The surfer boy grows up: still a free spirit at heart, the Crew star is now also a leader and a U.S. soccer ambassador - sort of - Interview: Frankie Hejduk - Interview

Soccer Digest, Dec, 2003 by Ashley Jude Collie

U.S. AND COLUMBUS CREW defender Frankie Hejduk, 29, has come a long way since his teen days, when he wanted to just hang out by the beach and surf. Under the tutelage of coach Sigi Schmid at UCLA, Hejduk realized that he had the potential to make a career out of pro soccer. After two seasons in MLS with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, his stellar and surprising performance for the woe-begotten U.S. at France '98 put Hejduk in the international spotlight. With his long hair, boundless energy on the flanks, and trademark Bob Marley "skank" goal celebration, he attracted the attention of Germany's Bayer Leverkusen and was whisked off to the Bundesliga where he played for four years before moving to the Swiss league with FC St. Gallen.

But Hejduk's young son and the allure of being back in America made him recross the Atlantic to return to MLS. Having played in Europe for five years, Hejduk--who captained the U.S. national team in the 2003 Confederations Cup opener--has a unique perspective on both the club and national team scene.

Still a mellow surfer dude and a free spirit, Hejduk talked to us about the expectations of the national team, the Crew's inconsistency this past season, and the future of MLS:

SOCCER DIGEST: How was your first season back in MLS alter five years away in Europe?

FRANKIE HEJDUK: It was a tough season for us. We lost a lot of heart-breaking games. We weren't getting tired physically--it was more of a mental thing, if anything. In several games, we were up two goals and then started not believing in ourselves. I don't think it was a matter of us playing poorly, we were just losing our focus and concentration at the most crucial points in the game.

SD: How would you evaluate your own performance?

FH: I had to get used to some different things. It's a slower game here. It's not direct like it is over there. My play was average, but I don't feel I had a bad season. There's room for improvement.

SD: Have you enjoyed the overall experience of playing in Columbus?

FH: It's been great. The setup and the organization are definitely first-class. We have our own practice facilities, a great stadium, and a terrific GM and owner. And the fans are always behind us. We have all the ingredients to win a championship; we just have to put it together on the field.

SD: When you were growing up in California, did you ever envision a soccer career or were you just into surfing and other SoCal stuff?

FH: [Laughs] I just wanted to surf and hang out at the beach. Soccer was just for fun--it was a hobby. I really wanted to be a pro surfer. That changed when I went to UCLA where Sigi Schmid was coaching and Ante Razor and Eddie Lewis were playing, and I thought, well, maybe I can do this professionally.

SD: How was your experience in Germany?

FH: It's every soccer player's goal to play in Europe. Let's face it That's where the best players are. So when the interest came, I wanted to test myself. As a professional athlete, I wanted play at the highest level. There were both good and bad experiences, but I wouldn't take it back far anything, I learned a lot there, about myself." culturally--I now speak German--everything.

I also learned about professionalism over there. Sure MLS is professional, but you really don't know until you go over there what it's really like. People come up to you at dinner, asking for autographs, wanting to talk about the game--they take the sport so seriously. They five, eat, and breathe soccer over there. Every person in the city is a diehard fan, and they take your performance personally. At first--coming from here and being a free spirit--I wasn't really into that. But after a while I really saw how serious they were about their soccer. I mean. if we lost. we couldn't go out at night after a game. It makes you want to play harder for them, because they're depending on you and you want to give your best effort.

SD: What were the highlights of your Bayer stay?

FH: Playing in Champions League games and having a chance to compete against the best players in the world on a regular basis. Also, playing in incredible stadiums and atmospheres. Opportunities like playing in Rome against Lazio and traveling to the Theater of Dreams for a game against Man U. Players don't get those opportunities over here.

SD: Would you have done anything differently?

FH: I would have gone over there as early as I could have--at 16 or 17--just to have the opportunity to be a part of a club environment, even if I had to sit on the bench. If you're not going to play at that age, you still train with some of the best. Your life becomes soccer. It's not like that here.

SD: What was the biggest difference between the U.S.'s 1998 three-and-out World Cup squad and the quarterfinals team of 2002?

FH: Team camaraderie. We had players whom enjoyed playing together and who had grown with the team. The guys all got along with one another, on and off the field.

SD: Do you feel--as several of your teammates have expressed--a sense of regret that the team was within an ace of getting to the semifinals?