How USMNT prospects adapt to life in Europe and what their clubs do to help

Joe Scally is one of three young Americans to make the move from the U.S. to Europe this January. Brenden Aaronson went from the Philadelphia Union to FC Salzburg, his former teammate Mark McKenzie signed for Genk, and Scally completed his move to Borussia Monchengladbach having signed for them just over a year ago.

Scally packed five suitcases for his move from New York to the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He had everything covered, from his XBox One to clothes for all seasons, along with various keepsakes, but he forgot one key item: pancake mix. Meanwhile, McKenzie is still trying to work out how to get his prodigious shoe collection (100 pairs and counting) over to Belgium.

Jump to: A few minutes with Aaronson | Stock watch: Hoppe, Musah, Yedlin, Green | Scouting report: Otasowie

United States youth international right-back Scally signed for Borussia Monchengladbach from New York City FC more than a year ago, in December 2019, but he had to wait until this month to join them following his 18th birthday on New Year's Eve. On Jan. 3, he waited until the last possible moment to wave goodbye to his family and girlfriend at the departure gates of John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens and flew to Monchengladbach to complete the move that had been a year in the making.

Scally had never lived away from home before -- he discovered early on that he could master eggs for breakfast, but struggled to put together lunch and dinner. His current specialty is sausage and pasta, cooked in an air fryer. "I throw in some sauce as well," he told ESPN.

For now, Scally is living on the Borussia Monchengladbach campus, which houses their stadium and training ground. They have four apartments in the on-site hotel for new players; from there, the club's player liaison officers will help them find permanent accommodation. Scally plans to live alone, but find somewhere in the city center big enough to welcome his family and partner once COVID-19 lockdown regulations are eased.

An hour away across the Belgian border to the west, McKenzie is settling into life at Genk. He FaceTimed his family as he picked out his apartment and has picked up a car -- a Mercedes C-Class. "It's definitely a step up from my old Honda Accord," McKenzie told ESPN. He has a photographic memory, meaning he's comfortable in navigating his new home city, but he still leans on his team manager Wout Maris for some essential local knowledge.

"I'm trying to understand the rules of driving out here and what those are, I think that's been the biggest adjustment in trying to navigate the speed," McKenzie says. "Wout was very explicit in stating they have speed sensors everywhere! Watch your speed so you don't get hit with tickets."

For Scally, the move to Gladbach was a long time coming. As he played out his final season at NYCFC with his transfer confirmed, his teammates called him "Monchengladbach" in training.

"My focus was on NYCFC, but at the back of my mind I had a little thing, like there was a bigger year coming," Scally told ESPN. His training plan was tweaked slightly to align it closer with Gladbach's -- he'd do more hang cleans in the gym. And as the months until his move ticked away, he kept in close contact with one of his best friends: Giovanni Reyna at Borussia Dortmund.

"I've been talking to him a lot about the living, the play, all this type of stuff," Scally says. "Especially now as I'm only an hour away from him, I'm able to see him so it makes it a lot easier. He told me in the beginning it'll be hard, but it gets better ... and it's great."

Scally has enjoyed the adjustment period, telling ESPN that introduction to life at Gladbach has been "very, very welcoming. The players have taken me under their wing and helped me a lot." He's spoken most to Oscar Wendt, the Sweden defender who's friends with NYCFC full-back Anton Tinnerholm, and 18-year-old midfielder Rocco Reitz. Then comes the training: it's a higher intensity than what he's used to, but he's relishing the chance to get stuck in.

Over at Gent in the Belgian First Division A, center-back McKenzie has found that the intensity of training naturally forces him to take his game to the next level. "I'm trying to ultimately push myself, but also push my teammates, make their jobs, make their lives harder," McKenzie says. "The thing here is, the processing has to be fast, you've got to know what you've got to do before you get the ball. Your awareness, where you're at on the pitch.

"As center-backs, the runs and the interchange between the attackers, and the positions, I think in all those areas, the tempo and the intensity has climbed up a notch."

Scally has two immediate things on his to-do list. First, he needs to learn German. "It's tough... I'm starting lessons as I need to learn the language. Most of the guys on the team speak English so it hasn't been hard but the coach, when he does practice, speaks in German." And second? He needs to source a different video game console. "Everyone here has PlayStation... the guys on the team were like, 'We don't play XBox.' It's all FIFA, Fortnite, Call of Duty ... I'm good at FIFA."

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Scally is just one of 50 U.S.-qualified players in Germany's top three divisions and has followed the path many others have taken from the States to the Continent, or from other countries, to settle in the Bundesliga. At German side TSG Hoffenheim, 16- to 18-year-olds can choose between boarding school and host families. "We like pairing them with host families as it helps them stay grounded and adjust," says Hoffenheim's head of international operations, Tony Mamodaly. "But every player is different. Some guys are 16 and are like 25, and others are 22 and have never cooked in their life before."

Once the player goes through into the senior setup -- or for those new arrivals signed as first-team players -- the club has two player liaison officers available alongside the team manager, including one who's there for the Brazilian players they sign.

"They take care of apartments, logistics and help them settle in," Mamodaly says. "They give [new signings] recommendations on the best areas to live and also take care of their health insurance. One of the most important things is communication: We want them to be part of the team so they need to speak the language." Hoffenheim have in-house teachers and a collaboration with Anpfiff ins Leben -- an organization that helps young people prepare for the future, both professionally and personally -- to help the players adjust.

"We try to help the kids develop as athletes, but also human beings and use sports as a tool to access life," Mamodaly says.

Hoffenheim are also home to 16-year-old Las Vegas-born midfielder Lucas Tamarez, as well as 19-year-old winger Quincy Butler from Sacramento, California. "We really try to be there for our guys 24/7," Mamodaly says. In the words of our team manager, we can give them the wings but they need to learn to fly themselves."

Scally's still waiting for his cooking to round out, but he's settled into life at Gladbach, with a steady routine of training and then FaceTiming his family and girlfriend every day. He's loving life in Germany and is looking forward to his debut, but he's missing his pancakes. "I can't find the mix anywhere," Scally says. "I asked Gio about it and he actually made the same mistake, so he brought it back from home. So I need to find that."

And while McKenzie has a few pairs of his 100-strong shoe collection with him, he's trying to work out how to get the rest over. "It's definitely going to be quite interesting in trying to get my precious cargo from home sent out here," McKenzie says. "But I got a few of my 'gem' pieces with me, just to make my next place feel a little bit like home." -- Tom Hamilton, with additional reporting by Jeff Carlisle and Stephan Uersfeld

A few minutes with ... Brenden Aaronson

Aaronson moved to Salzburg with arguably the most hype of any MLS player moving overseas since Alphonso Davies left the Vancouver Whitecaps for Bayern Munich, where he's gone on to become one of the best left-backs in the world, if not the best. There's no doubt about it: There is a large contingent of fans in the U.S. more interested than ever in the Austrian Bundesliga.

So, fresh off scoring on his Salzburg debut in a 6-0 friendly win over second-division side Vorwarts Steyr, Aaronson sat down with ESPN's Sebastian Salazar to talk about his move to Europe.