Kai Herdling completes transfer to the Major League Soccer

Kai Herdling has completed a transfer to the United States Major League Soccer (MLS), where he will be joining Philadelphia Union on a loan deal until June 30th, 2012, with an option to extend his stay until December 31st, 2012. The 27-year-old still holds a contract at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim until 2015.

With the exception of a six-month spell at Waldhof Mannheim, Herdling has been playing for Hoffenheim since 2002 and was crowned last years top scorer for Hoffenheim's reserves in the fourth division.

Reserve team coach Frank Kramer knows how important Herdling has been for his team: “It's a big loss for us. He has a leader personality that will be missed dearly. But we also respect his decision and his desire to gather new experiences and we certainly wont block his path with a chance like this having come up for him.”

Given their annual playing schedule, the season in the MLS has just started. Philadelphia are currently in eighth place in the “Eastern Conference” with one win, one draw and three defeats from the first five games. Herdling's new coach will be the former polish international Piotr Nowak, who played for TSV 1860 München between 1995 and 1998.