VfB felt right at home from the off in Austin FC’s sleek new stadium on Saturday, and as early as midday VfB fans from Cannstatt, Hawaii and everywhere in between met up at one of the venue’s sports bars.
In a chat with his friend Cacau, Ricardo Osorio explained why he said he would never play against Stuttgart when he left the club: “Stuttgart is my second home, my second family.”
Team building, sharing experiences and the strategic development of German football as a whole were the main reasons behind VfB’s US Tour 2022: “We’ve got an attractive league with clubs that are steeped in tradition and wonderful atmospheres in the stadiums. That’s what we want to convey.”
There were in-depth meetings with the Dallas Mavericks (NBA), the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) and other football clubs around Austin and Dallas. “In terms of digitalising training and performance diagnostics, the Americans are very advanced,” said Markus Rüdt, director of sports organisation.
VfB strutted their stuff on Austin FC’s pitch - voted the best in the MLS - racing to a 4-0 half-time lead against the nominal ‘home’ team Köln, with Dinos Mavropanos and Tanguy Coulibaly each scoring twice. In the second half both coaches made a number of changes, allowing the VfB youth players who made the trip over to make their debuts with the senior team. Köln eventually replied with two goals of their own as both teams made a good impression in VfB’s 4-2 triumph.
Both clubs ended the evening at the Q2 Stadium in the same sports bar where the fan meet-up had previously been held. VfB and Köln invited representatives of Austin FC and the city to a joint “German Night” with Texan food and local beer as a way of saying thank you for the hospitality and support during an eventful week.