Timo Werner looks to "create new history" with San Jose Earthquakes | OneFootball

By Justin Ruderman

In case the magnitude of Timo Werner becoming the San Jose Earthquakes' newest Designated Player was up for debate, the club did not mince words in their official press release.

The star German forward, according to San Jose's PR department, is "the biggest signing in Earthquakes history."

A proven winner throughout his career across stints with RB Leipzig, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, Werner has already lifted UEFA Champions League, Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup titles.

Next on his trophy checklist? MLS Cup presented by Audi.

"I bring the hunger," Werner told reporters Friday during his introductory press conference from Germany via Zoom. "I bring also the knowledge and this confidence of winning something already, and paired with the quality that we have, for sure, makes us a dangerous team...

"[I’m] really looking forward to bringing all this stuff, all my knowledge, all my qualities to the club, and helping those guys and also myself to win something. I think that's all we football players play for, because at the beginning, when you want to start things, you always see these guys.

"For me in the past, it was Zidane, Ronaldinho, lifting trophies... You always want to be like these people. That's how we want to be also, part of history and create new history in San Jose now.”

Choosing MLS

As soon as San Jose learned of Werner's availability, head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena was on the phone calling the German international's representatives, both in the United States and Germany.

By December, Arena was on a flight overseas to convince Werner that San Jose represented the ideal next step.

“He presented me a little bit of the team, how he wants to play, how his idea about football is, especially how he handled players before. He had the pleasure to train a lot of very, very good players in his career already," Werner said of the all-time winningest coach in MLS history.

"He straight away gave me the feeling that I'm really important for him, for the club, for the whole area, to create something, not even with the team, to create something for the whole Bay Area to be successful again. Of course, the football part, I think he showed me where my threats are, where he wants to bring me in the best positions.

"I think over my career, I got the feeling now at nearly 30 who I can trust and who not. Bruce was straight away a person who I could trust immediately and thought, yeah, this guy sees me in his picture and the whole picture with the San Jose Earthquakes."

It was not the first time Werner contemplated a move to MLS; he was linked to Red Bull New York in past seasons. But this time, everything seemed to line up perfectly.

“It's not a secret that I have a tough time in the last six months… I thought about in the summer already going to the MLS or going somewhere else, but for me, the right decision was to stay at Leipzig because of several reasons," Werner explained.

"After six months, not being involved in the team like you wanted to be involved in the football team and not doing what you enjoyed over the last 14, 15 years, you wanted to go back in this business, you wanted to go back in the daily work, to work every day in the pitch with the aim to play on the weekend, winning trophies, winning games, winning everything. That was what's motivating me to say, yeah, I think it's the right time to make a step. Don't be in Leipzig for the next six months and look at the summer.

"I think now, especially because MLS was always a big thing for me in the past, to have this experience [in] America, to have the experience playing in a good club, in a nice area and having some experiences for my life. That's why the MLS was the right decision now.”

Veteran leader

Werner is currently San Jose's only DP following the departure of Cristian Espinoza to Nashville SC via free agency and reported transfer of Chicho Arango to his native Colombia – moves Arena described as "addition by subtraction" on Friday.

That naturally thrusts Werner into a leadership role, with youngsters like midfielders Beau Leroux and Niko Tsakiris looking for Werner to show the way.

“I’m a very open person. At the beginning, when people get to know me, I'm maybe a bit more relaxed. But when I open up, when I feel very comfortable in the team, I'm very open, I make jokes," Werner shared.

"I'm hoping to be there for everyone, helping each other, to be around each other, to do also something outside of the pitch. Not being like, I don't know, a player coming from Europe [who] only wants to be there and show I won the Champions League or something else. No, I want to be part of the team. I want to be a team player, a team leader and I want to help each other.”

That mentality is exactly what Arena was looking for.

“As I listen to Timo today. I'm just beaming with the fact that we've hit a home run. We have the right kind of player coming here, and his ambitions are there," Arena said.

"He wants to prove something. He'll be dedicated.
He'll be a great leader on our team, and I know in a short period of time, he'll make the adjustment and we'll make the adjustment to the player. I think this is going to be a real positive move for Timo and for our team. I think he's just an outstanding personality and a quality player, and I'm very confident that he's going to see a lot of success here.”

MLS reunions

As is customary for European superstars transferring to MLS, Werner is not entering completely unknown territory.

“Here and there I watched some games because when we had, for example, late games in Germany and couldn't sleep after the game,
I always watched some MLS matches," he noted.

Hearing positive reviews about the league from former teammates and listening to Arena rave about the "300 days of sunshine" each year in the Bay Area was obviously enticing for Werner.

“Of course, I have some friends in New York who I played with, who I talk regularly because we are good friends. I have some friends from the national team who play in different teams at the West Coast now," Werner said, referencing the likes of Emil Forsberg (Red Bull), Marco Reus (LA Galaxy) and Thomas Müller (Vancouver Whitecaps). 

"Of course, we chat with each other and they gave me a little bit of what I should expect, but in general, nothing feared me."

Chatting with one former teammate, it dawned on Werner how invigorating it will be to match up against old friends turned foes.

“Of course, I spoke to Sonny [Heung-Min]. We became good friends at Tottenham. We had some good conversations about different things. I knew when he went to LAFC, he told me before," Werner shared.

"But also after [my signing] got announced, he texts me straight away and said, 'Welcome to MLS.'

"I'm really looking forward to playing against him. I think there will be a good matchup against these teams, to play against him and also the other German guys, and some old teammates of mine… To come to a league, seeing that the league is growing, has some brilliant football already, it's also like seeing old friends, playing against old friends and that's what I'm really looking forward to."

Statement signing

Werner arrives as San Jose chase an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs return. They missed out in 2025 via tiebreakers, finishing 10th in the Western Conference (41 points) as the club's struggled to contend for trophies.

Hiring Arena ahead of last season, the only coach in MLS history to lift five MLS Cups, was the first step in turning the ship around. Now, Arena sees Werner's arrival as step two.

“It makes a statement that we're in the business of being successful as a club," Arena proclaimed.

"We've been a little bit dormant in the last 10 years or so, but we're headed in a new direction.
We're looking to be successful. We want to have a good fan base, we want to put a good product on the field and we want to be committed to winning in our organization."

Now, it's about turning Werner's statement signing into a statement season.

“You can see where the level of MLS is growing. I think definitely the teams in MLS could play in some of the top European leagues. That's a good thing. It became a bit younger, the intensity gets higher and all of this stuff makes it better for the league," Werner said. 

"The same for us as the Earthquakes, and I think for the next year, we definitely want to be competitive. Like we said, the aim is to go into the playoffs and in the playoffs, everything can happen.”