TThe seconds ticked away, seemingly faster than usual, and Borussia Mönchengladbach was heading towards another home defeat. This one, a fourth out of four against bottom club Mainz, would really sting.
One of their young players had seen enough. In the 89th In the next minute, he picked up the ball some distance from the goal, rushed to the penalty area, shifted it to his right foot and launched a rocket of a shot over Robin Zentner from a distance before the goalkeeper can even think about preparing. Borussia-Park explodes and Gladbach recovers a point.
As he so often does, Joe Scally showed up when his club needed him most.
His late contribution here was long overdue. It was his first goal in over a year and his first Bundesliga goal in two years. His previous goal came in a victory at Wolfsburg, in a better period for his club. Yet even though he happily declared following that first strike that “I want to score again and again” to replicate that feeling, putting the ball in the back of the net is Scally’s way of evading his normal responsibilities. Even at 20, he is someone those around him can count on, and always has been.
Scally grew up on Long Island and dabbled in a plethora of sports, although he joked that “football was the only one of them I really loved.” Once its potential was recognized, progress was rapid. In March 2018, he signed a homegrown player contract with New York City FC, making him, at age 15, the second youngest professional player in MLS history after Freddy Adu. Alongside Gio Reyna, he helped NYC FC win the 2018 Academy Championship and made his first team debut in the US Open Cup that summer against crosstown rivals the Red Bulls.
Along the way, he enjoyed the experience and advice of others. Then-manager Patrick Vieira was a big influence and Scally spoke at length about his conscious intention to follow in the footsteps of James Sands, two and a half years his senior and New York’s first academy graduate. City FC to reach the title. composition of the first team. Despite his precocity, Scally was still strong enough not to neglect his studies and he graduated from high school early.
Adu has struggled to build on the heat of publicity that accompanied his arrival in European football, but Scally’s journey seems different. He officially joined Gladbach on New Year’s Day 2021, the day after his 18th anniversary, although his signing had been announced the previous November. He didn’t get the full Bundesliga experience from the start. With pandemic measures still in force, the league has been devoid of spectators and bustle, and he had to pass a series of Covid tests before even being allowed onto the training ground.
Once again, Scally absorbed everything he could from teammates like Lars Stindl, Marcus Thuram, Yann Sommer and Stefan Lainer, who would eventually be his competition at right back. The admiration was mutual. “He went from zero to 100,” enthuses sporting director Roland Virkus, a strong supporter of youth development who was still running the Gladbach academy when Scally arrived in Germany. “I’ve never seen a young player take on challenges like him.”
In fact, Scally is the perfect hybrid modern full-back. At 6ft, he has a height and build that would not have been considered normal for a full-back 15 years ago, but he still has the agility of a more traditional occupant of the position. He has considerable offensive talent and an adventurous side, but he is very combative, winning over 64% of his challenges last season. Only six players in the Bundesliga have triumphed in more individual duels.
It’s no wonder, then, that former Gladbach coach Adi Hütter felt comfortable giving Scally his debut on the opening day of the 2021-22 season against champions Bayern Munich, all teams combined – and out of position, at left back. “I watch them on TV every day, so knowing their moves already helps me a lot,” he said disarmingly after the match. It certainly seemed that way as he competed well in a head-to-head matchup against Leroy Sané.
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That first impression was still on Gregg Berhalter's mind when he gave Scally his full USMNT debut against Morocco in June 2022. “We see him going up against Sané or Alphonso Davies,” Berhalter said, “and it stands up to testing and for us it was just a matter of gathering enough information. He is a young player and we wanted to see him perform consistently at a high level. And he did it. That faith saw him travel to the 2022 World Cup as the youngest member of the USMNT squad.
As their difficult start to the season underlines, Gladbach are in transition following the departures of Sommer, Thuram, Ramy Bensabaïni (the talented left-back whom Scally occasionally replaced) and club captain Stindl. With Virkus at the helm, their plan is to bet big on young players and Scally will be at the center. In April, he extended his contract until 2027 (with a generous pay rise), underlining how Gladbach want to build with him as a fundamental part.
“Joe has developed very well with us,” Virkus said in announcing the new deal. “At his age and at this speed, going from a promising under-23 talent to a regular in the Bundesliga and even the World Cup is exemplary of the path (we want young players to take).”
Scally just wants what he's always had: to play. “For me,” he said, “the most important thing is to play as often as possible. Borussia gives me the opportunity to do just that and develop as a player. In our discussions, officials showed me a clear plan for the direction in which we should move forward.”
Next up after the international break is another big challenge: the hotly contested derby with Cologne, who sit last in the table with just one point to show for their season so far. This will be another moment where Scally will have to stand up and be counted alongside his more experienced teammates. The kind of obstacle, in fact, that he really seems to enjoy.