Centre-back Chris Richards is planning a tight programme: in the USA on Thursday against Costa Rica, on Friday with TSG Hoffenheim against Cologne.
When his colleagues woke up well rested in Kraichgau on this Thursday morning, Chris Richards had already played an international match on the same day and was on his way back from the USA to Germany. Ideally. “We have to see if everything works out the way we want it to, so that he will be there in time,” said coach Sebastian Hoeneß on Wednesday, who has other questions besides the logistical ones: “Will he be able to train on Thursday? How is he? Was he able to sleep on the plane?” explained Hoeneß, who is reluctant to do without his proven defender in Friday night’s all-important home match against 1 FC Köln.
However, the 21-year-old will have to make a smooth continental sprint to do so. At 1 a.m. on Thursday, the Americans’ World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica kicked off in Columbus, Ohio. The hosts, with Richards going the full distance, won 2-1 in a tightly contested match and picked up three important points on their way to the World Cup in Qatar. With two games to go, the USA are now second with eleven points, the top three qualified and three points clear of fourth-placed Panama.
Posch and Akpoguma as alternatives
Richards has thus successfully completed the first stage. Now we can be curious to see whether the accelerated return campaign will also work out as planned. And in what shape he will arrive at TSG. “We’ll have to wait and see, I’ll have to decide based on my gut feeling and a conversation with the player,” assures Hoeneß. Alternatives in central defence, should the pace be too high for Richards, are Stefan Posch and Kevin Akpoguma. Both were also on duty with their national teams from Austria and Nigeria, but have long since returned. Without time difference and jet lag.
Incidentally, the Norwegian Havard Nordtveit is not yet a real alternative. “It’s still too early. He has been in team training for a while, but he was absent for a relatively long time, so we shouldn’t be too hasty,” said Hoeneß, “he will certainly need another good week of training, maybe even two. In which he continuously participates fully in everything.” Nordtveit had torn a muscle fibre in his thigh during the training camp in Rottach-Egern, which later flared up again.