Note: This interview occurred on May 1.
Chris Myers
Joppa, Md.
How do you feel about playing behind Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel on the U.S. national team without much hope of getting playing time? Do you feel you've been given a fair chance to be No 1?
Juergen Sommer: That's a good question. Yeah, it's difficult, but it's a situation where I think all three goalkeepers feel that they have the ability. Just being a part of the national team program is a great privilege and honor, but I think I'm definitely capable of doing the job if called upon. Kasey's in the team at the moment, and he's having a good run. At some point in time I'm sure I'll have more of an opportunity to play and be a bigger part of the national team. I think all I can do at this point in time is to continue to work hard and play well over here with my club and for the national team when I can and continue to grow as a goalkeeper — I mean, I think I'm pretty young for a keeper (28) and I haven't even reached my peak yet.. I really enjoy being with the national team though, and I think my time will come if I keep doing what's gotten me this far
Pete Bailey: Having three excellent keepers is certainly a nice problem to have, for the U.S. at least.
JS: Oh yes. Plus, there's a great camaraderie between the three of us. I mean, we get along really well, and I think we're all learning from each other. There's no real bitterness there. It's a special thing to be on the national team, and I'm glad that I'm such good friends with both Brad and Kasey.
Anu Khare
Red Bank, N.J.
I've often heard about American players not getting along with their coaches and teammates in foreign clubs. How do you get along with people at Queen's Park Rangers? Do you think it is possible that Americans who play abroad can establish friendly relationships with coaches and teammates in foreign clubs?
JS: Wow, that's a great question. That's probably one of the biggest factors about playing abroad in a foreign country — coming to terms with the management and the other players on your team, since culturally you all come from different backgrounds. Here most of the players come from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and England, and even within England there are so many nationalities. With me being an American I guess I'm just one of the cultural spices of the team, you could say.
The most difficult thing about being American is that all those other countries that I just mentioned kind of view themselves as soccer powerhouses, and they don't know that much about the strength of U.S. soccer — it's an undervalued entity in their perspective. There is a little hurdle that you have to get over, but once you prove yourself and your abilities, they welcome you with open arms. Now I feel like I'm just one of the guys, one of the lads, and I don't have any problems with that. Initially, when I first came over, I did have to work very hard to prove myself to the players and coaches and fans. Once you can do that, you just kinda blend right in with everybody else.
PB: Speaking of blending in, what happened with Mark Hateley? He was a big signing for QPR and he didn't quite have the success a lot of people thought he would and he's since returned to Glasgow Rangers.
JS: Mark Hateley was brought into the team at a point in time where we really needed to get some results and win some games, and he was looked at as a hero who would score a lot of goals to rescue the team and keep it in the Premiership. Unfortunately for Mark, he came in with an ankle injury that he never quite had a chance to heal from properly, so he was playing injured the majority of the time and we never really saw his full potential. Then he had an opportunity to go back to Rangers in Scotland. I think his family had been having a difficult time settling in England (they lived just outside of London, in Ascot) since they had lived in Scotland for so long. I think that made it difficult for him as well.
A lot of it was just timing and luck, too. We had some major injuries to some of the other players on our team and he didn't get the kind of service that he needs to thrive as a goalscorer. There was another striker, Kevin Gallen, that we lost to a knee injury that would have been his attacking partner — that would have created a lot of goals for Mark, but he was more or less on his own up front.
Dave Bohn
Atherton, Calif.
As I understand it, you were not in uniform for the recent USA-Mexico qualifier only because QPR objected to your national team call-up. What's your take on the thorny issue of club vs. country?
JS: Difficult — it's just a scenario where there's two teams that I'm involved in. It's a terrific opportunity to be included in the national team, as well as playing for QPR. I guess it's nice to be wanted from both sides, and I see both sides of the coin. Unfortunately, at that time, QPR made it very difficult for me to go back since there was still a chance of us getting promoted to the Premier League.
PB: Did the U.S. ask for your release within the proper window of time?
JS: Unfortunately, they were just a couple days late — you have to give 14 days' notice, I guess via FIFA regulations, to ask for a player's release. The federation had given a general release a few weeks earlier stating that they wanted me back for a few qualifying games, and I guess QPR appealed that and said it wasn't specific enough, that the federation should do it for each individual game. And they were short by a couple of days. I would've loved to have come back, though.
PB: You haven't been in the lineup for a couple of weeks — was that a reaction to your possibly coming back for the Mexico match?
JS: That happened the time before. The reason QPR and other clubs look down on letting players, especially American ones, be released, is because it's such a large amount of travel. Last time, when I traveled to Costa Rica, it was about a 12- or 13-hour round-trip. QPR wasn't too happy about that.
I haven't been playing the last couple of games because I've had a lower back injury. I just started training the day before yesterday (April 29). So, it's probably a good thing I didn't go back (for the Mexico game), because my back had flared up right before that. That might have been in the back of QPR's mind as well — they probably just felt I should stay here and get some treatment. It would've been a bad call on my part, anyway, to go back to the national team not being fully fit.
PB: So you're gearing up to play in the last game of the season this weekend?
JS: Yep, our last game is this Sunday away at Bradford. It's kind of irrelevant for us at this point. We're not gonna get either promoted or relegated. I'm not sure what our management's going to do; there's a lot of young players that they want to give games to, so I doubt we'll field our full-strength normal side.
Mark Torguson
Bakersfield, Calif.
How did the Ranger supporters treat you when you first arrived at Queens Park, and has there been any difference in their support since the team was relegated?
JS: When I first got there, the fans kind of kept to themselves — I guess the term they use over here is ''the jury was out.'' They're very keen fans; they're loyal supporters. QPR is a big part of their lives, and they really took their time to evaluate me. They were kind of watching and didn't really voice an opinion until three or four months after they'd seen games, and then they just got behind me and have supported me strongly ever since. I feel like I have a great rapport with the fans, and they've shown me a lot of support. I really enjoy that — it's a great part of the game and it really adds to the atmosphere at both home and away matches.
PB: It sounds like both you and Kasey have a great rapport with the fans over there, and that's really great — not only for you guys, but for America as well.
JS: And more so now, they've taken a big part in watching the U.S. qualify for the World Cup. The fans know the results of our qualifying games, and they know where we stand in our group. They're really on top of it, and that's a lot of fun too, that they enjoy the fact that I'm an international player and they take an interest in the U.S. team as well as QPR.
PB: Has there been any real difference in fan support since you were relegated from the Premier League?
JS: Just a little bit. A lot of it is because the big-name teams — the Liverpools, Arsenals, Manchester Uniteds — aren't there this season, so the attendances have gone down just a little bit. But the support is still there.
PB: You guys had a change in management in the middle of the season, how has that worked out?
JS: It's worked out extremely well. We have new ownership now, too, with Chris Wright who is the new chairman of the club. The fans have really taken a liking to him because he's made some major changes at the club that everyone's liked.. It's a really fun place to be right now. There's a lot of excitement. This year we had a great run toward the end that wasn't enough to get us promoted, but I suspect they're going to put a lot more money into the club over the summer and really go for it next season. This year was a rebuilding year.
Matt Bernhardt
Columbus, Ohio
Having been relegated with QPR after last season, and with promotion seemingly not in the cards after this campaign, have there been offers by other clubs, either in England or elsewhere in Europe? Particularly with Barnsley and possibly Sheffield United headed for promotion, it seems that they would be searching for a goalkeeper with previous experience in the Premiership? Or is the level of competition in the First Division of a high enough level to keep your playing skills sharp?
JS: I really enjoy playing with QPR, and I think that, even counting the Premiership clubs, it's one of the strongest clubs. Unfortunately, we've had some bad circumstances with injuries and management changeovers. Clubs aren't allowed to make transfers this late in the season, but over the summer, you know, anything can happen. That's just something that I'll have to discuss with my agent. The offers wouldn't come to me directly, because I'm under a multi-year contract with QPR, so clubs that are interested in me cannot come to me directly — they have to go through QPR. I'm very happy at QPR; they've been very good to me, and they have big ambitions for next year. If I didn't feel that way about this club, I would have to say that I would be looking to go to a higher level — either back to the Premiership or maybe to a club in another league like Germany or Spain or France — because I feel that I can play at the highest level. That's where I want to play; that's where I need to play to be a top-class international keeper.
Brian Hinkle
Thousand Oaks, Calif.
I was at the first-ever meeting between you and Kasey Keller at the Den. What was it like to have the other keeper in a game in England be from America?
JS: That was fun. I've known Kasey for a long time — we went on U-21 trips together, and I played against him in the 1988 NCAA Tournament when he was with Portland and we played in the semifinals at Indiana. So, it wasn't really that out of the ordinary for me. I think that every time we played each other it ended up as a tie.
PB: That's pretty cool though: you guys have known each other for so long and competed against each other at the final four, and now here you are facing each other overseas in the English League.
JS: It was pretty funny considering how far we'd come from being roommates on the U-21 team. Of the goalies that were at the NCAA Championship that year, I think Shaka Hislop from Howard played at Reading at the time that Kasey and I were in the First Division, and we kinda laughed about that.
PB: And Shaka's at Newcastle now.
JS: Yeah, Shaka's doing pretty well. It was just nice having fellow Americans over there. It was really good to be able to talk to Kasey and share the experience and get over problems that we both had.
PB: It must have been quite an experience playing at The Den, Millwall's home.
JS: I think Luton and Millwall are really big rivals, so it was just a battle at The Den every time. Their fans are pretty crazy, as you know, and it got violent at times. Even at Luton, I think half the Millwall fans got thrown out once because they started stampeding onto the field and trying to attack our fans. Most of the time the excitement wasn't on the field, it was in the stands!
Evan Whitney
Cambridge, Mass.
A number of American goalkeepers have been able to carve a niche for themselves in the top divisions of the English League. You along with Ian Feuer at Luton Town, and Kasey Keller at Leicester, have been able to perform at a high level in what arguably is the toughest league for goalkeepers in the world. Why is it that American keepers have had more success at making inroads in the English League than field players. Are American keepers that much more prepared when they graduate from college as far as their technical skills, or simply, what makes them an attractive option for some coaches?
JS: A little bit of both, really. I just feel that the U.S. players are really good athletes, and when you get to this level, a big part of your game is what kind of an athlete you are. We've had such a great training program; I know Kasey did at Portland, and myself at Indiana. The training I got there and the knowledge of the game and the strength programs I received. Being a goalkeeper is a specialized kind of job, but I think you really need to have a mental toughness and a commitment to the game. John Harkes came over here and did extremely well for Sheffield Wednesday. I think that's just a huge part of the game. That mental toughness, putting up with all the crap that gets thrown at you for being an American living abroad, dealing with a different culture. In a lot of ways, everything that could possible go against you goes against you here, and you have to be mentally strong to solve your problems and keep focused on what you're here to do and what you want to accomplish. I think a lot of U.S. players have the ability to play over here, it's just the living abroad — a lot of people don't adapt to that very easily, but, in the end, it'll make you a better player.
I think what's attractive to foreign coaches about American players is that the transfer market is just crazy right now for prices of players within the leagues and clubs, and that makes it difficult to move from club to club. For an American player to get into the league, most likely it would be on a free transfer.
PB: Assuming they can get a work permit.
JS: That's another sort of hitch they've put in that makes it that much more difficult to get into the country. Obviously the last couple of years it's really tightened down. If you can overcome that obstacle and you're a free agent, a good athlete, young, hungry … I think every American player, if he worked hard enough, could carve out a place for himself over here.
PB: Let's clear one thing up for any of our readers who don't know this — you were able to play in England because your parents were from Germany, right?
JS: That's right. Both my parents are American citizens, but my dad always retained his German nationality. That allowed me to have a German passport, and through the EEC now, that enabled me to come to England and play without a work permit. But, had I not had that, I think I was over here early enough, in '90-'91, that it wasn't that big of an issue and I would've attained it. When I came over John Harkes was here, John Kerr, Jr. was here, Bruce Murray had been here as well. But it's really tightened down now.
D.J. Rodriguez
Evansville, Ind.
Juergen, I am a freshman goalkeeper at the University of Evansville, and I found that in my first year there is a tremendous gap between the college level and the high school level. How different is the English professional league than the NCAA Division I level?
JS: I'd have to say to come into the First Division or the Premier League, there is quite a substantial gap between NCAA goalkeeping or soccer and the English leagues at that level. I think the only way you can really prepare yourself to rise to that level is to throw yourself into that kind of environment, be it in England or MLS or Mexico or France or wherever. If you get into a professional league, you're out there playing with guys who do it for a living, to feed their children and support their families. It's their entire livelihood and they do it 10 or 11 months out of the year. It's not just a three-month season. The NCAA schedule is pretty small, I mean 20 to 30 a year if you're lucky, whereas here counting preseason and postseason if you make it, it's more like 60 games, and they're very fierce, very competitive. You're not just playing for a place in the team, you're playing for your livelihood. That took me a little getting used to, along with the cultural differences. It's a whole new ball game over here, not that you could not do it, D.J., you'd just really have to submerge yourself into a league wherever you might be and work hard at your opportunities.
Brad Homer
Mustang, Okla.
Do you think soccer has improved at the college level (Division 1) since your playing days at Indiana?
JS: I definitely think it has improved. It's very exciting, and there's a lot of really talented young players coming into the national team. It's really come a long way in the six year since I've been out of school. There's a lot more excitement and enthusiasm for the sport. There's definite quality, too, and that's great for MLS and great for the U.S. national team.
Kevin Lindstrom
Dallas, Texas
Considering that you went through the college route to the professional ranks, what is your take on Project-40? Do you see it as necessary or can colleges be adapted to provide the same services as Project-40?
JS: I'd have to say there's always going to be those athletes who are so special that they can just come right out of high school and join the pros. We've seen that in the NBA and ice hockey and tennis. Look at Martina Hingis, who's 16 or 17 and competing at a very high level in tennis and doing very well for herself. I really think it's going to come down to individual circumstances. I know for my circumstances, college was a big part of my success, especially in being prepared off the field socially, mentally, emotionally. It was a great building block for me, and I think it helped my game. However, goalkeeper is a specialized position, so I think that really worked in my favor. I think the field players, midfielders, strikers, they really need hands-on experience playing as many games as they can. I think the only thing holding back the NCAA from producing world-class players is that they don't play enough games during the college season. They need to play more games and train more, and that's why maybe I could see some high school kids opting for the pros, especially if they have to provide for their families. I know I was in a situation where my father had passed away and Jerry Yeagley really took me under his wing and helped me; I might have had to leave school to earn some income to make sure the family business continued to grow. My brother had no collegiate opportunities because he had to go straight into the business and work for the family. So some kids might feel that going pro is best for them because of social or economic needs. I'd tell them to try to continue studying as much as they could in their spare time off the field, though, so they can grow educationally too. Having a good educational background is something that can help further any career, not just soccer, and of course, what happens if you get injured and you can't play anymore? You need something to fall back on.
That's certainly a debatable issue, though.
PB: What was your family's business?
JS: My parents had a delicatessen and a bakery, and in the beginning of my sophomore year my father passed away. I had walked on at Indiana, and I was only on a partial scholarship, so that got pretty expensive for my mother, especially with out-of-state tuition. I felt it was my responsibility to get a full scholarship or else work to pay my expenses.
PB: How' the business doing today?
JS: It's still going strong. My brother has taken over the store from my mom, and he runs it now.
Miguel Enguidanos
San Rafael, Calif.
Coach Yeagley is under fire by some at the IU web page. What is your impression of Yeagley as a coach? What does Indiana need to do to win another National Title?
JS: I haven't heard about him being under fire… I couldn't see why myself. I can only comment on my experiences there, though. I think the whole program is first-class. They have great assistant coaches, facilities that are second-to-none, great trainers, weight coaches, everything. It was terrific for me winning a national championship and going back to the finals the next year — I guess I was lucky to be on such a good team. But I know the school's winning percentage is among the highest in the country and it's always in the Top 10 or Top 20 year-in and year-out. I think winning a national championship is a lot harder now, though. All the other schools… there's just a lot more competition out there. The sport has really grown, and there's a lot of other programs out there. I don't think we'll see one school like a Virginia or an Indiana dominate as much as they have in the past.
NOTE: Click here to read part two of Juergen's interview.