International Career
Jones broke through into the Eintracht Frankfurt squad, became a German Under-21 international and briefly became a fan favourite in Frankfurt, somewhat due to his flashy outward appearance.
Though Jones played four matches with Germany's Under 21 team, he was often left out of the senior team, save a few friendlies with mostly reserves. In June 2009, Jones declared to the media that he would be available to play for the United States after it was clear to him that the German national team manager, Joachim Löw, did not have any plans for him in the current German set-up. Jones was eligible based on a new FIFA ruling allowing players to switch their national teams if the player had not yet played in an official FIFA match with the senior team despite having played at the youth level. Jones was eligible for the United States due to his father's American nationality. On 20 October 2009, Jones was cleared by FIFA to join the United States national team. He met the U.S. national team for the first time in March 2010 and reportedly fit in "really well" according to Tim Howard. In the end, Jones did not recover from injury in time for the World Cup.
On 4 August 2010, Jones was called into the United States squad for the 10 August friendly against Brazil. The next day, however, he withdrew from the squad due to fitness concerns related to his injury from the previous season. Jones was included on the roster for the US national team's friendlies against Poland and Colombia in October. He made his debut for the United States against Poland and assisted Jozy Altidore on the game's opening goal in the 13th minute.
On June 19, 2011, he scored is first international goal in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Jamaica. On 21 January 2012, Jones captained the side in the 1–0 win over Venezuela in a friendly match. The American media have raised concern both against calling up Jones for the national squad as well as Jürgen Klinsmann's decision to name him captain in that game. On 26 May 2012, Jones scored his second international goal in a 5-1 victory over Scotland in a friendly match.
Read more about this topic: Jermaine Jones
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)