It's not fair to compare Rapid Vienna to the average A bundesliga team. There are four good teams that could compete and finish upper half of the table in a league the level of the Eredivisie. Rapid's rival, Austria Vienna, played against Jozy and AZ in the Europa league, and Rapid are slightly the better team based on finish. If we think that Boyd is worse than Jozy, which I do, starting should not be assumed to be automatic.
I tend to think of the Austrian league like the Swiss league. [And UEFA coefficients suggest that's a fair comparison. They're 13 and 14.] The top-of-the-table clubs can give clubs from the big leagues troubles now and again. Most years, they don't, though. In the UEFA club coefficients Rapid is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down in the rankings. (136th in 2011-2012) All that tells you is they generally don't pull off the upsets in Europe to get their ranking into a respectable area.
Could a German speaker give us a summary of what this commentary piece says about Boyd? Rapid: Nuhiu unter Druck
I'll just translate: Terrence Boyd is here. Finally. Good for Rapid. For everyone in the club, though? Nope. The biggest loser: Atdhe Nuhiu. The club can finally communicate what it really wants. Fact is: the purchase of the US-Boy is a slap in the face for the lanky man. Why? That requires a quick look at the body dimensions of the new guy: 1,85 Meter, 87 Kilo - this man is an attacking strong house. With this, the air in Hütteldorf has gotten a bit more thin for Nuhiu than ever before. Many fans already had the mid-forward on their shit list, regardless of his eight goals in the previous season. He was too stiff and had a propensity toward bad luck in pursuit of goals. To some extent, he was even mocked (I'm curious what his belt line has to do with this, so please elaborate native German speakers!). Up till now, Rapid has given him a lifeline, his colleagues anyway, but it appears that Peter Schöttel isn't as confident anymore. Reading between the lines, it's plain to see that Nuhiu is good, but he isn't good enough. The acquisition of Boyd is a suggestion that the message is clear: Nuhiu has to produce more, much more, and quickly. Otherwise, this will be his last year in the Green and White.
Unter der Gürtellinie = below the belt line = short for "hitting someone below the belt line" = a low blow "Keine Schläge unter die Gürtellinie" (no hits below the belt line) is also a standard phrase in boxing.
Hallo dear Rapid fans, I just signed with Rapid Wien. I am taking a vacation and will be here Monday week (June 25) for training and I ...
From the Club's website http://www.skrapid.at/9609+M59aad0b949a.html "My goal is to to give it my all/put the pedal to the metal here" On late Thursday afternoon, striker TB (21) got to know Hütteldorffor the first time - he came to us after several different medical tests and signed a contract with Rapid in the club offices. Afterward, the plane left for Bremen, but the US national team player, who was born in Bremen took the time for a quick interview. skrapid.at:Welcome to Vienna. You have had a lot going on recently. You have a quali in South America [sic] behind you. And now the transfer to Rapid. How are you? Terrence Boyd: I am running a little on empty, but otherwise very good. Thanks. The training camp with the US team was very exciting for me. I had a lot of good experiences and learned a lot. I was subbed into the test game (????) that we won 3-1 against A&B which a was a wonderful experience. Now I am pleased to be with Rapid, although I am first taking a short vacation. You are a striker and got 20 goals in 32 games for Dortmund II in the Reginalliga West. Dortmund I are Bundesliga champions and you were on the bench once. What are you taking with you from Dortmund? Terrence Boyd: A lot of wonderful experiences. The play there shaped me and I could excel. And I developed a "Powerplay" there, which means: I always want to get forward and impose my will in front of the goal. I gave it my all there and want to do the same here. That is my big goal. What do you expect here at our club? Terrence Boyd: Clearly I want to win titles, and learn a lot at the same time. I am still young. That the club is putting its trust in me honors me, and I want to give a lot back as a result. I hope that the fans will support me, but I have already heard a lot of good things about them. First a week of vacation, and I heard you really weren't happy about that, that you were burning for your first training session with your new teammates. Terrence Boyd: Yes, first a week home to my family in Bremen where I was born. And you are a right about the time off. I can certainly use it, but I am very excited about the first training sessions with Rapid. I am not the kind of person that likes to miss anything, especially not preseason training. As a result I can't wait to get started here (laughs)! Okay, have a nice vacation! Terrence Boyd: Thanks and I will see you soon!
This video has hit 7K views in just 2 days while the rest of Vienna's videos have less than 2K views, looks like the fans are excited about Boyd that's awesome!
Nope he is a natural finisher he didn't get any clear front shot on goal chances against Scotland. His weakness is the first touch even he has said it.
I did. What I am talking about is the ratio of "good" chances to goals during the run of play. For an average striker its about 4-1. For the best poachers/finishers in the world its nearly 2-1. Clearly we can disagree on what constitutes a "good" chance and a "half" chance since that is subjective. I have not analyzed all his touches so this is not quantitative but my impression was he had quite a few good chances and many half chances that he did not score on with the full National team. In addition, there were chances in which he should have hit the target and did not, or gone far post when he went near. This is all nit-picking, though. He has a ton of potential. Finishing is a skill that can be developed.
Boyd really needs to establish himself as a starter and tear it up in this league to justify consideration for a starting spot for the NT. The Austrian league is currently ranked by UEFA as the 15th best in Europe trailing nations like Belgium and Denmark where we have NT players starting every game for the first place teams and not getting real looks from Klinsmann. That said, I am optimistic for Boyd. I've liked what I've seen from him so far and believe that he can succeed at this level. I'm not expecting it, but I wouldn't put it past him to lead the league in goals next year.
Excellent post and I agree, entirely, This is the guy he will have to beat out: http://www.soccerway.com/players/atdhe-nuhiu/36670/
The main threat to Boyd's national team call ups is Andrew Wooten. They play similar styles and positions. Right now they are about even, with Boyd having the call ups to put him over Wooten. Interesting to see how the first couple months go for both players and to see who is putting the ball in the goal.
I was just thinking about this yesterday. Even though Boyd will have some EC games, Wooten arguably will be playing in the stronger league overall. If he shines he can place himself in the mix, which will be a good thing. As the Germans say: 'completion livens up the business.' I will be pulling for both of them.
A rather in-depth piece on Boyd from an Austrian website. Perhaps a German speaker could give us some of the more interesting points: Ein richtig guter Typ mit Torinstinkt – das ist Rapids neuer Stürmer Terrence Boyd