For so long, the USA’s progress as a football-playing nation on the world stage appeared to be hindered by their lack of genuine top-class centre-forward. There was considerable excitement, then, when Matthew Hoppe and Ricardo Pepi burst onto the scene, and brought with them hope of a brighter, goal-filled future.
Hoppe was a ray of light amid the dark clouds of Schalke’s dismal relegation campaign in 2020/21; marking only his fifth Bundesliga appearance with a clinical hat-trick against Hoffenheim while bringing an overdue end to Schalke’s 31-game winless run along the way.
Pepi, meanwhile, became the most expensive homegrown export in MLS history when he joined Augsburg for a cool £17 million a year ago.
But, while most careers have their ups and their downs, the concerns over both Hoppe and Pepi are growing with the USA’s very own World Cup now just three years away.
Matthew Hoppe’s Middlesbrough spell is not going to plan
Pepi is now battling relegation on loan at Groningen after failing to hit the target in 16 Augsburg appearances. Hoppe, meanwhile, has made three different moves since the summer of 2021, landing at Hibernian after forgettable stints at Real Mallorca and Middlesbrough scrubbed some of the shine of his once-glittering reputation.
“Schalke has one of the best academy systems in Germany. It’s not a coincidence that a lot of top talents in Germany come off the Schalke production line,” former USA and Germany boss Jurgen Klinnsmann told ESPN of Hoppe after that 21-minute treble at the Veltins Arena.
“Seeing him there today, scoring three goals in probably one of the most difficult moments in Schalke’s history, is just incredible.
“This is a fairytale story, you know? It should make the kid super proud. It should make the youth system in America super proud.”
But what’s a fairytale without some conflict? Middlesbrough fought off local rivals Sunderland to sign Hoppe in a £2.5 million deal last August but there has been few pumpkin carriages and glass slippers at the Riverside. Hoppe played just 63 minutes of Championship football under Chris Wilder and Michael Carrick before embarking on what is intended to be a confidence-boosting stint at Easter Road.
‘I think Hibernian is the perfect move’
“It’s difficult there (at Middlesbrough),” Hoppe admits in conversation with Edinburgh News.
“The team is doing really well. It’s hard to break in. But they see that I have what it takes to play there, so that’s why they sent me here to get some minutes and get playing.
“Middlesbrough want to do whatever they can to help me, so I think (Hibernian) is the perfect move.”
Pepi only celebrated his 20th birthday last month. Hoppe, meanwhile, doesn’t turn 22 until March. By the time the 2026 World Cup kicks off in America, the hope will be that two of the USA’s most exciting young attackers have put those growing pains well and truly behind them.
But, in Pepi’s case, maybe it was a classic example of ‘too much too soon’. For Hoppe, maybe a Sunderland side coached by a renowned developer of young talent in Tony Mowbray may have been the ideal fit. Mowbray, after all, has played a huge role in the careers of Amad Diallo, Harvey Elliott, Jean Paul van Hecke and more. There is a reason why Leeds United opted to send Joe Gelhardt to Sunderland rather than a host of other Championship clubs.
How Hoppe could do with one of those afternoons like on January 9th, 2021 against Hoffenheim.
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