Mailk Tillman insists Rangers can help him realise his World Cup dream as he looks to take his game to the next level.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder moved to Ibrox from Bayern Munich on a one-year loan deal on Friday with the Ibrox club having an exclusive option to buy the player next summer. Tillman made seven top team appearances for Bayern, scoring on his debut against Bremer SV in the German Cup last August.
His performances alerted US boss Gregg Berhalter who handed the former German U21 international his first full cap for the USA in May, coming on as a second half substitute in a 3-0 friendly win over Morocco. Now he reckons he can secure a World Cup spot with the help of Gio van Bronckhorst.
He said: “I am just excited and looking forward to start. I can’t wait to play for this massive club with good, crazy fans at Ibrox. I can’t wait to get started. Obviously I want to play more than I used to do at Bayern so joining this club was the best decision because I think I am going to play here and play a big role and develop well. I will do the best I can.
“Gio is a big coach, he was a great player. He played for Barcelona so I guess he was a good player. I can learn a lot from him.
“The World Cup is coming and I want to be there. But I have to play more games at club level, at the highest level possible so that’s why I made the choice to go to the US. I want to play at the highest level soon as possible. They (US) wanted to include me straight away. The German one maybe in two years so that’s why I made my decision.”
Tillman was in the stands at Bloomfield Road on Saturday to watch his new side beat Blackpool 2-1 in a pre-season friendly. And he admits the huge travelling support has whetted his appetite to get motoring at Ibrox.
He told RangersTV: “It’s very nice to have these kind of fans at your back. They will push the team forward.
“For a friendly game there was 12,000 fans, that’s crazy. They were good first impressions. The team played well, they won.
“I can’t wait to meet all my teammates and play with them. Hopefully we can win many games and many titles.”
Tillman made two substitute appearances in the Champions League last season including in a 3-0 victory over Barcelona. And he said of his top team experience with the Bavarian giants: “It has helped me a lot. I learned many things that I didn’t know before and that is important.
“Obviously Bayern is a big club, I learned every day from every player and every staff.
“I usually play as a ten or an eight, so I am creative, good at finishing and scoring goals and assisting goals. That is what I try to do.”
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