Schuster before trip to USA: “It’s a complicated situation” table football

Not the biggest fan of the USA trip: FCK coach Dirk Schuster at the start of training for the Palatinate.
IMAGO/Eibner

FCK have exactly one training session, one in Kaiserslautern and one in the US, ahead of the first friendly in the state of Kentucky against Louisville City FC on Wednesday (June 21, 8pm local time/June 22, 2am CEST). It doesn’t take a bachelor’s degree in sports science or training theory to realize that the optimal start to summer prep looks different.

Coach Dirk Schuster didn’t say it outright, but it was clear Monday afternoon at the Red Devils’ practice field that he wasn’t the biggest fan of the trip. Performance and lactate testing, otherwise mandatory at the start, can only be completed after return.

Long journey, early hours and lots of CO2

“It’s a complicated situation. We’ll make the best of it,” said Schuster, who sees difficulties in the long commute to and from camp and the early days of what is typically a ten-day training camp. When the Palatinate return from their trip organized with the support of the DFL on June 30, the second division will be four weeks away from the start of the new season at the end of July. Almost all competitors go to their training camps at least two, sometimes three weeks later – and they save climate-damaging CO2 emissions because more than half of the league “only” goes to Austria.

The idea of ​​traveling across the pond for the second friendly against MLS club Minnesota United FC on June 28 (7:30pm local time/June 29, 2:30am CEST) did not occur to the coaching staff. Or team, obviously. Terrence Boyd, known for his open and honest words, doesn’t hide it. “It’s a marketing trip, we don’t have to talk about it, why is Bayern going to Asia?” Boyd said.

We would be fools if we didn’t. No wonder FCK fans are everywhere.

Heading to Ramstein Airport, not far from Kaiserslautern, the headquarters of the United Air Force in Europe, to many Americans in the area, Boyd, whose father is from the United States, insisted: “We’d be fools if we did. We wouldn’t do it. I’m excited to see what’s in store for us. FCK fans everywhere. No wonder there is.”

Boyd already promises to be fully fit for Matchday 1

Once the coaching staff and team are on American grass, none of this matters. “The truth is: it’s a training camp. We’ll definitely be there on the first day, I promise: fit. It’s going to be tiring for one or the other players,” Boyd said, smiling. It is clear that he is referring to himself. The early stage of production forces Shuster and his staff to delve into more personal sensibilities than usual. “We have to lay the groundwork. It’s a fine line. Right now in America it’s about the hard stuff, and then we’ll get the finishing touches. And when the new guys come in, we’ll go into technical and tactical. Processes in a short training camp rehearsal,” the 55-year-old explained.

Dirk Schuster with FCK rookies John Elvedy (right) and Timoteus Buchaux.
IMAGO/Eibner

On Monday, central defender Jan Elvedi (26), who arrived on a free transfer from Regensburg, left-back Tymoudius Buchaux (24), on loan from Union Berlin, and the Poland international both received the FCK kit. In total, Schuster fielded 22 players and three goalkeepers. More than 100 fans watched the gallop, including Hikmet Ciftci, who was on loan at Turkish second-division side Kostep for the second half of the season. Shuster said the 25-year-old played no part in the plans and would not travel to the United States.

Nothing is clear about Bormuth yet

Defender Robin Bormuth (27), the last Paderborn out, did not start as expected. But the last word has not yet been spoken on this personal issue. “Nothing is clear yet. He’s under contract at Paderborn. There are three sides. That’s Paderborn, FCK and Blair, it all has to work. If there’s anything to report, we’ll let you know,” Schuster announced. .