Hoffenheim's USA regulars

Jürgen Klinsmann, your international manager, recently spoke highly of you both. He said Daniel played outstandingly in defensive midfield and that Fabian is on his way to being a world class wide player. How do you deal with all that praise?

Daniel Williams: It makes us proud of course. He's a footballing legend, particularly in Germany and that makes it mean even more. It motivates us to carry on giving everything so that we can find our best form.

You were also both nominated for the American footballer of the year, Danny in the young player category. This week revealed that Clint Dempsey and Rubio Rubin were the winners. Do you agree?

Fabian Johnson: Clint was last year's winner and he's had another super year. He's scored a lot for both club and country and things have gone well for him, so yea, it's a good decision.

All the same, isn't it great to be one of the five nominees?

Fabian Johnson: Definitely. It was in fact a bit surprising, for Danny just as much as for me. We are happy just to be considered.

If you had to describe one another, what would you say about each other?

Daniel Williams: Johnny is one of the best left backs in the Bundesliga, not only because he has the necessary defensive qualities but also because he's strong going forward, something that's become expected of modern wing backs. He's also very quick and technically gifted. For those reasons, I can totally understand Jürgen Klinsmann's statement about him.

Fabian Johnson: I think Danny is the type of defensive midfielder that a team needs. He wins a lot of his duels in front of the defence and plays the ball forward quickly. He wins the 50/50 tackles and that's important for the team because it adds stability to the side.

Fabian was already playing for the USA when you were first called up Daniel. Was he a big help during that period?

Daniel Williams: Of course. It makes everything that bit easier when you have one or two players that you can speak German with. If you play in the same club as one of them, then of course you've got a friend. The other lads in the squad were also great and helped me settle in really well.

Along with Jermaine Jones, Timothy Chandler and Terrence Boyd you're starting to build a little bit of Germany into the USA team. What's the bunch like?

Fabian Johnson: It's not really like that. We get on well but the team mixes together and everyone is involved with everyone.

There are no more internationals this year. How would you look back on this year?

Daniel Williams: I feel good about it. It does take a while to get used to all the travelling though, especially as we had a lot of games in the USA and that means sitting on a plane for eight or nine hours. It is really good fun though and I've been able to experience things that no one can take away from me.

Fabian Johnson: I feel the same. We are through to the next round of World Cup qualifying, we played well against big teams and even came out on top against some of them. We can definitely be happy.

Qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is next year's aim?

Daniel Williams: We are now in the second round of qualifying and it will obviously be a bit more difficult against sides like Mexico and Jamaica. I do think though, that if we concentrate and perform to the best of our ability, then we can qualify for the tournament.