John Rennie has wanted to take one of his teams to the World Cup for years. For the first time in his career, he finally has been given the opportunity and the means to do it.
The Blue Devils traveled to Germany Monday and will spend 10 days in Germany and Austria playing a combined three games in the two countries and watching the United States' first World Cup contest.
The NCAA allows teams to take one off-season overseas trip every four years, but Rennie had never before taken advantage of the allowance.
Now Rennie's dream is coming to fruition after two years of careful planning-including using connections to land World Cup tickets-and on the auspices of financial contributions from former players.
"I was looking for two things," Rennie said. "One was soccer playing experience, which we're going to get in the first part of the trip. Then I wanted it to be more than a soccer trip, and what's better than the World Cup?"
Duke will fulfill the first portion of Rennie's vision for the trip with one contest against a German amateur team, TSV-1860 Rosenheim, and two matches against Russian Premier League teams FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok and FC Dynamo Moscow.
Rennie expects the Blue Devils will have their hands full during all three contests, as they will be going up against European teams that feature players with a great deal more experience than the young Duke squad.
Regardless of the outcome of the contests, captain Chris Loftus understands the invaluable opportunity inherent in playing against professional European players.
"We're going to see a level that some of the highest teams in Europe play at," Loftus said. "They're going to be at a level far beyond us, but as a team we will look to see how they organize themselves, how they play the game, how a pro athlete plays over there. We see MLS teams over here, but it's just not the same caliber as guys over there."
Loftus, one of the Blue Devils' most talented and experienced players, said it has always been a dream of his to one day play soccer in Europe-something that is "easily [his] top goal."
Loftus said that he hopes to in part use the experience afforded him by playing against European teams as an opportunity to gauge his own talent against the European players, judging what it takes to play on the other side of the pond.
"A lot of time they look at us Americans as you're not very good and that soccer is not very good over here," Loftus said. "I'm looking to see how these guys handle themselves, what talent level you need to attain to play in Europe."
After the games are over, the real fun will begin for the Blue Devils, who cap off their trip with a visit to Gelsenkirchen, Germany for the United States' first World Cup contest, which will be played against the Czech Republic June 12.
"The World Cup is unlike any other sporting event in the world," junior goalkeeper Justin Papadakis said. "It captivates the world's attention."
Papadakis said he expects the memories and experiences gained from witnessing such a spectacle first-hand will do a great deal to bring the team together.
Both Rennie and Loftus echoed Papadakis in their belief that the trip will prove a powerful bonding experience for the team and provide valuable elements that will help Duke as it prepares for the upcoming season in the fall.
"You can't help but bond with the team and the coaches, I think that's our main goal," Papadakis said. "Hopefully our bonding experience will help us be better on the field in the fall."
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