Transfers Sommer 2007

[Martinovic]

Auf Sport1.at steht, dass beide Kooperationsspieler sind.

Edin Salkic, Martin Teurezbacher (beide Austria Amateure, Kooperationsspieler)

Mittlerweile ist er 197 cm groß, hat 97 kg und ich hoffe dass er heuer für Leoben viele Tore schießen wird!

Geb. 16.06.1989

Vielleicht kann er ja in ein paar Jahren in die Rushfeldt Rolle schlüpfen.

[allianz]

Weiß wer was mit Aigner und Salkic los ist?

Infos zu Salkic

Salkic zum Meister? "Da ist nichts dran!"

U19-Teamspieler Edin Salkic zum VfB Stuttgart? Sein Berater will bei Sport1 nichts davon wissen, Ex-Coach warnt.

Markus Aigner ist bei Würmla gelandet!

[Paros]

Schon ein älterer Artikel, aber vielleicht trotzdem lesenswert. Es dreht sich um Erik Hummel (gefunden auf www.topdrawersoccer.com).

Erik Hummel perseveres to earn pro contract with Austria Vienna

While the chance to play overseas is something many elite youth players in the U.S. hope for, there is a certain degree to which young Americans have to make their own opportunity.

Southern California native Erik Hummel may now qualify as the official poster boy for that premise. Hummel has signed a professional contract with Austria Vienna and is currently in preseason training with the club. Hummel is assigned to the club’s 2nd division side, which is fully professional but competing in the division beneath the Austrian Bundesliga, where the club’s top team plays. Players from the 2nd division side can be promoted to the 1st division team.

The 19-year old was playing for South Bay SC and former UCLA coach Todd Saldana just 3 years ago. He went on a trial with Dutch club NAC Breda arranged through his personal trainer Nick Theslof, but rule changes by the Dutch Federation mandating substantial minimum salaries short-circuited his proposed move there. He was spotted by then Chivas USA coach Thomas Rongen playing in a friendly and invited to join the MLS side’s U19 team, where he trained and competed under Dennis te Kloese, including at a high profile tournament in Costa Rica in May of 2006.

Current U.S. MNT coach Bob Bradley and te Kloese decided to offer Hummel a developmental contract with the squad last summer but the player ultimately decided to enroll last fall at Wake Forest of the ACC. Hummel says college soccer wasn’t for him and he decided to go to a series of trials in Italy and was signed to a deal with 4th division side Pomezia Calcio, a small club near Rome.

After a half-season there, Markus Schruf, an Austrian beginning a soccer development business in Southern California and a family friend of the Hummels, arranged trials for Hummel in Austria at Salzburg, Linz and Austria Vienna. He was invited for another trial with the latter club in June.

Schruf said Hummel had the talent, ambition and work-rate to make it in Europe, but needed some help with local knowledge.

“He played a match against the Austrian U20 National Team (the team that eliminated the U.S. at the FIFA World Cup last weekend) and performed very well and they said they want to have him right now,” Schruf said. “In the meantime I learned he had family from Italy and we worked to get him an Italian passport. It’s always easier to place players from the European Union.”

Schruf said some inside help can be very important for an American looking to earn a contract overseas.

“They have a much better chance if they are guided through the process and somebody takes care of them. I know a lot of kids who have tried this before but failed. Sometimes it works out well but most of the time it doesn’t,” he said. “It can be a long day for a young man when he’s in Europe and only playing soccer. When I got Erik into Austria, we talked on a scientific level about his physical status in comparison o professionals. A partner of mine is a sports psychologist who set up a program for him. I have helped manage him on the tactical side, on how to fit in with a team here. A lot of American kids are probably good enough soccer players but are not up to the challenge to take care of all these details.”

Schruf, former director of the Austria Vienna youth academy whose business is named Worldwide Soccer Academy and seeking to form sports charter schools in Southern California, hopes to have some events in the U.S. with the goal of identifying players and helping place them with clubs in Europe.

Now Hummel is adjusting to his new life in Vienna and as a professional soccer player. He is playing defensive midfielder for the club in a 4-1-3-2 setup, and says the differences between play in Austria and Italy (and the U.S.) are myriad.

“First there is a certain level of fitness and technical skills and being able to understand the game at all levels of professional soccer,” Hummel said. “The biggest difference in Austria has more to do with physical ability and fitness. In Italy they are more focused on tactics. When I was there we got to play Lazio’s first team in a friendly and one thing I got to see is how they moved together as a unit. You could move the ball so well and still nobody was ever out of position for them, even though everything was super fast. In Austria it’s a little bit different style.

“Quickness on the ball is the big difference I’ve seen in Europe compared to America,” he continued. “Here everybody seems to know how to play 1 or 2 touch and get out of tough situations. Everyone has good control on the ball. Whether that’s from culture or practice, their ability to hold onto the ball and play it really quick – it seems like everybody can do that. It seems from a young age they emphasize that, plus they see it all the time going to games. You can watch so much soccer here and that has to make a difference too.”

Hummel said he has felt a little extra scrutiny as the first American player in Austria, but is beginning to settle in.

“I’m starting to feel good and get used to the team. It always takes a little while to get used to a different style, but I’m starting to feel comfortable and get into a rhythm,” he said. “I definitely think in the beginning they notice you’re an American and you have to prove yourself on a regular basis and earn their respect. They know about U.S. Soccer but it’s still kind of a new thing for them to see an American come over and I’m the first one in Austria – so it’s kind of wait and see for them.

“But I’ve gotten a good experience here and nice feedback from the other players. You want to show Americans can play,” he added. “I remember in Italy the players said I looked like I should be a baseball player, but eventually you can show them you can play. Once you start to play you can get that respect and then that goes away. It’s more outside of playing soccer where being an American is more prevalent.”

Hummel, who credits his parents Albert and Coca with supporting his efforts all along, said his stint in Italy helped him be ready for the Austrian opportunity.

“I got a lot of games in and played for a really good coach who had been an assistant with Roma. It was a good experience to be playing in a championship and trying to win,” he said. “I grew in my understanding of how to play the game. They are more used to a structured system here. Coming from America, I needed time to adjust to having that kind of schedule practicing every day and playing one league match. That really helped me develop. You are 100 percent submerged 6 days a week and it really makes a difference. It’s so different to go to a game and compete and you need to win every weekend, plus practice 6 days a week. It’s not that way in the U.S. system – and to be honest that system doesn’t really help you grow as much with 2 practices a week and then 4 matches in a tournament. Really it just burns you out and it doesn’t get you ready to be a pro or even a college player.”

Hummel added that his training with Theslof and the Chivas USA experience, including training with the 1st team under coaches Hans Westerhof and Bob Bradley, were also beneficial. He even credits his regular participation in pickup soccer games in Tijuana as a youth with making a difference in his development. On the other hand, having been passed over for various Select teams while growing up has not had a negative impact on his ambition or dedication.

“You just have to believe in yourself and be willing to do whatever it takes and keep working,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if someone says you can’t make it.”

As far as adjusting to life away from home (Southern Californians tend to be stereotyped as poor travelers), Hummel said perspective and love for the game are the key counterweights to any negatives.

“It’s obviously a lot different from living in the U.S. but the biggest thing for me is I really love soccer,” he said. “If I don’t have a great day at training maybe it would be nice to talk with someone in my family or just hang out with someone, but the difference for me is I just really love soccer. Every day I just make a plan to try and focus and improve. If you really want to do this, it kind of outweighs everything else. This is my chance to be a professional in Europe and it’s a dream come true, so if I get homesick I just remind myself this is a lucky thing to be here and not let those kinds of things affect me. I don’t want this chance to pass me by.”

[Bushwhacker]

Schon ein älterer Artikel, aber vielleicht trotzdem lesenswert. Es dreht sich um Erik Hummel (gefunden auf www.topdrawersoccer.com).

Erik Hummel perseveres to earn pro contract with Austria Vienna...

Hey! That's "my" article!

Ubrigends,

Myriad (von Artikel): unzählig od. die Myriade

"...and says the differences between play in Austria and Italy (and the U.S.) are myriad."