European Soccer Coach Takes Shot At NFL Stadium Field

We're officially just a year out from the FIFA World Cup returning to American soil. But one European soccer coach doesn't seem too happy about it after getting a taste of the field conditions at MetLife Stadium over the weekend.

Following Saturday's 3-2 loss at the hands of Real Madrid, Dortmund coach Niko Kovac likened the surface to something more suitable for the Masters than high-level soccer.

"It's more a golf green, so you can putt here," Kovac quipped. "It's very short. But this is not the grass we are used to playing on in the Bundesliga and also in the other two stadiums."

"As you saw, the watering wasn't good enough, I would say, because you don't have the devices for that," the coach added. "When it's too dry, it's unbelievable. It's sticking."

Kovac also took aim at the summer heat of the tri-state area as something not conducive to this kind of competition.

"We played two times in Cincinnati. The first time it was 12 o'clock. The second time it was 3 PM and the pitch we had temperatures of around about [113° F]," Kovac said. "When the temperature is [113° F], this is not amazing. This is very hard for someone, and the players, they must play these games."

"Today, we had [95° F]. It's also not much better, to be honest. But, OK, this a tournament we need to play. And I would suggest— my suggestion, that the kickoff time will be a little later."