When watching young players develop, it is often as interesting to see how they grow as people as it is to see how they grow as professionals. The ones who visibly make strides on both sides of the fence make us forget past failures and let us remember that there are still plenty of games left to be won in the days ahead.
If hope for the future is what you crave after a reality check summer, allow me to introduce you to Hamburg rookie Benny Feilhaber, #33 in your program.
The spark plug midfielder has practically gone through a haberdasher's display of hats for American soccer diehards in a very short time. Most first became aware of him with a star turn at the 2005 World Youth Championships, the cool display that launched a thousand 'Who's that?'s.
First, he was an unheralded UCLA walk-on. Next came the aforementioned revelation phase, closely followed by the target of a mad Euro-scramble among several clubs phase. Upon being wed to Hamburg, generally referred to by fans and enemies alike as 'Hausfrau' (German for "housewife"), he then was thrown into a Regionalliga wilderness and told to survive.
The youngster set up home, went about learning the language and willfully followed instructions given by coaches, a trait adored in Germany. At a point, he went from surviving to prospering. It did not happen overnight, but Feilhaber knows he has now begun the newest and most exciting act of his play to date: Bundesliga soccer player.
"I think I'm definitely fully adapted now," he told YA. "It took a while. I'd say after the first six months, I could just concentrate on football to do well with the club and to do well for myself."
This isn't the same Benny you saw in the summer of 2005. While he was certainly not introverted 17 months ago in the Netherlands, Feilhaber carries himself much differently now.
Whereas before he seemed slightly uncomfortable talking to the press (as 19-year olds can understandably be), now he is thoroughly engaging and makes unfailing eye contact. He grins as wide as daybreak, as HSV supporters can attest.
The glossy game magazine for their November 11th gave the locals a close-up look at that smile, complete with milk mustache. Apparently, a healthy mindset isn't the only thing that does a body good.
"I think I'm a lot stronger," says Feilhaber. "My endurance has gone up. That was one of my weaknesses. When I was in college, I used to get tired in the 60th or 70th minute."
"Now, I think I'm doing well covering a lot of space with good endurance. I play stronger on the ball, I'm stronger in tackles." Though leaps in physical acumen have him most excited, the ball wizard also feels his previously noted skills have improved with German seasoning.
"Obviously, I felt like I was a technical player before, but now I think I'm a little bit smarter, ya know? You also need to use your head to be technically sound on the ball," preaches able student Feilhaber.
The Yank has found a support system in a bit of an odd couple: veteran Argentina left-sider Juan Pablo Sorin and on the cusp of stardom Holland ace Rafael van der Vaart. They may appear divergent influences, but that's probably to be expected for a California dude with further roots in Austria and Brazil.
"(Sorin) speaks a little Portuguese, so I can speak it with him," Feilhaber relays. "Obviously, he has so much experience. I've been pretty good friends with him and pretty good friends with Van der Vaart."
"He helps me in the midfield. We've played five or six games together in the midfield, so there's a bit of a connection there. Those two guys really help me out."
While he has indeed created a quick chemistry with the captain and all-around Hamburg talisman, it has not come without some side effects.
When Feilhaber speaks of trying to figure out where Van der Vaart might turn up, one isn't sure if he's referring to the tireless runner's field ubiquitousness or the idea that some European bigwig could finally come for the guy they've been eyeballing since he was a teen phenom at Ajax.
"I'm excited to play with him, he's a great player," offers the American. "You never know where he'll end up with that kind of ability. I've got to treasure it now, play with him while I can and do my best to learn from him."
Not just a scholar of the game, Feilhaber has also gone from using German on the field to using it everywhere. His embrace of the culture has surely hastened his rise as a player, but it has also given him a cozy connection to the public he suits up for each game day.
"I try to talk (in German) when I'm with friends, in the locker room or when I have people over at the house," he assures. "When I go out, to a restaurant or anything, I try to speak as much German as I can."
"I love (Hamburg). It was one of the biggest reasons I came here. I liked the environment that I was in."
"Part of the lifestyle is outside from football, so you have to enjoy where you're living and who you're with. I go out sometimes and enjoy the city. There's lots of stuff to do here."
"The US decided to come here to stay during World Cup, so you know it's a nice city."
Lest anyone think it's all wine and roses for Feilhaber, a quick peek at the schedule shows an awful lot of "D" and "L". The club are sitting on one win through 14 league games and a big fat donut from five Champions League outings.
Nevertheless, fans have been very welcoming to the Samba Cowboy (his first pro nickname). The team gets some guff these days, but no fingers are pointing at Feilhaber. Most talked of him as one of a group of young players fueling high hopes for the future.
They seem impressed to learn he is not really a guy meant for the back of a diamond midfield and imagine seeing him get a chance to play further up than he did in the half dozen defensive midfield nods he was handed when coach Thomas Doll was missing four international stoppers at the same time.
The latest AOL Arena wonder boy isn't concerned with avoiding their criticism. If any stress can be detected, it will be coming from a desire to get those boisterous supporters cheering at the end of matches, and not just at the beginning of them.
"We've been losing consistently for the last two or three months and it's definitely tough on the fans, but they keep showing up," he boasted. "They're always behind us at the beginning of the game and they're disappointed when you lose."
"You hear some whistling, but I think that's normal. There is also the portion that applauds no matter what. There's the guys who keep cheering and the guys who want more from the team. I definitely respect either of those fans."
"As a player, I think the team needs to do better. The fact that they keep showing up, regardless of how bad we're doing, shows how much they really care about us."
Feilhaber's main motivation, it seems, is to earn the right for the loyal fans to go home every Saturday singing a happy tune. Only last season, the 1983 European champions were threatening to take the Bundesliga crown.
Key cogs Sergej Barbarez, Khalid Boulahrouz and Daniel van Buyten jumped ship, and the replacements have failed to produce at previous levels. Defenders Joris Mathijsen and Vincent Kompany have struggled for both form and fitness, while indecisive new striker Boubacar Sanogo only looks terrific until he receives the rock at his feet.
Feilhaber concedes that the bewilderment contributed to the early stutter, but insists that should be an issue of the past by now. "I guess in the beginning of the season, it was a little bit of a shock," he nods.
"The last two games, we've been able to take the lead, which we hadn't done for a while. It seems like we're scared. When we get the lead, we are too cautious."
"I don't think we're really sure of ourselves - not individually, but as a team. I think everybody has to focus and realize what a bad position we're in - we're second to last in the table, and we've only won once."
"We have to realize where we are, regardless of our talent. We need to start getting points no matter where, who or how."
Despite the troubles, he reports the team is going through it all as a group, including Doll. The coach has been given repeated public backings by management and the faithful have not turned on him in any great number. According to Feilhaber, the players make it a unanimous vote of confidence - and not the kind that usually precedes the axe.
"We're all together on this," he declared. "Everybody has to support each other and believe in each other."
"He's definitely not someone who's going to come in after a bad game and scream at everyone. And he doesn't congratulate players when they don't need to be congratulated."
"He's a pretty realistic coach and he really wants the team to succeed. It's tough to see him like this. He's trying to push us forward, but it's not working right now. It's tough for the team to see the coach facing this."
Though only 21 years old, Feilhaber knows from experience that it is not too late for a squad this talented to reverse course on their season. He advises that the team that stays together in the locker room should simply remember how to play together on the field.
"It doesn't matter what players we have individually," he asserts. "We need to give everything every game every minute to fight for every point."
"(An early slump) happened last year with the second team. We were struggling near the bottom of the table. We realized we had to help each other every game to get the points we needed. That's the first thing we have to do now." |
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