On the bench: Startelf-Debüt in der #Bundesliga für Lasse #Günther! 🙏🏻 Viel Erfolg, Jungs! 👊🏻 #RBLFCA pic.twitter.com/r4aQ4qFxLP— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) May 8, 2022
58' Der #FCA hat doppelt gewechselt: ➡️ Pepi➡️ Hahn⬅️ Niederlechner⬅️ Gregoritsch#RBLFCA pic.twitter.com/x0jCuzGQgs— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) May 8, 2022 Down 4-0.
From what I saw yesterday, he got one bobbly chance that he bobbled. Thank god they avoided relegation, because otherwise this would've been a true nightmare scenario - record signing and all that pressure, awful team, goalless -- it looks like a combination of him getting found out (not athletic enough, not quick enough mentally) and him losing confidence. Next year, sadly, given the outlay in him and the stakes for Augsburg will truly be make or break for him.
Not sure what position you're praying in but if you're bedside on your knees, I'd get some kneepads. Will probably be awhile.
On the bench: Geiles Wetter, volles Haus, alles angerichtet! ✊ #FCASGF pic.twitter.com/5roS9RAhGS— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) May 14, 2022 1-1 at the half.
Well, this season didn’t go too great for Pepi. Hopefully he will keep working hard and improve his game. I really want him to succeed. He was a non-factor on a crappy team. Unfortunately, an all too familiar tune lately for the Yanks in Europe
Interview: 🗣 | Interviews Now back home in Texas, Ricardo Pepi talks about getting used to life in Germany and how intense it is playing in the Bundesliga.#USMNT pic.twitter.com/bTRHqXTuTk— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) May 20, 2022
Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but Augsburg's manager Markus Weinzierl is departing the club: https://www.fcaugsburg.de/en/article/markus-weinzierl-leaves-fc-augsburg-15878 And, I missed this from a couple weeks ago, but Michael Parkhurst recently talked about his negative experience playing under that same manager at the same club. Parkhurst: "[Pepi's] in a bad situation right now. I mean I was there at Augsburg under that same coach, and obviously did not have a good experience with him. And I'm not surprised at the current situation there, because I just didn't think that he was a great coach. So, unfortunately, I don't think Pepi is going to make significant strides as a player." Pearce: "Were you shocked that he went there? I was shocked that like how does this make sense for a young guy who's in form right now to go to a club that's fighting relegation. Parky you know what it's like there when you're fighting relegation in a smaller club -- how difficult that is and how unstable the floor is." Parkhurst: "It's so tough, it's so challenging....When I went to Germany we fought relegation as well, but I wasn't playing that much...I was surprised they paid that much, but no I'm not surprised he took it, because that's significant money. So he's gotta be making a good chunk of change, so that's tough to turn down right? That's tough to say 'Oh, that's not a good opportunity for me'. Especially if you believe in yourself. I went there and I believed in myself. I said 'I'm gonna change this guy's attitude toward me.' But it just didn't happen. So I'm sure he thinks the same thing, right?"
Pepi having a reputation of not training well is a habit he is going to have to break. Coach has nothing to do with that.
From this video (at minute 1:02) it seems it's Pearce himself saying it, although his statements are rather vague and provide no sources: "We've been hearing different things, even under Gregg, like, 'Does he train well? He's not great in training.' And in Germany, of all places, it is a war."
To play devil's advocate...could it mean he doesn't look good in training (not he doesn't train well; he puts in effort, listens, and follows directions without complaint, but looks bad doing it) but turns it up (pre-Augsburg ) on game day? I heard the same said recently of either Tevez or Aguero -- at training they're meh but everyone knows what they can do on a game day.
I wonder if Heath Pearce said something good he had heard and whether that would be scrutinized as hard? People are funny.
I wonder if Heath Pearce was in a photo where he looked a little upset next to a trash can in Germany, would that be scrutinized as hard? (For the old heads)
Odd. I found that discussion to be interesting and fairly sober. I thought Davies was making an interesting point, one consistent with what others have said about the difference between MLS and Europe.