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Cooper introduced by 1860 Munich

Kenny Cooper 3 (ISIphotos.com) 

                                                   Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. national team forward Kenny Cooper was officially introduced by 1860 Munich on Tuesday in a press conference where he showed off the No. 33 jersey he will be wearing for the Bundesliga 2 club.

Here is a video clip of Cooper's press conference, where he answers several questions about his move (and even answers a handful of questions about whether he has a girlfriend).

One interesting thing to note is that Cooper's new head coach is Ewald Lienen. If the name rings a bell it is because he was the Hannover 96 manager when Clint Mathis made the move to Hannover (yes, the same Ewald Lienen Mathis gave the "It's about time you played me" gesture that eventually led to Mathis quick return to MLS.

Cooper's press conference was impressive as we saw a confident and relaxed Cooper who looks poised to make the most of his move to Europe.

What do you think of Cooper's move? Think the move to Europe will help him establish a larger role with the national team? Like 1860 Munich as a club for Cooper to grow with?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. He may be a good soccer player, but he’s not very polished when it comes to interviewing or when it comes to having interests outside of soccer. I don’t see him learning the German language and it’s a shame he couldn’t tell the reporters what he visited in Munich that he liked. They did not want to hear that he thought they had a cool stadium.- Dan

    ________

    Dan,

    All of this has what to do with his football? How good is the fluent German you learned in one week? Do you work for the Munich media?

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  2. Kenny has never been a good interview but wow he did not answer the questions presented to him. I guess that is not always a bad thing.

    As far as Kenny Sr he was always around in Dallas so I imagine with his son gone to Germany he will always be around there as well. but who know he has a younger son who is playing for SMU and might get some of his attention.

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  3. How much did they sell Kenny for?

    Posted by: gj

    To my knowledge, it hasn’t yet been made known. The major Munich paper, in an article from 7/31 (http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/204/482658/text/) said the deal will be done after he passes his physical (which may have already happened). No amount has been given yet. There is some question about 1860’s finances, but they went on to quote Schellas H. who expressed his pleasure at the sale so that they could use the money to rebuild FC Dallas. The assumption being that it was a large amount that would go to Dallas. Still no word on specifics.

    They see Cooper as the “missing piece” in the mold of Hulk Hogan and Martin Max (a former striker for 1860). They see Kenny as a guy that can “do it all.” Wow…

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  4. zongzap: not sure what Cooper fans you are talking about. I for one wish him well, but think he has his work cut out for him and needs to rise to the challenge. If he does, great, if not, he has to deal with it. what’s your point? Is it that you assume already that he will fail? If so, what will you say when he plays consistently?

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  5. @ BlueWhiteLion

    Don’t forget that he cruised by Nymphenburg and took a short tour of Dachau…really a low key couple of days if you ask me.

    Hilarious

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  6. I’m glad he escaped the clutches of MLS, but what is the deal with his dad following him around everywhere? It’s just normal for a grown man (Jr) to have his Dad in his back pocket. Wierd. Kinda tennis dad-ish …

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  7. thanks attenborough. I mean, sure it’s nice to hone skills that are ancillary to your trade–interviews being one of them, but in the end, that is not what he is paid for.

    As for a good interview, I think Holden is showing promise.

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  8. I can’t believe any of you care how well he interviewed. Did you even watch the report with footage of him at practice? He almost broke a guy’s ankles during a possession drill.

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  9. gee Dan, thanks for giving the guy a break. Let’s see, what to do in 2 days in new city with new job: get picked up at airport, to to hotel, visit new stadium, visit team grounds, train with team, do interviews, but before interviews, Go skiing in the alps, see where the Oktoberfest is held, throw down a few liters with coach, visit the Isar river, notice Germans don’t wear much clothing, go to Marienplatz, memorize the chimes tune, talk to locals about culture there, buy lederhosen, take yodeling classes and remember to start German instruction, call my girlfriend, get my picture on the TV tower like Messi in Seattle, and then polish my interviewing skills.

    Yeah, that’s it.

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  10. He may be a good soccer player, but he’s not very polished when it comes to interviewing or when it comes to having interests outside of soccer. I don’t see him learning the German language and it’s a shame he couldn’t tell the reporters what he visited in Munich that he liked. They did not want to hear that he thought they had a cool stadium.

    Reply
  11. Nothing better than awkward pauses…

    I hope he plays very well over there. One thing I don’t think about when players move abroad is they are thrown into a completely different environment and need to adapt very, very quickly. I’m obviously going to follow him as much as possible.

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  12. i didn’t sense he wasn’t excited, it just seemed like an awkward situation with the German journalists needing time to think of questions and phrase them in English. I think he IS excited, but come on, it’s just the second day. 🙂

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  13. Although Cooper didn’t seem overly excited, he has a great chance in Munich. Benny Lauth will probably be his strike partner and the two could put up some huge numbers and win a lot of games!!!

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  14. What is this, the 3rd grade? Leave that scary, fuzzy caterpillar – I mean, hairy alien space worm – I mean forehead beard…I mean very healthy unibrow alone please. Thank you.

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  15. in another video, his coach Ewald Lienen said (essentially):

    “He has a great presence, but he is not just a target man in the narrow sense. He is a good all around player who moves around well, is technical, fast, a real football player. He is good in the penalty area, both shooting and with headers.”

    GM Stevic was happy they got him despite strong competition. He was the man they wanted. Kenny was well recommended by a good adviser to the team. With so much competition for Kenny the window of opportunity was narrow, but they did all they could to get him.

    The general impression people have is that he adds well to the team and is committed to seeing them move up to better things.

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  16. Ives, you are being kind. Kenny did not answer one question and looked uptight.

    Doesn’t mean he can’t help the team gain promotion. Good luck Kenny!!!

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  17. I hope he does well and continues to develop but he just doesn’t seem very quick to me. I’m not sure that’s something you can develop.

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  18. I don’t follow the B2 that closely, but hopefully Cooper will get good playing time and develop there. I hope that the service is better than at FCD. Good luck to him!

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  19. Looks like Kenny’s been going to the Crash Davis school of interview cliches….well done. Best of luck to him – hope he continues to develop.

    Reply

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