22-year-old Amir Bashti of the San Francisco Glens visited the youth academy of KSV Holstein in Kiel at the beginning of August. He trained for almost a week with Ole Werner’s U23 and Dominik Glawogger’s U19. The winger was left with a positive impression: “The training is very professional. Video analyses show us what we need to improve on. The training units themselves are very intense and performance-oriented.” The former U20 national player was also impressed with the team effort: “Everyone is working extremely hard and is very focused.” He went on to mention that it was a fantastic opportunity to get immersed in European soccer, where focus and intensity are paramount. The winger was also enthralled with the friendliness and helpfulness he encountered. “They made it really easy for me, and I immediately felt like I was part of the team.”
The visit by Bashti was a result of the cooperation agreement that Wolfgang Schwenke, Commercial Director of the KSV, signed two months earlier with the USL League Two club. That agreement came out of the twinning agreement between Kiel and San Francisco, which the German association “The Bay Areas e.V.” and the “San Francisco – Kiel Sister City Committee” in the US launched.
