Tiffert: "We did everything right"

Given that 30-year-old former Bundesliga pro Christian Tiffert has only just emerged from an 11-hour intercontinental flight that's brought him from Seattle back to Germany, his phone voice sounds surprisingly fresh. Got any sleep? "No, not really. We took off from Seattle in the afternoon and it was only when we touched down in Germany that I began, slowly but surely, to feel a little tired."

Tiffert's team, the Seattle Sounders, had lost their Major League Soccer semi-final against the L.A. Galaxy featuring a certain David Beckham; the final will now be disputed on Saturday between Los Angeles and Houston Dynamo. With an average crowd of 43,000 spectators per game, Seattle is a soccer stronghold in a nation that is showing signs it is finally willing to embrace the beautiful game – MLS fixtures are broadcast on, amongst other TV stations, ESPN, ABC, and the Fox Soccer Channel. You might even say that while American Football, Baseball, Basketball and (Ice) Hockey are unlikely to ever give up their places in the top four, soccer now comes a strong fifth in the professional sports rankings.

In this interview with DFB.de senior writer Thomas Hackbarth, Halle-born Tiffert, who rose to Bundesliga fame with VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Kaiserslautern and played alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski at the U21 European Championship in 2004, talks about how he's fared so far in the wild, wild American North-West.

DFB.de: Losing out in the semis against the reigning champions – are you disappointed at what could have been, or overall content with what you've achieved?

Tiffert: Well, this was the first time for Seattle Sounders to survive the first round of the play-offs at all, and actually we came pretty close to making history. We were 2-0 up in the second-leg match at Seattle when the Galaxy were awarded a soft penalty. After that, they were even harder to break down, with people like Landon Donovan, David Beckham, and Robbie Keane bringing a world of experience to the side. Basically, the first-leg 0-3 defeat at Carson sort of prejudiced the outcome. L.A. Galaxy are a great attacking force; you make the smallest mistake and they clinically punish that.

DFB.de: Was it any special to play against Beckham?

Tiffert: (laughs) Oh, I have played against some famous players before! I mean I certainly didn't just stand in awe and let him run past me. But he definitely deserves huge credit for making soccer more popular in the USA. And before you ask, he isn't just some kind of walking merchandising advert or anything like that. He delivers high-quality soccer, week after week.

DFB.de: What was your plan when you joined the MLS in the summer?

Tiffert: First of all, I wanted to do my bit to make the Sounders successful. At the same time, being 30 years old and having played all my football in Germany, I felt the time was right for me to broaden the mind, go out and explore the world. My two children were born while I was at Kaiserslautern, so my wife and I spent a good deal of time thinking whether it would really be wise for us to leave everything behind. With hindsight I can say we did everything right. My daughter's going to an English-language kindergarten, and it's amazing how fast the little ones adapt to a totally different environment, coming home with new foreign words every day!

DFB.de: How do you like Seattle?

Tiffert: I think it's a very European city, very much unlike New York or Chicago with their rows and rows of their sky-scrapers. Seattle is a green place, with great surroundings, mountains and lots of lakes. Not in vain do they call Washington state the "Evergreen State“.

DFB.de: Anything you didn't like in America?

Tiffert: Frankly, I'm missing German TV. In the beginning, there were no Bundesliga matches to be found on television, and on account of the time difference, I had to switch on the telly at 12 noon just to watch a Champions League match – that takes some getting used to.

DFB.de: Some of your best known team-mates were Zach Scott, Eddie Johnson, and Austrian keeper Michael Gspurning. You were signed to make your mark in midfield. How high would you rate the general level of play?

Tiffert: Let's say that contrary to many Europeans' opinions, the MLS is definitely no second-rate thing. Matches are tough, challenging, and pretty physical competitions where referees just wave play on a lot of times. There are few tactical constraints, often it's end-to-end stuff, lots of goal-scoring chances, plenty of entertainment for fans.

DFB.de: And your team-mates?

Tiffert: All comparisons are loath. This is not Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 or, for that matter, German football's third-tier division – it's the MLS full stop. I advise people to check it out for themselves. The days of 35-year-old has-beens collecting big pay checks are long over. Standards have risen considerably, not least thanks to clubs signing people like Beckham or Keane.

DFB.de: In the quarter-final match against Salt Lake City, you played on despite a rather seriously-looking head injury. This is the stuff that supporters' heroes are made of, right?

Tiffert: Like I said – the refs here tend to be pretty lenient. Soccer is seen as a classic contact sport. That wound of mine was stapled and that was it, not even a free kick was given although it was crystal-clear I'd been elbowed. In 15 matches, five of us suffered a laceration. Well, that's the MLS for you!.

DFB.de: You did win a title with Seattle after all – no other MLS team sold more tickets.

Tiffert: Yes, we had an average 43,000 spectators per match, and twice we sold out CenturyLink Field stadium completely, with 69,000 people in the ground. The city is mad about its soccer. Which made it all the easier for me to make Seattle my home. We have a very mixed crowd, from Central-American migrants to your classic all-American family. Speaking of which, matches are a real family affair. There's a brass band playing before kick-off, and even if we haven't really performed all that well, you won't get hassled and can still walk home quietly.

DFB.de: I suppose you're aware of the ongoing public debate in Germany about violence at football matches?

Tiffert: In the US, violence in sports is an absolute no-go, at least as far as soccer stadiums are concerned. I mean you can be a dyed-in-the-wool fan, shout your heart out, suffer and celebrate with your team all you want, but in Germany things are getting too radical for my taste. Do we really want tribal warfare, with the level of aggression resulting in ever fewer people coming to games? That would be the end of all the fun and beauty of soccer.

DFB.de: You have played under renowned coaches, including the likes of Magath, Sammer, and Trapattoni. What kind of coach is Seattle's Sigi Schmidt?

Tiffert: He's pretty laid-back, but that doesn't mean he won't give people a piece of his mind, if you know what I mean. He has tremendous experience and has led other MLS teams to success. His training is great, plenty of variety, never boring. The funny thing is that while he's German, we talk English in training all the time, which is fine with me. I'd hate to be treated differently from the others.

DFB.de: Have you met Microsoft founder and Sounders owner Paul Allen?

Tiffert: He did not miss a single play-off match. His interest in the club is genuine, we can all feel that.

DFB.de: How often to you think back to the U 21 European Championship in 2004?

Tiffert: I rarely ponder over what's in the past. I mean people will bring it up in conversation every once in a while, but that's about it.

DFB.de: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, and Tim Wiese were part of that German team.

Tiffert: (laughs) Which goes to show I had some really good team-mates, right?

DFB.de: But you, too, were a regular.

Tiffert: That's correct. And yes, it was quite a good side, with almost everyone going on to become a decent Bundesliga player.

DFB.de: How do you see your own future?

Tiffert: I have signed a contract with Seattle Sounders for the next season, but frankly, sport is such a fast-moving scene, you never really know what comes along. I'd love to play another year in the MLS. I think I've done reasonably well, given that I joined them in mid-season. I'm flying back to Seattle in mid-January, and I'm looking forward to it!

Let's get personal: Perhaps one of Germany's unsung stars, Christian Tiffert collected a German championship with VfB Stuttgart and was crowned Austrian champion with Red Bull Salzburg. An MSV Duisburg stalwart of many years, he was one of German professional soccer's best midfielders when playing for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, with the readers of regional paper 'Die Rheinpfalz' overwhelmingly voting him 'FCK player of the year 2011'. He won 24 caps for the German U21 team, including the 2004 European Championship.