The U.S. is as thick with heat and haze right now as it is with European clubs in preseason looking for MLS teams to beat up on. The timing is terrible for D.C. United to get into the mix, hosting Everton three days after suffering a demoralizing 1-0 defeat to New England on Wednesday.
“It’s getting some bodies, checking them out, seeing who is healthy,” United head coach Ben Olsen said after the Revolution match. “We want to be respectful to Everton because they’re a great team, and we want to put forth our best group, but we’ve had a lot of games. We’ll certainly divvy up minutes and see who we have healthy and do the best we can.”
Add to that the comments from Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena regarding summer friendlies – “Our needs are not addressed at all,” Arena said – and it’s easy to wonder whether or not it’s even worth it for D.C. United, which loses money at RFK Stadium anyway, to host an extra game in the diabolical heat expected on Saturday.
Though a similarly negative perspective might be expected from an English team not accustomed to the summer weather on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, Everton captain Phil Neville had a refreshingly upbeat outlook when I got the chance to speak with him one-on-one this afternoon at the team hotel in downtown Washington, a city that Neville isvisiting for the first time. He also talked about his own career, his crucial American teammate, goalkeeper Tim Howard, and Everton’s ambitions this season. Check it out:
On the weather: “We stepped out of the train, it was like going into a sauna. It’s part and parcel of preseason. It actually helps because when you get back home, it feels easier. I love coming out to the States. I love watching MLS football. It’s on every Sunday morning in England so it’s almost as popular in our house as Spanish football. There is a lot of interest back home now, and having seen the league grow over the last ten years, consistently coming out here, I know that the league is in good shape.”
On the rosters for the Aug. 5 testimonial for Neville’s former Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes, which didn’t include Neville’s name: “It’s unfortunate because I was asked to play for the Cosmos. But we have a game the same night so obviously my allegiance is to Everton. Scholes is one of my best friends in football. He’s the godfather to my children. Obviously, I wanted to play, but Everton comes first.”
On Scholes and the rest of Manchester United’s golden generation of six players, from which Neville, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs are the only ones left playing: “It’s funny really, because in the last two seasons, my brother [Gary Neville] has retired, Paul Scholes has retired, Nicky Butt has retired, and we’re part of a group that are all grouped together, and you think to yourself, ‘Who’s going to be next?’ I’m the youngest of them all so hopefully, I play for as long as I can. I feel so fit at the moment, and most importantly, I’m enjoying it. That’s the main thing when you get over 30, say 32, 33 years old, is that you can still retain that enjoyment. I wake up every day, and I still feel so blessed and lucky to be a professional footballer and playing for great club.”
On the Everton’s goals compared to what he achieved at Manchester United: “It’s all relative. For Man United, it’s trophies. For Everton, it’s top five, top six, and consistently over the last five, six years, we’ve finished in the top five or six. Last year we finished seventh so for me, that is success, too. Coming to Everton has been an unbelievable move for me. I love working with the manager, the players, and the team spirit is fantastic. You know when you’re happiest when you can’t wait to get up in the morning and go to work, and that’s a great state to be in. I want European football, and the players do so that’s our aim this season.”
On having Howard as a teammate: “He’s grown in stature each season. From the guy that I first met when he first tried out for Man U, he’s unrecognizable now. He’s grown in confidence. He believes he’s number one, and the confidence he’s got is from his successes with the national team. He’s probably one of the most important players in the [U.S.] national team, and the success that the national team have had has given him the confidence to come back and be so consistent for us. He’s a great player to be around because he has that winning mentality, not just in games, in training every day. He hates conceding goals in training, and that rubs off on others. He’s a great bloke to have around the place.”
What Everton got from the 1-0 exhibition loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday and what it expects Saturday against D.C. United: “You’re well into your season. Philadelphia gives a good physical test. In certain parts of the game, particularly the last 10-15 minutes of the game when we just hit a brick wall, they had far superior fitness and that makes us come on quicker. Our play will come on quicker because of it. We’re expecting the same game on Saturday. Washington is just as physically fit as Philadelphia, and the thing I’ve noticed now is the quality in the football has got better in MLS… I can’t think of better preparation for us. I think that’s why you’ve got maybe 40-50 percent of the premiership out in the U.S. at the moment, and other teams from European football as well because the tests that we get brings your fitness on, brings the quality of your training on. Plus, you’ve got the quality of being in hotel, having the freedom to walk around cities without much hassle.”
Whether Everton should have sympathy for the dilemma that D.C. United and MLS teams face having midseason international friendlies: “I’d say its part and parcel of the growth of MLS football. You need to catch the imagination of the American public. For American soccer to keep on growing, you’re going to need the likes of Real Madrid. I watched the L.A. Galaxy versus Real Madrid in the [L.A.] Coliseum, and I thought to myself, if you was someone that was either thinking football/NFL, basketball, you think, ‘Wow.’ [Cristiano] Ronaldo was on display. Kaka was on display, and you think to yourself, ‘I like soccer.’ I think to keep the American people – to attract more people and get football up to the level of basketball and baseball, then it’s going to need these kinds of couple of weeks when European teams come in and showcase the best players… You can understand in the middle of the season the manager worried about the fatigue, messing up the preparation, but I think if you look at the bigger picture, it’s fantastic now that you’ve got all these teams that are here spreading the gospel.
“I asked the same question to the Philadelphia captain. I said, ‘Look, is this a pain for you, or is this good?’ He said, ‘This is brilliant. This means that I can test myself against a premiership player,’ and to be honest, I feel the same way. I love watching MLS soccer, and I think to myself, how would it be to play in that? I played in it last night, played in it the last four, five seasons, and I thought to myself, it’s a good test to play in American soccer now, and I think there’s plus points on both sides.
“I have a real fascination for this country, I just think that the way they do things, I love the attention to deal with facilities and everything, and it’s something that when my career’s finished or just at the end, I could see myself coming out here and enjoying my time here.”
