Ryan Smith Follow-Up Interview

Thursday, April 01, 2010 | View Comments


As a quick follow-up to my column last week about the possibility of Kansas City's new signing Ryan Smith playing for the US, I talked to the London-born striker about his reasons for coming to MLS, and the possibility of playing for the Yanks.

He talked about his disillusionment with the style of play common in the English lower leagues, especially the "long-ball" football played under former manager Billy Davies at Derby County, who he claims mislead him about the approach Derby would take. He believes that he can find that type of attacking, "on the floor" soccer that he learned at Arsenal with Peter Vermes's Kansas City Wizards side. Smith's performance on Saturday, involving himself in all of Kansas City's four goals against DC, scoring a goal and tallying an assist, suggests that he has found a club he is comfortable with. His emphatic start in MLS looks even more impressive considering his revelation that he had just two days to prepare for the game. Back in London last week to complete paperwork related to his move, he arrived in Kansas City in the early hours of Thursday ahead of his debut on Saturday.

Smith revealed to me that he's currently in the process of establishing dual citizenship, through his American father, and said that growing up with parents from the U.K. and the U.S., he understands the history of both countries. Although he said that the prospect of playing for the U.S. wasn't a factor in his move to Kansas City, when I asked if he would consider playing for the USMNT, his response was an unqualified and unhesitant yes, "100 percent." He talked about the difficulty in breaking into the England squad, with "so many great players, so many experienced players" vying for positions. When I asked about potentially playing against England at some point, he was unequivocal, stating that if he were to play for the U.S., that is where his allegiance would lie. While it's very unlikely he'll make the World Cup team, Smith is a young player, and if he continues his MLS career like he has begun it, he should have no problem catching Bob Bradley's eye.

When I asked how many goals he expected to score, Smith was modest, and declined to make a prediction. "Anything can happen. I'm taking it one game at a time, right now."

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