Bobby Wood (soccer)


Bobby Shou Wood is an American professional soccer player who currently plays as a striker for German club Hamburger SV of the 2. Bundesliga and the United States internationally.

Youth and early career

Wood was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a mother with partial Japanese ancestry and a father with African American ancestry. He began his youth career in 1999 with Powder Edge SC, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. He moved to California in 2005 to play with the Irvine Strikers.

Club career

Wood relocated to Germany in July 2007 to join the academy of 1860 Munich.

1860 Munich

On January 29, 2011, Wood made his professional debut coming on in the 82nd minute as a substitute during a 2. Bundesliga match against MSV Duisburg.
Wood made his first career start for 1860 Munich in October 2011 against F.C. Hansa Rostock. On November 30, 2012, against VfR Aalen, Wood scored his first professional goal to secure a 1–1 draw for 1860 Munich.
In December 2012, Wood signed his first professional contract, extending his stay with 1860 through the 2016 season.

Loan to Erzgebirge Aue

In February 2015, Wood moved to fellow 2. Bundesliga side Erzgebirge Aue, signing a contract until 2017. For Aue, Wood made nine league appearances and scored three goals before seeing the club relegated to 3. Liga for the first time in six years.

Union Berlin

In July 2015, Wood signed a three-year contract with 1. FC Union Berlin for an undisclosed fee. In his Union Berlin debut season, Wood broke the record for goals scored by an American in a single season in Germany's top two flights.

Hamburger SV

On May 15, 2016, Wood signed a four-year deal with Hamburger SV. On August 27, Wood made his Bundesliga debut with Hamburg against FC Ingolstadt. In the 1–1 draw, Wood scored the opening goal with a fantastic strike from the edge of the box, beating out Ingolstadt defender Marvin Matip after receiving a long pass from keeper René Adler. After his debut, manager Bruno Labbadia commented that Wood "has lots of pace and uses his body skillfully". His goal was later voted as the Goal of the Week in the Bundesliga. Wood scored the first goal on September 10 at Bayer Leverkusen after Bayer keeper Bernd Leno came well off his line, but a late hat trick from Joel Pohjanpalo made the result 3–1 in favor of Bayer.
Following the match against Leverkusen, however, the entire Hamburg team entered a dry spell in scoring lasting over a month, resulting in the sacking of Labbadia on September 25. Wood made his first start under new manager Markus Gisdol on October 25 in their second round DFB-Pokal match against Hallescher FC, scoring twice in the 4–0 victory. However, their problems in the league persisted, culminating in Wood being sent off in his first Bundesliga start under Gisdol, coming five days later at FC Köln. After the match, Gisdol told reporters that Wood's red card, given when he elbowed Köln defender Dominique Heintz in the stomach, was "inexcusable", and Wood was handed a three-match ban by the DFB.
After the Cologne-match, Hamburg won three of their six remaining matches with Wood scoring one goal in the 2-1 win against FC Schalke 04 on matchday 16. Hamburg finished the year ranked 16th. In the following year, Hamburg started with two defeats against VfL Wolfsburg and FC Ingolstadt both away, before the Northern Germans won six of the following ten matches and climbed to 13th. Wood scored a goal during this time against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a 2-1 victory. The following four matches ended with three defeats and one draw, placing Hamburg in 16th after matchday 32. In the penultimate matchday, Hamburg drew 1-1 against FC Schalke 04 away, after the goal of Pierre-Michel Lasogga in injury time. Before the goal of Lasogga, Bobby Wood had an opportunity to equalize. Through the draw, Hamburg saved themselves from relegation. The last matchday one week later, Hamburg won 2-1 against VfL Wolfsburg and saves with the 14th rank before the relegation.
In the 2017-18 season, Hamburg lost in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against the third-tier side VfL Osnabrück 1-3. Hamburg won their first two matches with Bobby Wood scoring a goal in the 3-1 win away against Cologne. In the remaining matches of the first half of the season, Hamburg won only two matches and ranked 17th. In the second season-half, manager Markus Gisdol was sacked after a 0-2 defeat against Cologne at home. His successor Bernd Hollerbach was sacked after seven matches without a victory. The new president of the club, Bernd Hoffmann, sacked CEO Heribert Bruchhagen and the director of sport, Jens Todt, and the successor of Hollerbach became Christian Titz, former head coach of the reserve team. Hamburg won four of their eight remaining matches with Bobby Wood scoring a penalty in a 3-1 win away against VfL Wolfsburg on matchday 32. Hamburg relegated despite a 2-1 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach on the last matchday for the first time in their history as VfL Wolfsburg won against Cologne. In the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Wood would see a red card.

Loan to Hannover 96

On July 9, 2018, it was announced that Wood would be joining Hannover 96 on loan until the end of 2018/19 season with an option to buy.

International career

In May 2013, Wood was named to a preliminary United States' 35-man roster for the 2013 Gold Cup. Wood made his senior international debut in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 2013.
Wood scored his first senior international goal in June 2015, a game-winner in a 4–3 victory against the Netherlands. Five days later, Wood scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 friendly victory against top-ranked Germany in Cologne. In the 2015 CONCACAF Cup against Mexico to decide which team would qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup, coach Jürgen Klinsmann substituted Wood on in the 98th minute, after Mexico scored the go-ahead goal in extra time. Wood scored the tying goal in the 108th minute on a through ball from DeAndre Yedlin, but the United States ended up losing the match on an additional extra time goal from Mexico. On September 5, 2017 Wood scored the tying goal in the 85th minute against Honduras to keep the US hopes alive in the CONCACAF qualifications for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, securing a 1–1 draw. On October 6, he scored a goal to give a 4–0 lead for United States against Panama with one more match in the group to spare.

Career statistics

Club

International statistics

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1June 5, 2015Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands
4–3
4–3
Friendly
2June 10, 2015RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany
2–1
2–1
Friendly
3October 10, 2015Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States
2–2
2–3
2015 CONCACAF Cup
4November 13, 2015Busch Stadium, St. Louis, United States
1–1
6–1
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5May 22, 2016Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2–0
3–1
Friendly
6June 7, 2016Soldier Field, Chicago, United States
3–0
4–0
Copa América Centenario
7September 2, 2016Arnos Vale Stadium, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1–0
6–0
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8November 11, 2016MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, United States
1–1
1–2
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
9September 5, 2017Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
1–1
1–1
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10October 6, 2017Orlando City Stadium, Orlando, United States
4–0
4–0
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11March 27, 2018WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, United States
1–0
1–0
Friendly
12June 2, 2018Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
1–0
1–2
Friendly
13October 11, 2018Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States
2–1
2–4
Friendly