Mats Hummels praised his club Borussia Dortmund for the planned quick return of the BVB national players with a private jet after the DFB team’s second international match at the end of their trip to the USA.
“I think it’s a highly professional measure,” said the 34-year-old in Foxborough. On Saturday, the German national team will first play against the USA in Hartford, and then on Tuesday evening (local time) they will play against Mexico in Philadelphia. After the end of the game, the Dortmund players should fly back straight away.
Hummels: Adapting to the times is relevant
According to German time, the kick-off takes place on Wednesday at 2:00 a.m. BVB opens the 8th Bundesliga matchday on Friday evening (8.30 p.m.) with the home game against Werder Bremen. Borussia has now chartered a plane for its four players Hummels, Niclas Füllkrug, Julian Brandt and Niklas Süle so that they can be back in Dortmund on Wednesday afternoon. The DFB entourage, however, will not land back in Frankfurt until Thursday morning.
“Having only had one night before the Friday night game to get the jet lag out would probably have been very short. The second night can help a lot,” said Hummels. “I think it helps to be a bit fitter on the pitch on Friday evening or at least to be in the squad.” But he doesn’t have any exact experience with such an action: “Let’s see how the legs feel on Friday evening at 8:30 p.m.”
Adapting to the times is relevant, especially for someone like him, “who is always plagued by jet lag.” The time difference between Germany and the US East Coast is six hours. National coach Julian Nagelsmann had indicated that, if possible, the special situation of the BVB players would be taken into account when determining the playing times. “I always play when I’m allowed to play,” said national team returnee Hummels about a possible rest against Mexico.
BVB justifies its action
The “Bild” newspaper estimates the cost of the private jet to be almost 100,000 euros. The DFB will not contribute to the costs, as was heard in Foxborough. BVB justified its action, even if it runs counter to the issue of sustainability: “By scheduling our league game against Werder Bremen, we are faced with a special situation during this international match period; the performance of our players has the highest priority.”
However, DFB sports director Rudi Völler had also reported that there was the possibility of moving the Dortmund league game from Friday to Sunday. BVB did not want to accept this option with reference to the Champions League game away at Newcastle United three days later.
