Quincy Butler: Who is the US U18 international on the books of the Hoffenheim U19s?
USA international Fabian Johnson made a name for himself in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim. Is Quincy Butler about to do the same after joining the Sinsheim club's U19s team from Sacramento Republic in the summer? bundesliga.com weighs up the American teenager's credentials...
Quincy Butler
Age: 18
Club: Hoffenheim
Position: Forward
Country: USA
Key stats
Sacramento signed Butler to the club's first-ever Academy contract, allowing him to be called on for a senior match, whilst preserving his status as an amateur. He was only 15 years old at the time, but had been a part of the Republic's development academy since its inception in 2015, playing for their U14/15 and 15/16 teams. He scored 96 goals in 111 appearances at all youth levels, also turning out for the U17s.
Quincy reportedly garnered interest from major US colleges around the country including the University of California, Notre Dame, Yale and Penn State whilst with the Sacramento U17s, before making his senior debut in the USL Championship - the USA's second division behind Major League Soccer - in July 2018, the first of two appearances at that level. The 5'8" right-footer spent the majority of 2018/19 with the U19s, registering 15 goals in as many appearances.
Since joining Hoffenheim in summer 2019, Butler helped the club's U19s earn a runners-up medal at the Bundesliga Cup in Schwäbisch Hall, scoring the fourth in a 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, as well as finding the target against Hertha Berlin in the semi-finals and dispatching his penalty in the shootout to help them progress to the final.
Plays a bit like: Christian Pulisic
Butler's tendencies to hug the right-hand touchline are reminiscent of a young Christian Pulisic, the US soccer poster boy who paved the way for a new wave of Americans on German soil in five whirlwind years with Dortmund. Rather than attempt a mazy slalom run or going for goal himself, the teenager is always looking for a way to involve a teammate in the play.
While Pulisic - now of Chelsea - may be a few stages ahead in his development, there is certainly more than a touch of the USA international about Butler, who has the one-on-one ability that is so highly sought-after at elite level.
Watch: Christian Pulisic, made in the Bundesliga
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Did you know
Butler, who is also a keen basketball player, was called up to the USA U18 squad for the first time in January 2018 - aged just 16. In that roster with him? Ullyses Llanez (Wolfsburg) and Bayern Munich's Justin Butler (no relation).
What they're saying
"Quincy impressed me when I watched the academy play […] We have high hopes for him." - Republic FC head coach Paul Buckle
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