Now this is a pairing I didn´t expect to see in this lifetime, let alone write about it. I am no football fan, but I know my way around the Bundesliga, FIFA World Cup, and on some years even the UEFA Champions League. I belong to that peculiar breed of women who can actually sit through a match, understand the game better than some men, and be a couch coach basically due to my childhood in Mexico where it would be a sin not to understand the meaning of Gooooooooooooollllll! being screamed over the airwaves. You won´t ever catch me at a stadium though, because my fear of crowds is far greater than my love of the game. (Quite frankly, I preferred playing American Tag football rather than soccer).
I don´t have a favourite team, but I do respect certain players, coaches and umpires. However, even if I had to draw up a list at gunpoint, Hertha BSC, Berlin´s homegrown football club, would never be on the the list. Never was a fan, have no faith in the team or the club management, and the coaches were flimsy anonymous figures of no significance in my life. Until now.
The first time I came across Jürgen Klinsmann in action was during the 2006 World Cup as he coached the German national team to the semi-finals of the World Cup. It was the year of Michael Ballach, Zenadine Zidane, Luis Figo, and a host of other brilliant players. What better place in the world (with the exception of Brazil maybe) to rediscover a love for football. After Mr. Klinsmann relinquished his post to Joachim Löw, I kept loose tabs of his movements, watching with great amusement as he went on to become the national coach of the US Men´s soccer team.
The unassuming South German is now back on German shores and is about to embark on the greatest challenge of his career. Not only is Hertha BSC in dire need of a damn good coach, but fresh techniques and basically the spectacular Klinsmann touch and magical overhaul.
Since this is basically happening in my back yard, it might be a plausible argument to become a Hertha fan… they have to prove themselves first but I think the team morale is about to get one hell of a boost.
FrogDiva Thoughts 