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Fabian Johnson - Mönchengladbach's American Danger Man

Manchester City must account for Johnson's movement in this weeks UEFA Champions League clash

Lars Baron/Getty Images

The contributions of American International Fabian Johnson to Mönchengladbach's incredible revival under André Schubert. The winger who has been deployed in an advanced position in recent weeks is on the type of run that few US Men's National Team players have enjoyed in Europe in recent years.

Johnson was a member of the 2009 UEFA EURO winning team with Germany switched his international allegiance to the United States in 2011, completing the one-time FIFA national team switch he was eligible for as a US citizen born to an American father on German soil.

In recent years American players have gravitated back toward Major League Soccer, including German-raised Jermaine Jones who also switched to the United States after being capped at the Senior level by Germany (just in friendlies). But Johnson, now 27 has stuck it out in Germany and was a critical part of Mönchengladbach's third-place finish in the Bundesliga last season.

Arguably the best player at World Cup 2014 for the United States, Johnson has scored four goals in all competitions over the last two weeks, including the third goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Bayern Munich. This run came after a difficult injury spell which culminated in a spat with the US Management team after the 3-2 AET loss to Mexico in the 2015 CONCACAF Cup in October.

Johnson represents a particular danger as Manchester City's defending in wide areas has been nothing short of shocking over the course of the last few weeks. Given the success of Xherdan Shaqiri this past weekend for Stoke, Johnson's movement will have to be closely tracked, and space for crossing must be closed down. Otherwise, the Blues are likely to be on the back foot chasing the game once again.