Dortmund bring in Klinsmann’s fitness guru
Former national coach Jürgen Klinsmann (left) in May 2006 with his physical trainers, Shad Forsythe standing just behind him
Source: dpa/dpa/dpaweb/Oliver Berg
The management of Borussia Dortmund had announced that they would carry out a full analysis after the disappointment of the past season. Among other things, it is worth exploring why the team had to complain about so many injuries. A light comes to remedy the situation.
Borussia Dortmund score really badly on one point. Last season, the team had a total of 2,935 injury days to compensate. This is the result of statistics from the fussball website Hurungen.de. Each BVB player has therefore been out for an average of 86.32 days, and no Bundesliga team has been hit harder. VfB Stuttgart are in 17th place (average of 77.81 days), while Union Berlin do better in this category (26.17 days).
The Dortmund team has been struggling with the problem of the large number of muscle injuries for months. Even during the winter break, BVB were by far the club with the most injuries of any Bundesliga team. Halfway through the season, Dortmund had already accumulated 1,715 player days lost – that is, days on which the BVB professionals were unable to train or play due to injury. At the beginning of March, the 2000 mark was even exceeded.
The questions that arose were: is it just bad luck or does it have structural causes? Are errors made in training control or in medical care? Sporting director Sebastian Kehl had already announced a full analysis of the problem in April.
Access to BVB was an important factor in the 2014 World Cup triumph
As a result, it can now be seen that Borussia have agreed a commitment with fitness trainer Shad Forsythe on July 1. The 49-year-old, who according to BILD information will be the “Head of Performance”, has also been in charge of the German national football team since 2004.
Brought to the DFB by Jürgen Klinsmann, the American was seen as an important factor in the 2014 World Cup triumph. He then joined Arsenal but continues to work for the DFB. He is currently listed as a “special trainer”. In 1999, he became a physical therapist at the United States Olympic Training Center and since then he has gained a good reputation and is now considered an authority in the industry. Sports stars revere him as a fitness guru.
“We are very happy that we were able to convince Shad of Borussia Dortmund and our background,” Kehl confirmed to BILD: “With his great expertise and experience, he will be an absolute asset to us.”
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