Germany national team coach Juergen Klinsmann credits his team’s American fitness staff with playing a big role in his team’s success at the 2006 World Cup.
Fitness instructor Mark Verstegen, president of Athletes’ Performance with centers in Tempe, Ariz., and Carson, Calif., and Klinsmann met through their association with MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy and was one of the first people hired by Klinsmann when he took over as Germany coach in August 2004.
Verstegen’s background was in American sports, but he and his staff have had a big impact on the German players.
“I was proud to get to know Mark,” says Klinsmann. “I could see how good he was to work with. We are convinced that football will become more and more focused on the individual. To make the team better, you make the individual better.”
Klinsmann came in for heavy criticism in the German media for importing American trainers, but that’s all changed now that Germany is in the semifinals of the World Cup, where it faces Italy on Tuesday.
“I can’t overestimate the contribution Mark and his team have made,” Klinsmann said. “Just ask the players and I’m sure they will only have praise for him.”
Verstegen and coaches Shad Forsythe and Craig Friedman have been responsible for player testing and evaluation and have worked closely with each player, beginning with pre-tournament camps in Sardinia and Switzerland.