In a comfortable neighborhood in Northern Virginia, U.S.
Men’s National youth team player Junior Flores came one step closer to
achieving his hopes and dreams this week.
After flying back and forth from Germany for much of the
last two years after signing his contract with German side Borussia Dortmund,
Junior is happy and determined to succeed now that he’s finally reached the
time in which it goes into full effect.
Forced to wait until his 18th birthday due to
U.S. Labor laws before he could begin to earn money and play games for
Dortmund, Flores is confident at the beginning of his four year contract with
the club.
“It’s a good contract, for sure. Most of the time I’m with
the second team and now I can start playing games also. I just have to put my
head down and work hard. That’s what everyone keeps telling me so that’s what
I’ll do.”
As for first team opportunities, Junior said that currently they
are few and far between. With the World Cup this summer and many first team players
from Borussia Dortmund absent because of national team commitments, who knows
what could happen.
Junior will fly back next week to rejoin his team, Borussia
Dortmund II, who currently play in the 3. Liga. Fellow national team member
Terrence Boyd helped Dortmund II gain promotion two years ago. His professional
contract with Dortmund allows Junior to train with the first team if invited.
For now though, he’s happy to train and begin playing games with Dortmund II as
well as the U19’s.
Junior’s international career really began to take flight
when he was invited to train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida at the
age of 15. He speaks highly of his time there.
“(IMG) was different, the lifestyle and the people I was
around. The level was high all the time;
everyone was training to have a spot on the (youth national) team. I enjoyed it
a lot playing-wise.”
However, when compared to Dortmund’s Academy, Flores says
it’s different.
“The level is just so much higher. Everyone is older. The higher
level you’re playing at means the better you train. You train every day and you
get better.”
Germany seems to treat Junior right. The language is “tough”
but the lifestyle is “easy to work with”. He is currently learning German in
order to better communicate with his coaches and teammates. Since he began to
train with the reserve team of Dortmund, Junior was housed at the ‘youth house’
whenever he would journey over. He is now beginning to search for a place of
his own and a car to get him where he needs to go.
“The city’s really nice. What I love about where I’m living
is everything is so close to the training ground. The city and stadium are so
close. In the youth house they feed you and take care of you. All you really
need is clothes. When I’m on my own of course, I’ll have to take care of
myself.”
Flores will play his games at Stadion Rote Erde, which lies
next to Signal Iduna Park where the first team plays. Dortmund II sits in 13th
place on 39 points, six points off relegation. The team trains every day, sometimes
more than once, and the level and intensity of training can vary depending on
whether or not there is a game the next day. He evens gets to train on the
famous Footbonaut – a unique training machine that spits balls at varying speeds at a player (or
sets of players) in the middle. The machine is designed to enhance skill and
awareness.
“There’s so much stuff you can do with it, it’s insane. We
use it all the time. You have balls coming at you high, low, as fast as you
want them to come, and at different angles. Sometimes we have competitions
between players to see who can do better. You can control it through your
iPhone, iPad, or a computer. It’s used as our training sometimes where we’ll
(use) it on a Monday (instead of training outside).”
Junior also has the opportunity to train occasionally under
one of the best coaches in the game right now – Jurgen Klopp – who manages the
first team and has been said to be keen on Flores.
“He’s a funny guy, he loves messing around. He’s always just
kidding around. What I like about him is he always gives young players a chance.”
When it comes to the fans, Dortmund is well known to have
some of the most fanatical in the world (Google: Yellow Wall). Junior says that
even at the youth games the fans are intense.
“Oh, the fans?! I can’t even explain it, they’re just crazy.
It’s incredible to see them.”
The excitement of BVB fans over Flores is palpable. Junior was showered by
welcome messages from fans of the club on Twitter during his birthday.
Happy Birthday and welcome to @BVB, @Floresjr_!
— Laurin H. (@LaurinHDo) March 26, 2014
Junior often gets a chance to be a fan himself, since he has
VIP tickets to every home game courtesy of Neven Subotic, of whom they share
the same agent. He says it’s quite the experience. Even when he’s not in
Germany he’s still watching his club, as on last Tuesday when Dortmund played
their bitter archrivals FC Schalke 04 (the former club of Jermaine Jones). The
match ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw for Dortmund on their home soil in the
sold out Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund is packed with stars and offers a rich
history. When asked who he looks up to within the club, he offers a humble
answer.
“Everyone’s great. For being a young player, they just tell
me work hard. I mean, everyone just says as long as you work hard Klopp will
see you. When I was out there, at first I was supposed to be with the U19’s,
but they saw me and I got moved up with the second team. Everyone’s a good guy
there.”
Junior says he also looks up to Thiago Alcontara and Mario
Gotze. They both play currently for rival Bayern Munich, but Gotze is a former
Dortmund player.
Junior’s commitment to the United States continues to be
strong. He likes Klinsmann and sees encouraging signs ahead for the national
team and soccer here in the USA.
“I like what he’s done with the national team and he’s
moving in a good direction. He’s doing a really good job. We’ll see how the
World Cup goes, especially in this group.”
As a dual national, Junior is also eligible to represent El
Salvador but says he is more than happy to represent the USA. Similar to a
player who’s been in the spotlight of late in the national team pool, from a
dual-national’s standpoint Flores thinks it’s good that Julian Green opted to
represent the United States.
“It’s pretty crazy. He’s my age (18) but about a year older.
I've seen him play, he’s a good player. It can be a difficult decision because
your parents are from there and they want you to play for them, but it’s not a
hard decision (for Junior). The US is going in a good direction.”
When asked about MLS, Junior says there’s still work to be
done but it’s getting better every year.
“I feel like throughout the years the league is improving,
especially being able to bring in Henry to the Red Bulls. I feel like they’re
improving a lot, every year it gets better.”
“The intensity is not there (in MLS) as much, but you can
see every year it’s improving. The fans are (growing); it’s just a different
atmosphere from being in Europe and being in America. As a player, you can see it;
you can feel it when you’re out there. MLS wants to improve, I can tell. I feel
like they’re going toward the right step.”
Flores was offered at Generation Adidas contract by MLS, but
he refused after being pursued by big European clubs, including PSG and Liverpool.
Ultimately, he ended up at Dortmund in a situation that makes him happy and
gives him a great stage to showcase his talent.
The US U20 team will meet next month to play in the Dallas
Cup. With everything now coming together in his career, he’s not sure if he’s
going to end up going. It’s a decision that he hasn't made yet, with important
personal matters to be taken care of in Germany first now that he has to start
a life there. The US coaches will keep their eyes on him. If it works out,
he’ll go. For now, he’s focused on getting back and working hard at Dortmund.
