You’ve grown up in the very center of the U.S. soccer community thanks to your Dad’s coaching success. Could you talk about how you were introduced to the game growing up? Were you a tagalong, always showing up in locker rooms and on the sidelines?
From as young as I can remember, I was always playing soccer. I always used to show up to my Dad’s trainings and games. He used to let me go on the bus trips for the away games on the weekends. I grew up in the locker rooms of the different teams he coached, whether it was Princeton, D.C. United or the Chicago Fire. I’ve loved the game since the first day I was born.
How did you start training? Did you play youth soccer like everyone else or were you working primarily with your Dad?
When I was really young it was me and my Dad going out in the yard and playing just the two of us. Then when I got older and was around his practices, he sometimes would grab a few of the guys or one of the assistant coaches and we’d play a little two v. two or three v. three game. That was how I really learned. As I got older I saw other kids playing in different leagues and naturally that became something I wanted to do and my parents always gave me that opportunity. I started playing on a club team, but my love for going out by myself and being with the ball or kicking it around with my Dad after dinner never changed.
What parts of the game would you say came naturally to you and what parts did you have to consciously work on? Or more generally, what skills did you really emphasize in your training?
Just being as comfortable as possible with the ball. Being able to move with the ball and dribble; to take good touches with both feet; being able to strike a good ball whether passing or shooting. In all ways, just becoming more comfortable with the ball. My Dad used to tell me that the more time you spend with the ball, the more you’ll be comfortable with it. When you’re out on the field you want to be able to make sure you can make any play necessary. That process obviously starts when you’re really young and never ends.
When would you say you started to seriously consider playing professionally?
For me, because I was always around the game, it was the only thing I considered. Ever since I found out playing soccer was something you were allowed to do when you grew up, that was what I had my heart set on.
Given that you moved around a lot as a kid, what was it like to be given the opportunity to settle down at Bradenton Academy and train in residency with the youth national team program? Can you describe your experience at Bradenton for us?
Bradenton was an incredible two years for me. If you asked every 14 or 15 year old that plays soccer in this country, I think every one of them would tell you they’d do anything to be invited into residency. When the opportunity came to me, it was something I was extremely excited about and I knew I couldn’t pass it up. To leave home at 15 years old and live by yourself and with teammates, it was incredible. Some of my best friends are guys I lived next to in dorms there. Everyday—weightlifting, going to school, soccer training—we did everything together. For me, on the field and off the field, it was something I’ll never forget.
Based on your recent performances, there’s now the potential that you’ll have to miss the 2007 U-20 Cup if you get called up to the full side, but if you’re able to be in Canada this summer, how special will it be to go against the world with all your boys?
Really special. It’s finally our chance to show each other, everybody in the country and everybody in the world all the work we’ve put in over the last four or five years. Technically, some have only been playing on the U-20s for a year, but like I said, the core of the U-20 team has been together since the U-14 national team camp with Manny Schellscheidt. We know each other really well as the best of friends, so we’re all really excited to show everybody how good we are. It’s gonna’ be a challenge, but it’s something we’re all looking forward to.
What are your predictions for the tournament? We know you guys are grouped with Brazil, but how do you like your chances?
We’re in the Group of Death, the most difficult group. We’re going to go in prepared and take each game one at a time and we’re not going to underestimate anybody. At the same time, I know when we go there and fight for each other, if we’re sharp and peak at the right time, we can beat anybody. There’s a lot of confidence in the group that we can go in on any day and beat anybody, and we’ll take that mentality with us and see if we can make a real run at winning.
Given that you play on both the U-20 side and now on the full side, can you compare your role on the field and your personality when playing with the older guys and when playing with the group you grew up with?
On the field it’s not like my responsibilities change a whole lot. Whether it’s with the full team or U-20s, I play deep in the center of the midfield. So for me, that part doesn’t change. I need to concentrate on doing the things that make me a good player and good for the team. Obviously with the U-20s, I have to be a little more of a leader, be vocal and be a strong presence in the group. When I go in with the full team, whether it’s a training or a game, I know I have to continually establish myself with the older guys. They have so much more experience and are so willing to help out the younger guys like myself, and so I have to go in with an open mind and be ready to listen and just challenge myself to be a better player every time.
What do you think you need to do specifically to establish yourself with the full side?
I want to be depended on as a guy in the middle of the field with a physical presence who is good with the ball and can help dictate how the team plays through my passing. When you look around the world, on all good teams they have guys in the center of the field with a strong presence and who can do more than just disrupt. I need to establish myself as someone that can always be counted on.
In the Ecuador and Guatemala games, everyone pretty much agrees that you and Benny Feilhaber paired well with one another. What are the different, complementary things each of you bring to the table?
Well, there are some similar qualities between us that help a lot and also some differences. We’re both comfortable with the ball and like to get touches in and combine with each other. We’re not afraid to play each other in tight spots because we’ve got a lot of confidence in one another. It was only two games, but I do think there’s definitely potential for Benny and I to play well in the center of the field together.
Why did the U.S. see such different results in the Ecuador and Guatemala games? You happened to play strongly in both, but what was the difference from your perspective? We know a lot has been made of Guatemala’s strategy to pack it in defensively and play for the tie.
Ecuador is a good team, for one. They’re strong; they’re powerful; they’re a good attacking team. When they came in, they got after us pretty good in the first half. They weren’t content just to sit back and defend and I think we dealt pretty well with that. Attacking wise, we were very sharp on that day. Against Guatemala, anytime they come in to play the United States it’s like a Championship game. Credit to them; they worked incredibly hard, they were disciplined, they knew how they wanted to play and on that night we just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be when we got close to the goal. We certainly had plenty of chances and if we had gotten a goal early it could have easily turned out to be three or four to zero. But that’s the way the game goes sometimes. We weren’t able to get that early goal and, in the end, we just weren’t sharp enough.
Transitioning over to club life in Holland, what is the atmosphere like at Heerenveen? When we talked with Benny, he mentioned how competitive he found training in Germany.
The atmosphere around our club is good. In Holland, Heerenveen is not one of the two or three biggest clubs, but of the rest of the clubs in the country, it’s the biggest. Everyday when you walk in there’s a warm feeling, from the people who work upstairs in the offices to the physios and wash ladies. It’s a comfortable atmosphere. As far as training, there are differences, but I wouldn’t say it’s completely different from the stuff we do with the national team. Like anywhere, though, there are things they like to do here to work on things that are a little bit different. We train a lot here, a few times a week, two times a day. Once you adapt to it, it’s all very good.
Was it difficult to adapt to the competition between professionals? These are people fighting for their jobs, how hard was it getting used to that mentality?
I was lucky enough to start my professional career in New York with the Metrostars, and our training sessions there were hard and competitive too. So coming in to Europe, I knew what was expected and I was ready for it. Whenever you go to a new team there are things to get used to, but I feel that I was fortunate enough to adapt pretty well and pretty quickly.
Living by yourself as a 20 year-old American in Holland, how hard was it to acclimate yourself off the field?
When I first came I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got off the plane with two bags and that was it. I didn’t know where I was going to live; I didn’t know anything. But the people at the club were incredibly helpful in getting me settled and making sure I had everything I needed. I owe a lot to them as far as making the club feel like home. Having lived away from home in residency, this was something I was pretty used to. Of course you miss not being able to see your family and friends, but for me there was no real homesickness. I was able to come and I was excited and knew that in order to do well I would have to be 100% committed.
How do you keep yourself busy away from training? What are the things you do to give yourself some space from the game or to refresh your mind and body?
To be honest, there’s not a whole lot of time like that. Like I said, we train a lot, so on most days I wake up in the morning and am out of my apartment by 8:45 or 9:00 and if it’s a day when we’re training twice, then I’m not back until 4:30. When I get back to the apartment I’ll maybe relax a little bit, go on the internet to catch up with some emails and some instant messages, then I’ll usually go to the grocery store and figure out if I’m going to cook or go out to eat with some of the guys on the team. When I get back I like to watch whatever soccer is on TV, maybe put in a movie or hang out on the internet, and go to sleep pretty early so can I do it all over again the next day. For me, I don’t really need any time away from soccer. That’s never been the issue.
"Soccer is what I love doing and this is how I like it."
So you’re working on your cooking game a little bit?
(laughs) Yeah, I’m trying. I don’t cook that often. I’d say I’m a decent cook and I like it, but for one person, to do it and then have to clean up, sometimes it’s just easier to go out to eat.
Have you tried your hand at any authentic Dutch cuisine?
Nahh. Dutch food is pretty old fashion. If you talk to kids my age, they aren’t even really into traditional Dutch food. The everyday food is actually pretty similar overall. In the center of town there’s an Italian restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a Greek restaurant, and then, like everywhere in Europe, there are some café type places. The eating part was not an adjustment at all.
Our last question for you Mike, looking ahead to South Africa 2010 and future club opportunities, what are your goals for the immediate future and maybe long-term as well?
I want to go into training everyday and work hard to make sure I’m always improving as a player. I want to continue to establish myself with the full national team, become a really important player. Obviously I don’t know yet, but hopefully I’ll be involved with at least one of the two tournaments with the full national team this summer. And then, there’s the U-20 Championship. So it’s a good and busy summer for me, but it’s a great opportunity because at the end of the day you’re judged on what championships you’re able to win in your career. It’s gonna’ be great, I’m really excited.
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