Klinsmann, Hertha Berlin enjoy warm weather training
Ahead of the opening exhibition match for the Florida Cup, coach Jurgen Klinsmann and his Hertha Berlin team were enjoying a simple pleasure on Sunday — an escape from the German winter during a sunny morning practice at ChampionsGate.
Central Florida was a top destination for Klinsmann when he was the coach of the United States men's national team. Now it offers his Bundesliga club the best winter conditions in which to practice during the league's midseason break as they prepare for a friendly match against Eintracht Frankfurt at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
"I would like to use this to build the base for the second part of our season," Klinsmann said. "For us, it's very important to have top training fields and top training conditions. We can do quality work with the players, and the players are happy to get some sunshine."
The club's Florida trip will serve as a continuation of its Tear
Down Walls campaign that began with the team's matches against MLS and USL League One teams last May. The tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall while promoting Berlin soccer.
The series of American exhibition matches serve as an opportunity to spread the brands of both the club and its league.
“I think for German Bundesliga teams, it's extremely important to have a presence in the United States,” Klinsmann said. “It's a market that is still growing at a very high pace in soccer. For a club like Hertha Berlin, which is the capital club in Germany, it's important for us to have a presence outside of Germany.”
Even overseas, the early morning practice on Sunday drew a small crowd of faithful fans. Karin Jung flew to Orlando with several members of the club's supporters section to watch the team play in the Florida Cup.
The group had plans for other activities while they stayed in Orlando — a speedboat excursion, tickets to SeaWorld — but Hertha Berlin trainings and games were the highlight.
Jung has been a fan so long that she can't remember a time that she didn't follow Hertha Berlin. A 13-hour transatlantic flight was simply another worthwhile sacrifice to make to watch her club.
"I don't know exactly how it happened, but some years ago I told somebody it's like you fell in love with a guy," Jung said. "You suddenly fell in love, and then you just have to support it and follow it, wherever it goes."
American fans also made cross