Abou Fofana on attack vs Bergischer HC in Germany
The U.S. Men’s National Team is currently in Dormagen, Germany for a training camp in preparation for the upcoming PANAM Games qualification series vs Canada in September. New head coach, Robert Hedin, and Asst Coach Mark Ortega have called up a mix of stateside and European based players. Notably present is veteran Gary Hines who plays for HSC Bad Neustadt in Germany and Javier Coba Galindo who plays for Sant Marti-Adrianec in Spain. Also attending are Antoine Baup, Paul Skorupa, Abou Fofana and Rene Ingram who have represented the U.S. in Junior and Youth competitions.
The U.S. has played 2 matches so far. On Saturday they lost to GWD Minden’s 2nd team, 41-19 and on Tuesday they were beaten by 1st division Bundesliga side Bergischer HC 40-18. They will play a Dormagen side tonight that will include players from their 1st team and 2nd team. On Thursday and Friday, the U.S. will play TV Ratingen and TSV Vellmar. Those two clubs are lower division sides and will likely result in more competitive matches.
Also of note, the U.S. coaching staff met with Domagoj Srsen who recently signed with Hannover. Srsen, 27, previously played for the U.S. at the 2011 PANAM Games and to the best of my knowledge this season will become the first American to play in the German Bundesliga. Srsen expressed commitment to the American program, but will be unavailable for matches outside of the international windows in the Bundesliga schedule.
Photos from GWD Minden match: Link
Photos and report from Bergischer HC match: Link