IF THE NAME JEROME KIESEWETTER doesn't ring a bell, don't worry. The German-American attacker last played for the United States in 2013, when he helped the U-20 team qualify for that year's World Cup.

In the coming weeks, however, you should expect to hear a lot more from the Berlin native. He recently made his Bundesliga debut for VfB Stuttgart and will be joining the U.S. U-23 team next week for a pair of friendlies in Europe.

“I was very happy about that,” Kiesewetter said of his March 6 Bundesliga debut against his former academy club, Hertha Berlin. “About two weeks before in the game against Hoffenheim, I was the 19th man so something happened and I didn’t to make it to the roster. Everything was all right and then two weeks later he told me I was in the 18 and I could play if we needed a goal. I was pretty happy and it was exciting—it was against my former club.

“It was a pretty nice debut,” the 22-year-old added. “We could have won so it could have been better. Besides that, it was pretty nice for me to play the first game. I’m very hungry now. It was a great feeling to play in front of a full stadium with 40,000 or 50,000 people. I just want to play more games—more and more.”

Stuttgart’s sporting director Robin Dutt made it clear that he believes in Kiesewetter and was impressed with his debut against Hertha.

"Jerome is a young, cavalier type," Dutt told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten. "Against Hertha he had a great outing. If the others had better anticipated the box, it could have led to a goal. So it was another missed opportunity for VfB. But not for Jerome Kiesewetter."

Making his debut extra special, Kiesewetter played against U.S. national team defender John Brooks, who is his best friend from early childhood. Brooks and Kiesewetter talked before the game and exchanged jerseys after the final whistle.

The following week, in a game against Bayer Leverkusen, Kiesewetter played the entire second half of a 4-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen. The loss cemented Stuttgart's spot at the bottom of the table, where it trails 16th place Paderborn by three points for a spot in the relegation playoff. Stuttgart is just five points away from outright safety.

Since its sixth-place finish in the 2011-12 Bundesliga season, Stuttgart has gradually tumbled down the table, narrowly escaping relegation last year with a 15th-place finish. Historically it is one of the biggest clubs in Germany, having won the Bundesliga five times (most recently in 2006-07) and the German Cup three times.

Kiesewetter is upbeat about the team’s chances to remain in the Bundesliga—perhaps a product of youthful enthusiasm.

“Of course we are pretty optimistic because we have quality in the team,” Kiesewetter said. “I think we will make it. We have enough good players to make it. The only thing we have to do is win our next games and everything can change. We have to score the first goal and then the self-confidence gets back—everybody gets better and improves.

"We need to win our next game and the rest will be easier. But the first one is the hardest.”

Last January, Kiesewetter went on loan back to Hertha Berlin’s U-23 team for four months. When he came back to Stuttgart at the start of the season, the club noticed a major improvement with Kiesewetter’s approach to the game.

"We had to help him forward in terms of attitude and work ethic," Stuttgart II coach Jurgen Kramny told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, "When he returned from Berlin, he had changed. He was more mature. Kiesewetter finally knew what really matters in life of a professional. It's not only a physical test but it is also a mental test."

The same effort Kiesewetter put in this year to make his Bundesliga debut has also earned him another opportunity. Next week the U.S. U-23 national team will convene in Europe. It will be the first gathering of the team since Andi Herzog was named head coach, and securing a place in the 2016 Olympics—an under-23 tournament—will begin in October.

Kiesewetter was born in Berlin and is the son of an American father who served in the United States Army. His father is from San Antonio and he has visited his family there regularly while growing up. He made his first international appearance for the United States in September 2010 when former U.S. U-20 head coach Thomas Rongen called both Kiesewetter and Brooks for their U.S. debuts.

Kiesewetter continued to play with U.S. youth teams and appeared at the 2011 Milk Cup with the U.S. U-18 team and even played with the U-23 team for a friendly against Azerbaijan in 2011. In 2013 he made two appearances for the U.S. U-20 team during World Cup qualifying in Mexico and that was the last time he suited up for any U.S. team.

He is looking forward to getting back into action with the Stars and Stripes next week.

“Yes, I miss it. I miss the guys, miss everything—the staff,” Kiesewetter said about playing for the United States. “It was an awesome time we had. The national team is always something special. You get together from your clubs and you don’t see each other as often.

"I used to talk to Caleb Stanko a lot, and the guys who I used to play with at [Hertha] like Terrence Boyd and Alfredo Morales. All those guys I keep in touch with. Of course, I’ve thought about getting back but I can only do that with how I play for my club.

"If I play well for my club and show myself, then the national team comes into play for me.”

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.