In February 2012, Terence Boyd played for Borussia Dortmund. However, not for the Bundesliga team coached by Jurgen Klopp at the time, but for the second set. The kickbacks at the time were compatriot David Wagner of trainer Boyd, who was in the fourth-tier Regionalliga West. A few days before the away game at Idar Oberstein, the US Association reported: “It was very real. It was Diddy’s brother, Mathias Hamann, who was working as a scout for USA at the time. He told me that You can do it. Learn Italian because you are in Italy.’ I told him, ‘I’m playing Regionalliga West and on Saturday in Idar Oberstein, what should I do in Italy’.

From Idar Oberstein to Genoa

Terence Boyd actually played at Idar Oberstein on February 26, 2012 – and won 1–0 with Borussia Dortmund II. After that everything happened very quickly: “Mathias Hamann again took me to the airport, a driver was waiting in Milan who drove me to Genoa”. Boyd felt like he was in the “completely wrong movie”. But it was all real. The 79th minute was played on the evening of 29 February 2012 and America took a 1–0 lead following a goal from Clint Dempsey. American coach Jurgen Klinsmann signaled and Terrence Boyd made his senior debut for the United States.

Knocked out Piro first

The striker still remembers his first action very clearly: “It was sick, first action, first Andrea Pirlo was thrown out. Then he lay there on the ground and looked up.” Which probably shocked Terence Boyd even more because the apology came straight. “I’m so sorry, I’m a big fan” were the budding words for Italian football legend Andrea Pirlo. After the first few minutes in the national kit, it was time to swap jerseys after the final whistle – another awkward situation: “I didn’t know you had two jerseys. I told a player who asked me ‘no’ ‘It’s my first game, the shirt goes to the family house.'” Later, as the exchange worked, Terrence Boyd snatched the shirt from Giorgio Chiellini.

This experience in Genoa was followed by 13 more international matches, the last in October 2016. It was bittersweet for Boyd that in the meantime he had to take a long break due to a cruciate ligament rupture. At the club, the Bremen native moved from Dortmund to Austria, Rapide Vienna. Then back to Germany: RB Leipzig, Darmstadt 98, where Boyd also played 7 times in the Bundesliga, a short trip from Canada to FC Toronto and back in Germany, Hallescher FC were other stations. And now, at the age of 31, 1. With the move to FC Kaiserslautern a dream has come true. Terrence Boyd always wanted to play for the Red Devils. And maybe the long-awaited promotion to the second division will now work for him: “We are second in the table, it is clear that you are dealing with this. But there are still some teams that want the same thing. We do it.” Making sure we finish everything in every game now, and we’ll see where the journey goes.