The domestic soccer world got a quick peak two weeks ago at Terrence Boyd, the latest German-American to wash conveniently down the U.S. Soccer pipeline. Jermaine Jones, Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson, Tim Chandler and David Yeldell, others who have recently earned their first U.S. caps, Boyd is the son of a German mother and American father. He plays for the reserves of Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
What did everyone see from Boyd on that afternoon? He got in late as Jurgen Klinsmann’s team nursed home a 1-0 win in Genoa. So he dashed about, won a tackle or two and tried to be a mayhem maker, that sort of thing. All things considered, not a bad debut run-out. He looked like a big, strong, athletic young man, very determined and probably someone who can be lethal around the goal. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what U.S. under-23 manager Caleb Porter says:
“He’s a big, strong, athletic kid, very determined and lethal around the goal,” Porter said.
See. Told you.
Actually, here’s everything that Porter said two days ago about Boyd, originally summoned into last month’s 10-day under-23 camp in Dallas, but was redirected at the 11th hour for Klinsmann’s personnel inspection as part of the full national team’s efforts in Italy:
“Obviously he was also in the Germany camp [last year] with Claudio [Reyna] and Tab [Ramos]. They really liked him there. He’s a guy that fits in that No. 9 spot. … He’s been great with his club, Borussia Dortmund 2, the reserve team. He’s really been doing well and scoring goals.
“For me, he can hold the ball, he can stretch [defenses], he’s great around the box and he can score goals. … He’s a great kid, as well. He made a great impression on us in that Florida camp. He hasn’t been able to get into any of the other camps with us, but we’ve been monitoring his progress. Again, I think he fits the system we’re playing and brings some things to the table that we feel are important.”
The full transcript of Porter’s news conference on Tuesday is here at U.S. Soccer.
Some really good details on Boyd from the New York Times’ Goal Blog are here.
