Andrew Farrell, the number one overall pick in the 2013 MLS draft, is a rookie defender for the New England Revolution. He talked to haititempo.com about being the first overall draft pick and his early experiences as well as his future plan.
Q: When did you start playing soccer?
Andrew: I started playing when I was three years old in Louisville, Kentucky. My mom was my first coach, so I started pretty young.
Q: Who was your favorite player growing up?
Andrew: Really nobody famous – my brother was probably my favorite player to watch. He’s three or four years older than me and taught me everything I know. But, if I had to pick a famous player, I would have to say Alex Song who plays for Barcelona, I like him a lot.
Q: Do you think growing up in Peru helped you to become the player you are today?
Andrew: I definitely think so. I think just how soccer is everywhere there, I mean here it’s getting bigger in the states, but in every country but the states it is probably the biggest sport. I played after school and whenever I could in the parks and streets definitely helped me become the player I am today.
Q: At just 21 years old, being the #1 overall pick in the 2013 MLS draft, how difficult has it been to live up to the expectations that come with such selection?
Andrew: It is definitely nerve-wracking. I was nervous at first because you always want to make a good impression and live up to the hype, but I think the coaching staff here and all the players have done a good job at just letting me be myself and become my own player. It is hard to come in and start a lot of games for the team, but everyone has helped me just have fun out here. Expectations are obviously high, but I think it is just for the team to do well and when the team does well, I look good and everything looks a lot better. (laughs)
Q: How do you feel knowing that you play in one of the best defenses in the league?
Andrew: It speaks volumes to what we’ve done. It’s not just the back forward and the goal keepers, I think it is the whole team. Obviously we can’t defend well if our forwards aren’t scoring and our midfielders can’t press and you have guys like Bobby and Matt Reis behind you in goal. Players like AJ who are just biting at the chops to get some playing time, it makes everyone better. You have to perform 100 percent every day in practice to be able to start. Obviously, we have been playing well on defense and have only allowed 14 goals which is pretty remarkable, so we’ll try to keep building on that.
Q: What was going through your mind when you received your first red card in the league against the Whitecaps?
Andrew: It was a long-ball over our entire defense’s head, and I thought, we’re up 2-0, I don’t want this guy to score, especially because we had a pretty good shutout streak going. I mean, that wasn’t all that was going through my head, but I just had to stop him. I got really close to him to try to throw him off and he kind of tripped on my leg. I wasn’t really thinking, but some of the veterans said I should’ve just let him have the goal, we were up 2-0. If they scored, we’d still be up 2-1 and we were killing them, so you learn from those things. But still, it was my first red card ever so it kind of sucked.
Q: Who is the smartest player you have ever played with?
Andrew: I would probably either say Paolo Dipicallo who just got signed by Montreal or Scotty Caldwell. Scotty is probably one of the smartest players.
Q: What was your favorite moment while playing for Louisville in college?
Andrew: Probably when we went to the National Championship my Freshmen year. I got to play in the final against Akron and they beat us. Scotty scored, but playing in Santa Barbara was amazing because it was just the nicest weather in December. Just getting to the finals as a Freshmen was pretty cool and it was a good experience.
Q: Is coaching in your plan when you are done playing?
Andrew: Yes, I am hoping to coach or do something around the sport at some point. I love soccer so much and I am hopefully going to finish school within the next year or two. I would love to coach at the collegiate or club level somewhere, so that’d be kind of fun and something I’d like to do.
Q: What advice would you give to young players who want to become pro soccer players?
Andrew: What I have learned is that a lot of players get complacent once they reach a certain level. Everyone is good once they reach a certain level, but you have to have that work ethic every day, You just have to give 100 percent because there’s always going to be someone out there who’s better and working harder. Thank you.
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Benson Petit-Clair for haititempo.com
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