Crew SC Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter took the time out of his busy schedule at the Black & Gold's preseason camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. to address the media via teleconference Monday afternoon following his side's first few days of training.
Among the topics covered were team fitness, international play and potential preseason roster moves. Check out the highlights below, or listen to the entire teleconference HERE.
COMING IN FIT
As mentioned last week when the team officially reported to Columbus, many of Crew SC's players entered the preseason already in good shape. Offseason workouts, organized by High Performance Director Steve Tashjian, had up to 18 players in attendance. The hard work has seemed to pay off so far as Berhalter feels his side is ready to focus on more soccer activity than it did at this same point last year.
"Some of the guys that weren’t around [in Columbus] were given programs that they executed in their local market," Berhalter complimented his players. "By-and-large, the guys came back in good condition. What that does is it enables us to hit the ground working right away on soccer. We don’t have to focus too much on fitness, although a portion of this camp is working on improving the base they already have."
WORLD CLASS
It's been a busy 2015 so far for Crew SC on the international stage: winger Justin Meram has been busy with Iraq at the AFC Asian Cup, midfielder Romain Gall just recently wrapped-up play in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship for the United States, newcomer Kristinn Steindorsson scored during his first international cap with Iceland on January 16 and Wil Trapp is currently in Chile for the USMNT's friendly on Wednesday. Additionally, Michael Parkhurst, Waylon Francis and Emanuel Pogatez have been called-up within the past calendar year for the U.S., Costa Rica and Austria, respectively.
Berhalter said he hopes Crew SC can continue to acquire -- and develop -- international talent in 2015.
"We certainly look for players with high potential and the ability to translate their game on different platforms," he explained. "The other side of it is that we also take pride in being able to develop guys and get more out of individuals. We take individual development very seriously. We really want to improve players coming in here."
NEEDED REST
The aforementioned Meram and Iraq saw their hopes of reaching the Asian Cup Final crushed Monday morning after a 2-0 loss to Korea Republic in Sydney, Australia. The Lions of Mesopotomia will play in the Third-Place Match on Friday, and Meram is expected to return to the States shorty after. Don't expect Meram to report to Crew SC camp as soon as he lands in America, however.
Berhalter stressed the importance of rewarding the winger following a grueling month of international duty.
"He’s at a different level of fitness than the rest of the group right now," Berhalter said of Meram. "He’s been playing competitive games for the last month. I think the important thing now is to get him recovered, give him rest and join the team at a later date.
"We’re going to give him some time off, and we’ll see him when we think it’s appropriate."
