Life in the Autobahn
It’s all a whirlwind now for soccer player Frankie Hejduk. He is caught up in events beyond his control and all he can do is wait until the dust settles to see where he lands.
When he returns to earth, it will be in a place he never has been before, in a country whose language he does not speak, with a team whose players he does not know.
Frankie Hejduk, surfer dude from Cardiff by the Sea, former UCLA standout, current U.S. national team winger and all-around free spirit, is headed for Germany.
The World Cup was a debacle for many American players, but not for Hejduk. For him, it was an extraordinary success.
Remember that shot against Germany in Paris that forced goalkeeper Andreas Kopke to make a desperation save at the foot of the left post?
That was Hejduk’s shot.
Remember that long-range shot against Yugoslavia that clipped the crossbar in Nantes?
That was Hejduk’s shot.
His World Cup showing, combined with his play for Major League Soccer’s Tampa Bay Mutiny, has earned him another kind of shot. A shot at making it in Germany’s formidable Bundesliga, one of the world’s toughest leagues.
Hejduk, who will be at the Citrus Bowl this afternoon, playing in the third MLS All-Star game, was bought by Bayer Leverkusen. He is the only American player so far to have salvaged something from the U.S. team’s three-games-and-au-revoir performance in France.
But the 23-year-old seems unfazed by it all.
In six months, he has gone from virtual unknown to potential star. Along the way, he also became a father for the first time, his son, Frankie Nesta, having been born in February.
Changing teams, changing leagues, changing countries, changing lifestyles all at once, well, it’s merely a bigger wave to ride.
“I recently purchased a CD-type thing on the computer that teaches you how to speak German,” Hejduk said. “But I really haven’t gotten a chance to use it much. But I’ll know the basics by the time I get over there.”
German, dude, how tough can it be?
“They want to play me on the right side of midfield. They play a 3-5-2 [formation]. They like players who can run up and down the field all day long. That’s why they’re interested in me. They like my speed and quickness. That’s the role they have for me over there.”
The Bundesliga, way cool, bro.
So whom will he be playing alongside? What sort of a team does Bayer Leverkusen have?
“I don’t know too many guys over there,” said Hejduk, who will leave after the MLS season ends. “Their names or anything. I’m just going over there with open arms, kind of. Whatever happens, happens.
“I’m going to go over and try my hardest. If I play, I play. If not, it’s still going to make me a better player in the long run, playing with the best players in the world.
“I can’t wait to get over there. It’s a dream come true. There’s not too many American players who get to play overseas. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. It’s an honor.”
Hejduk signed a three-year contract but is realistic about his chances of breaking into the starting lineup of a team that includes such players as German national team striker Ulf Kirsten and regularly competes for a place in one of the three European cups.
“Of course, everyone wants to play, but my first year over there is going to be difficult,” he said. “It’s going to be hard. Going overseas is a big change. For my family, for my son, learning the language, learning their style of play, learning what the coach wants, learning to play in cold weather. There’s so many other things you’ve got to look to.
“But I’m just going to go out there and do the same thing I do here, give 110% every day, and hopefully the coach likes what he sees and maybe within the next year or year and a half I’ll be playing.
“If not, I’ll work harder until maybe I do get a chance.”
The closest Hejduk has come to Germany was when he played against Austria in Vienna in April.
“I’ve never been there,” he said. “I know that I’ll probably be living in Cologne and that’s about it. That’s all I know.”
He also knows that while surfing remains fun, soccer suddenly has become serious.
“Ever since the World Cup, I’ve looked at soccer differently,” he said. “This is a business for me now. This is my livelihood. I’ve got a family to support, and the way I’m going to do it is through soccer.
“Before, it never was like that for me. It was all kind of like just fun and games. Going out there and doing whatever. Now, it’s my life. I’m going to eat, live and breathe it over in Germany. I’m looking forward to it.”
Thank you, Frankie.
“Cool, man, no problem.”
And just how do you say that in German?
*
The All-Star game will have a new format this time around. Previously, teams have represented the league’s two conferences. Today, though, the best Americans in MLS will be going up against the best foreign players.
In a sense, that makes it almost an international match. The American team is made up entirely of current or former U.S. national team players. And all of the foreign players also have represented their respective countries.
Galaxy Coach Octavio Zambrano will have the World all-stars, and Washington D.C. United Coach Bruce Arena is in charge of the USA all-stars.
“The strategy is real simple,” Arena said. “I’ve told the players to have fun, play hard, try to win and not to foul any of the players from D.C. United.”
Zambrano, whose Galaxy has lost three in a row, also is taking a lighthearted approach. His mind, like Arena’s, will be elsewhere.
“I don’t think it’s a game I can put too much importance on,” he said. “I’m honored to be there, but that’s about the extent of it. As a matter of fact, if it was my choice, I’d much rather stay with the Galaxy and work with the team.”
The All-Star game will be preceded by a women’s international match between the United States and Canada.
MLS All-Star Game
* When: 11:30 a.m. PDT today.
* Where: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
* Television: Channel 7.
* Teams: MLS USA all-stars vs. MLS World all-stars.
* Galaxy representatives: Cobi Jones (USA, midfielder), Robin Fraser, (USA, defender), Martin Machon (World, midfielder), Mauricio Cienfuegos (World, midfielder), Welton (World, midfielder-forward), Octavio Zambrano (World, coach).
