7 things you didn't know about U.S. World Cup hero John Brooks

There was a great World Cup moment on Monday night following U.S. center back John Brooks' winning goal against Ghana. 

Immediately after heading in Graham Zusi's corner-kick, Brooks reacted involuntarily by throwing his arms up in celebration. Then, suddenly, the expression on his face changed from gleeful to impassioned.

It was as though the substitute realized the enormity of what he'd just accomplished all at once, and the weight from this knowledge knocked him down and brought tears to his eyes.

It was an incredibly emotional moment for Brooks, and also for all of the American fans playing vicariously through him.

Before scoring, Brooks was a relatively unknown member of the men's national team. He entered the match after starter Matt Besler departure due to a hamstring injury. In fact, his place on the roster was only guaranteed by a strong finish with his club side Hertha Berlin, prompting Jurgen Klinsmann to pick Brooks over Tim Ream, Michael Parkhurst, and Clarence Goodson.

To get to know Brooks better here are seven things you probably didn't know about the defender who kept American's World Cup dreams alive:

1. Brooks is one of five German Americans on the team, along with Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson, Timmy Chandler, and Julian Green. He was born in Berlin to an American serviceman father and a German mother.

2. The 21-year-old could have chosen to play for Germany, and though he first represented the United States with their Under-20 team in 2010, he also played a match for the German Under-20 team in 2012.

3. The center back dreamt about this moment. Literally.

“It is a great moment for me,” Brooks told reporters after the match. “I told some teammates that I would score in 80th minute and win the game and I did it - in the 86th minute. The dream was two days ago, and it was also a header from a corner.”

4. He has an interesting relationship with his manager in Germany, Jos Luhukay. The Hertha Berlin boss removed Brooks from a match against Werder Bremen in the 38th minute, saying afterwards, "He needs to shake off this youthfulness, and become an adult."

5. The relationship was further strained this Spring, when Luhukay left him out of a match after Brooks missed training during the week to recover from ... a newly-inked back tattoo.

6. Speaking of ink, Brooks has a tattoo on each elbow. On his left elbow the defender has a map of Berlin marked with a star over his exact birthplace. The one on his right is Illinois, marked with a star over Chicago, where his father was born.

7. Brooks is also the greatest American since Abraham Lincoln. Wikipedia says so:

For more on John Brooks, check out his video profile for U.S. Soccer: