FABIAN JOHNSON HAS NOW PLAYED the full 90 minutes in his last two Bundesliga outings with Borussia Monchengladbach, scoring his first goal of the campaign and bagging his second assist across the two games.

It looks like the 27-year-old is hitting his stride and getting the chance to show what he can do, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing this season. In this edition of On the Record we rewind to 2014 and take a look at how Johnson’s post-World Cup season has played out.

Formerly of 1860 Munich, VfL Wolfsburg, and most notably Hoffenheim, Johnson made 93 first-team appearances for the southwest German club, scoring six goals and registering 16 assists.

The Munich-born player signed a pre-contract agreement with Borussia Moenchengladbach on February 24, 2014—penning a four-year deal that would see him join the club upon the season’s end.

“Fabian Johnson is a very interesting player, moreover he is a free agent, who can play at left back and at left midfield,” Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl told Borussia.de at the time. "We are delighted that he has opted to play for us.”

next chapter, i'm very excited! #borussia #gladbach #fohlenelf #nr19

A photo posted by Fabian Johnson (@fjohnson23) on Jul 24, 2014 at 4:26am PDT

Johnson was one of a handful of new faces to arrive at Borussia Park over the summer, joining goalkeeper Yann Sommer, Andre Hahn, Thorgan Hazard, and Ibrahima Traore.

“The signing of Fabian Johnson demonstrates perfectly why Gladbach are a club on the rise," Bundesliga.com announced. Lucien "Favre identified the former TSG 1899 Hoffenheim star as the man to fill the revolving door of a position, which was right back for the Foals last season.

“He has made a wise move in signing the USA star: Johnson's relentless energy will ensure he fits seamlessly into Gladbach's high-pressure game, while his eye for goal has seen him find the net six times in 103 Bundesliga appearances.”

The German-American debuted for his new side against Stuttgart on August 24, coming on as a second-half substitute to replace Andre Hahn in the midfield.

Johnson followed this up by playing in seven of Monchengladbach’s next eight games on the left wing, completing a full 90 on two occasions—against Schalke and FC Cologne. He bagged an assist against Mainz in a 1-1 home draw and his side went unbeaten during this run. On September 9, Berti Vogts, former Gladbach hero, ex-Germany manager, and advisor to U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, spoke out about Favre’s use of Johnson on the left wing.

“Left midfield is not Johnson's position, he might have three touches of the ball in 90 minutes there," Vogts told German newspaper Bild. He is a right back. [Johnson] has to play on the right to show his strengths. He was one of the best players at the World Cup in this position and he ranks among the best right backs in the Bundesliga.”

It’s not the first time that Johnson—a two-footed, incredibly versatile player—has had a question mark hovering over his preferred position.

“He has a special talent but down the road we have to find his best position," Jurgen Klinsmann told the New York Times in February 2012. "It is a good thing to know that he can really play several positions. But we need to figure out what is his 100 percent position and what is his 98 percent position.”

Throughout October and November, Johnson’s season was disrupted somewhat by Achilles tendon and muscular problems, forcing him onto the sidelines in domestic and European competition. During these two months, he saw just 129 minutes of Bundesliga action, while completing a full 90-minute performance against Apollon Limassol in Europe.

Despite the stop-start nature of his Bundesliga season, Johnson’s Europa League campaign started well. He clocked 90 minutes and notched an assist in both the home and away tie against FK Sarajevo in the qualification round of the competition.

Another run-out was soon to come against Villarreal, with Johnson playing 63 minutes against the La Liga outfit in the first game of Group A.

For the United States men’s national team Johnson was a regular performer in November, playing on the left wing in a 2-1 friendly loss against Colombia on November 14 and at right back four days later against the Republic of Ireland in a 4-1 defeat at the Aviva Stadium.

This is the worst I've seen Fabian Johnson play for the #USMNT. Not sure what's up with him #USAvCOL

— Adrian Melville (@AdrianMelville) November 14, 2014

Fabian Johnson could have played that worse… Okay, no he couldn't have.

— Stars and Stripes FC (@StarsStripesFC) November 18, 2014

With another 12 minutes against FC Zurich in the Europa League, Johnson amassed just 18 more minutes across league games against Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin, before the Bundesliga shut up shop for the winter.

German journalist Raphael Honigstein assessed Johnson’s impact for ESPNFC.com on December 18: “Overall, Johnson has performed broadly in line with expectations, but becoming more of a regular won't be easy in light of his classy rivals for starting positions.”

In January, reports of a spat between Johnson and his manager surfaced, with the player—like Vogts—reportedly telling Bild that his favored position was at right back.

Favre explained that those comments left him irritated because Johnson had already told his coach "that his favorite position is in left midfield."

“I want to play," Johnson told Rheinische Post. "In the end the coach decides where he plays me. And when I go the full 90 minutes, I'll be delighted and I'll give it my all."

After emerging from the winter break on January 21, Johnson was back in Favre’s starting XI for the first time since October, playing a full league game against Stuttgart on the left wing and again in the subsequent match against SC Freiburg on February 3.

Fabian Johnson starting to carve out a regular place in the Gladbach XI. Started and went 90 for second game in a row.

— Vishnu Parasuraman (@vrp2003) February 3, 2015

not a great game, but an important win against freiburg. lets get ready for schalke on friday???? http://t.co/amK3kTHbKD

— Fabian Johnson (@FabianJohnson23) February 4, 2015

For the rest of February, however, Johnson was back on the bench in league play—in the squad but unused as a sub. He did see action in back-to-back European outings against Sevilla, playing the full game in the away leg and receiving 12 minutes in the return fixture. https://instagram.com/fjohnson23/p/zTV3qoqCxH/ Rumors printed in Spanish daily Mundo Deportivo at the time suggested that Barcelona scouts were at the Sevilla tie to watch Johnson.

Barcelona follow Gladbach right back Fabian Johnson for two years, from when he still played at Hoffenheim. Watched him again on Thu. [md]

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) February 23, 2015

The arrival of March seemed to mark a reversal of forturne for Johnson, as he played a full 90 minutes and scored the opener in the 2-0 league win against Paderborn.

nice win by @borussia and goal by @FabianJohnson23 ! Congrats !!

— Jürgen Klinsmann (@J_Klinsmann) March 1, 2015

“This season I'm in the best form I've ever been, and that's down to managing to complete our entire preparations,” Johnson told Bundesliga.com following the win.

“We made lots of changes today and deserved to win because we made the most of the few chances we created. We wanted all three points and now we have them. It's great we managed to win for the first time this season following a European game and we're happy to have done so. We want to stay in third place and will give everything we can to do that,” he added.

Been and up-and-down season but Fabian Johnson having a good game today for Gladbach, got important goal and contributing consistently.

— Cristian Nyari (@Cnyari) March 1, 2015

“Fabian played really well," Favre said after the victory. "He can score with his left and his right foot."

“Such two-footedness has perhaps been more of a curse for the 27-year-old so far in his Borussia-Park career," Bundesliga.com opined. "Offering an option on either flank at full back or as a winger, it was only against Paderborn, when deployed nominally on the left of midfield, that the former TSG 1899 Hoffenheim star was finally able to demonstrate his full array of talents.”

“After a dismal midweek cameo in the Europa League, Johnson made his first Bundesliga start in a month and delivered his best performance yet for Gladbach," ESPNFC.com reported. "His first-half goal against Paderborn stood up as the winner, and Johnson was dangerous throughout on coach Lucien Favre's attacking left wing.”

Back in the starting line-up for Gladbach’s subsequent game against Mainz, Johnson got another assist, setting up Raffael’s second goal in a 2-2 draw. It was his second assist against Die Nullfunfer and his second in the Bundesliga this term.

Fabian Johnson is tearing up the left side of midfield for Gladbach. Good shift.

— Ryan Cowper (@cowperryan) March 7, 2015

A quick look at the standings shows that first and second place are all but sewn up in the German top flight, with Bayern Munich atop the table and Wolfsburg a solid second. With 10 Bundesliga games remaining and Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke, and Augsburg snapping at their heels, Gladbach hope to hang on to the league's last automatic Champions League spot.

Of all the Bundesliga fixtures that Johnson has appeared in this season, only one has ended in defeat. The race for third is heating up and so, it seems, is Johnson.

Laura Greene is a Maui-based soccer writer. Follow her on Twitter.