but I wanted to play football, and then for me, it was a great opportunity for such a big country with great players. I said yes, I got invited for the first time, and it was just great.

GOAL: How did you fit in with a bunch of American guys? Did anyone specifically help you out?

CHANDLER: I think all of the guys made it really easy for me. I was a young kid, just 20. So players like Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, and Steve Cherundolo, were such great guys who made it so easy for me to come into the team. Jozy Altidore was also a really great guy. So they helped make everything really easy.

GOAL: What would your advice be to a dual national who is USMNT eligible?

CHANDLER: I would say go to America. It's a big country, it has developed a lot in the last couple of years, and you can enjoy that. You can learn a lot. You will see a lot of things in your life also. And that's why if you can play for a country like this, go there. Do it.

AdvertisementGettyON HIS BEST MOMENTS FOR THE U.S.

GOAL: Can you point out some highs and lows, through your U.S. career? What were the best moments, and then maybe what were the difficult ones?

CHANDLER: Of course, the best moment was when I got to go to the World Cup in Brazil with the national team. That was such a great time. We had six weeks of preparation before the tournament. It was great. We were in San Francisco, and it was really just a great time. And all the players I met there, like Clint Dempsey or the coaches, [manager] Jurgen Klinsmann, he brought a lot of players from Europe, so it was a really great time.

And you had also some downs where, where you have to travel to some games just for four days, to Honduras, and this was very tough, and then come back to Germany. The traveling for me was the biggest factor where I said, 'Oh, wow, I have to go there? Really, now again?' But normally, really, I loved to do that, because you go to great places. I would never go by myself on holiday to Cuba or to Costa Rica. I saw a lot of things. So I really don't have a lot of bad things to say about my time on the national team.

AFPON ADAPTING TO AMERICAN CULTURE

GOAL: Do you think you learned anything else about America in general, as being part of the USMNT?

CHANDLER: I saw the quality in the U.S., how they play, how they wanted to play because, at this time, soccer was not so big in the U.S. But in the World Cup, we had one of the [biggest group of] fans to go to Brazil and watch the games out of anyone in the world. So I think they can do a lot more for soccer in the US. The stadiums are so big, they're always full, they make it like a party every game — it's really great. So I also saw how football in the U.S. can develop, and what they can do more. So was really everything great to see a different side, because I only saw Germany my whole life, and then I saw it and it was really great.

GettyON CRITICISM OF FOREIGN PLAYERS

GOAL: When you were in the national team, there was a rhetoric that some of the dual nationals were to blame for struggles on the pitch. Did you get that sense? What was your experience with that?

CHANDLER: We never had a big problem with that. But also from the outside, a lot of it came from Klinsmann, because he wanted to change a lot. He wants to bring a lot of European players. And I think was not so good for the people in the U.S., but it was smart. Also at this time, for me, Klinsmann made the right decision.

If you look at the coaches now, the U.S. has [Mauricio] Pochettino, they want to see what they can do in the U.S. They want to train the U.S. national team, and they had worked at big clubs before. The team never cares [about those external criticisms]. But from outside, you always have a little bit of a problem when people say "It's too much European. We don't take the MLS players, or we may put them down for the European players."

GOAL: Do you think any of the criticism has anything to do with race? A lot of the foreign players were either Black, Hispanic or of mixed race, was that ever a sense for you?

CHANDLER: No, I never got anything about race or anything like that. In my opinion, I don't know what other players say, but in my opinion, not I think everybody who works there just wants to develop the men's national team, and there's nothing to do with race. For me, it was only about football.