Agreed. Switzerland? Better playing for DC than St Gallen. Lake surfing? Frankie has a better chance of starting for Leverkusen than catching any waves in Switerland
Of play or of pay? Pay would be higher in Switzerland than MLS. I would think. Quality of play ... I am not sure, never seen any Swiss league matches.
when there is an offshore and a northwesterly swell the waves on the potomac really get pumping... I would guess he is going to try and use this to catch attention and move somewhere after this year. When all is said and done, these guys have limited window in which to make a much money as possible (especially guys like heyduk).
While I concur with many of you on the idea that Frankie could be playing for a better team, we have to keep in mind that the market for player transfers is rather poor at the moment. In an ideal world, our man does go to a top tier team in the Netherlands, Portugal, or something akin. I would also like to think that one of the most decorated American internationals of the past four-and-a-half years and a player that just had a superb World Cup would have been given some playing time at Leverkusen, but that wasn't the case either. Good luck in Switzerland, Frankie.
I think he did a good choice. He wants to stay in Europe and for this he needs playing time to show others how good he is (several German Bundesliga clubs were interested, but didn't want to take the risk to get a player without playing time and quite high income). If he does he gets offers for summer as he'll be a free agent then.
i agree, maybe frankie is simply trying to get a better role on a bigger team... a la claudio reyna (don't worry, i am not making a direct comparison... call of the hounds). i mean its a year long contract, playing in europe, and for substancially less money than bl 04 i would imagine. maybe heydude decided that he might actually want a career!
Article from 'Tagblatt', a Swiss newspaper: THE US-BOY WITH FIGHTER HEART 28 year old Frankie Hejduk is loaned from Bayer Leverkusen to St. Gallen A typical US boy from California, a soccer player with a big fighter heart and a positive human being: that's how Frankie Hejduk is characterised. The national player is a prominent new transfer in St Gallen. The transfer of the 28 year old Hejduk of the German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen to FC St Gallen is completed. Though yesterday the final announcement still was massing. But fact is: the two clubs agreed on a transfer on loan base. Already on Sunday after the league game, transfer boss Peter Stadelmann was signalised green light for the transfer. And yesterday noon from Leverkusen it was heard that the agreements meanwhile were written on papers - and these on the way to Switzerland That the transfer of Hejduk - who attended the last NLA game together with Bayer GM Ilja Kaenzig - went that smoothly has its reasons. On the one hand the American soon liked the club from East-Switzerland and on the other hand the German club didn't put stones in his way. Because Hejduk behaved perfectly in Leverkusen. This is not natural in this case. The right midfielder, who is playing backer in the US national team, was always second choice in Leverkusen and in the last 18 months even less. Coach Klaus Toppmöller didn't plan with him and so he just had games in the 3rd division. But he never complained about it. It is reported that he always did his job very well. In 1998 Leverkusen signed the surfer and Reggae fan after the World Cup in France. Since then he's under contract in Leverkusen. He played 19 Bundesliga games scoring one goal - in a home game vs Borussia Mönchengladbach. The contract in Leverkusen is expiring at the end of the season. FC St Gallen seems to have found a player who can motivate a team. It is reported that he is always having a positive attitude, easy to handle, a great character and also well liked by the attendance. In Leverkusen the sympathetic player was especially popular among the fans. "Frankie Hejduk has a big fighter heart, he is strong in duels and he never gives up. Leverkusen's supporters love that", says Ralf Elsen, sports journalist of 'Rheinische Post'. "Frankie is looking forward to his new challenge at FC St Gallen to soccer and also the fact that Switzerland is known as country of snowboarding. He is also a little crazy guy", says Elsen.
Transfer is completed. Transfer fee rumors say 250 K. http://feed.bundesliga.de/vereine/detail.php?id=35999
A loan is also a transfer, just limited in time. The contract at Bayer would have expired anyway at the end of the season, so the effect probably is the same - but I read about another player being loaned to Switzerland who just got a contract until the league splits (after 22 games in Switzerland they play a championship group with 8 and a relegation group with 4 teams). I assume that Frankie got a contract until the end of the season in Switzerland - the difference between loan and complete transfer in this case might be that Bayer still pays part of Frankie's salaray (I doubt that St Gallen can pay Bayer's salary level and that Frankie voluntarily plays for very much money less), something that is not possible in case of a complete transfer.
It's nice to hear all the positive comments about Frankie's attitude in the Swiss newspaper. I think Bruce Arena also referred to Frankie's positive attitude and effect on the team for reasons to bring him to the WC.
Frankie is just the nicest guy imagineable, he's impossible not to like and even though he never plays at Leverkusen he is still a favorite of the fans and fairly well known among supporters of other clubs
I was in St Gallen a few years ago. It is a clean and beautiful city. There is also an important university there. Not a bad place to live at all.
When we (btw, CJ Courtney says hello to everyone, he currently has no time for big soccer) met Frankie in Leverkusen, he told that he cut his long hair because was recognised everywhere and always had to sign autographs wherever he was. With the short hair cut he didn't have these problems anymore.
I think I just realized why Frankie chose St. Gallen. A chance to be a teammate of former Metrostar "great" Guido.
Good for the Dude! I wish more Yanks would check out Switzerland. How tough is it to get a work permit there? Has to be near as easy Belgium.