A Football Report

Interview conducted by Dominic Vieira

Marvin Sordell is promising striker who plays for Watford. Sordell is not yet a world-renowned superstar, but we’ll certainly be hearing more about his talent over the next few years. He signed his first professional contract with the Championship side last April and played the 2009/2010 season for his club and represented Tranmere Rovers on a 2 month loan spell.

Sordell, at the brisk age of 19, has been compared to the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and is set to have a prosperous future ahead of him. He has yet to represent the England youth teams, but if he continues to work hard, keep his feet on the grown and improve he could certainly get the call.

AFR had the great opportunity to talk with the young talent and the interview focuses on his career and the World Cup.

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Interview by Eric and Jordan Beard

After a truly heartbreaking last-minute 2-1 defeat, courtesy of Rosana’s 93rd minute penalty, to Sky Blue FC at Harvard Stadium Sunday evening, Boston Breakers playmaker Kelly Smith talked about how tough the loss was to take because the Breakers were clearly the better side throughout the entire first half. For Smith, an England international who has played 79 times and scored 34 goals for her country, this result was the culmination of a disappointing weekend. Just a day before, England did not play meet the standards of the English people against the United States, only earning a 1-1 draw.

Like her fellow countrymen, Smith said, “I was disappointed obviously.”

But she continued, “Fair play to the USA, I thought they played an outstanding game. England started well and didn’t really do too much after that. The mistake let the US back in and fair play they pushed for it.”

Despite one poor result, Smith knows from experience that there’s still time for England to recover and have a good World Cup.

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Interview conducted by Dominic Vieira

After talking to Sunderland striker Fraizer about his time at Manchester United and also establishing himself as a top English forward (part one), we were, quite simply, always going to talk about the World Cup.

1. Do you believe England can win the World Cup?

 England has quality players and using the right tactics they can win. But England struggle to play together, it’s not gonna be easy when they’re playing against Spain or Brazil. But I think England will get further than they did at the last World Cup.

2. How important is it that Rooney stays injury free?

It is vital that Wazza can stay free from injury because he’s in top form and one of the best strikers in the world! England needs him. Jermain Defoe is also in top form along with Darren Bent, but it’s a shame Darren didn’t make the squad.

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Interview conducted by Dominic Vieira 

 If you somehow don’t know of him already, Fraizer Campbell is a young, incredibly talented English forward who plays for Sunderland. At the age of 22, he is still developing and constantly improving, which is fairly frightening considering how talented he is already. Brought up through the Manchester United academy under Sir Alex Ferguson’s staff before going on loan spells with Royal Antwerp, Hull City, and Tottenham Hotspur, Campbell signed for The Black Cats last season in a £6 million deal. 

I was very fortunate to ask Fraizer some questions, especially because he’s enjoying his holidays. I would like to thank him for answering the questions. The first part of the interview focuses on his youth development and his time at Manchester United.

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By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

Maurice Edu said he “had never met this President before” because he met George W. Bush during his days playing college soccer with Maryland. This time around, however, “Mo” seemed a little more excited about President Obama. We were able to chat with the Glasgow Rangers & US Men’s National Team midfielder about what this experience means to him. We also talked to him about what his role is for the US Men’s National Team. The interview is above, and the picture and video of the US squad’s trip to the White House is below. Former President Bill Clinton and current Vice-President Joe Biden joined Obama in wishing the squad good luck. Clinton is a member of the United States 2018/2022 World Cup Bid committee, and was President back in 1994 when the US hosted the World Cup.

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By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

Eddie Johnson, United States Men’s National Team Striker, will know whether or not he is going to South Africa for the World Cup by lunchtime. I was able to talk to the Aris FC and Fulham FC man after the United States-Czech Republic friendly about what it is like to be in his situation because, honestly, it is not a fun one to be in. As a top-class player, hearing whether or not you are in your nation’s 23-man World Cup roster is one of the toughest decisions to wait for.

And again, honestly, I’m not sure Eddie has done enough to make it into Bob Bradley’s squad. It’s so difficult for me to say that because he was such a nice guy to talk to, and I cannot imagine how hard it will be for Mr. Bradley to do so. Eddie said that he “can only everything in the hands of the Lord,” and I, personally, can only wish him the best.

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By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

I was fortunate enough to be part of two interviews with one of my role models and best local products I grew up around: Clint Dempsey. One is an interview done alongside Frank Dell’apa of The Boston Globe, and one means much more to me. Perhaps that’s why I had trouble keeping the camera still. I gave Dempsey a proper handshake and then talked to him about Boston, what he has learned from the past year, making it to two cup finals and his thoughts on favorites for the upcoming World Cup. I know Deuce loved Maradona growing up, but he wouldn’t tell me how he felt about him as a manager. He did say, “I don’t like to comment on him… but I wish him all the best because that team has a lot of quality.” Indeed, Argentina won 5-nil in their friendly yesterday against Canada. And that was without Lionel Messi.

 I’ve interviewed other professional athletes, so I rarely get star-struck by the process. But there’s just something about Dempsey. He’s not the first world-class footballer I had watched growing up, that honor has to go to the great Carlos Valderama in his final days with the Miami Fusion. I don’t think I’m in awe of Deuce, rather, I’m just proud of the player and man he has become. As my brother and I quote in normal conversation, “Haters want to hate, but man I’m feeling great.” That is, of course, from one of Clint’s early freestyle rapping videos captured by Nike Soccer. As I mentioned before, it’s nice to see how this man has matured.

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Interview by Oliver Sparrow, reporting from London

AFR’s Oliver Sparrow met up with England and Arsenal legend David Seaman on Saturday in London at a press event for the Yahoo! Penalty Shoot-Out game that will be going on throughout the World Cup. Oliver got the chance to take a penalty against the Highbury hero— and of course he converted, cool as you like. After his penalty, Oliver asked Seaman a few questions in front of goal, ranging from Arsenal’s goalkeeper situation to England’s 2018 World Cup bid to the country’s chances in this summer’s World Cup. The interview was captured in the video above, but you can read the entire transcript below.

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We are ecstatic to announce that AFR will be exclusively interviewing Middlesbrough’s Joe Bennett! Bennett, the talented 20-year-old left back playing for the Championship side, is another promising youngster that has been produced through the club’s prolific academy.

The whole AFR team thanks Joe Bennett for agreeing to partake in this interview, which Dominic Vieira will be conducting.

But we want to give you, our beloved readers, the chance to ask your questions too! Please send them to dominicvieira@afootballreport.com with your name and country, or submit them by commenting below the post. Email is preferred, but either way questions must be in by Sunday night!

A little bit about the England youth international & Middlesbrough product

 In the final match of the 2008/2009 Premier League season, Joe Bennett got his first taste of top flight football at the age of 19 by making his debut against West Ham.

Joe Bennett started playing for Northallerton Town at the age of 10, but he was soon spotted by Boro scouts and then passed a trial with them. However, he was de-registered at Under-15 level, allowing him to train with the club but not play games for them. This was followed by an unsuccessful trial with Newcastle United and a year spent playing Sunday League football where he worked intensively on fitness and strength.

Three months later, Joe made his impact in the football world as he represented the England Under-19’s at the 2009 European Championship in Ukraine. Joe compiled a series of strong performances for The Three Lions and played an influential role in reaching the final. Unfortunately, England lost 0-2 to the hosts.

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Interview compiled by Eric Beard

David Hunt is not Lionel Messi. The Brentford FC midfielder, who plays in England’s League One, knows that. Even so, Hunt is a true professional playing football every day, training hard, and living out his dream. His name hasn’t been thrown at you by the BBC or by Sky Sports, yet David Hunt represents the unsung heros of the English game, the ones who are fueled by the desire to bring success to their club, continuously improve their individual level of play, and help improve the level of play throughout England as a whole. Hunt can be followed on Twitter @davidjhunt, and also has his own blog, entitled ‘Life of Another League’, to portray all the hard work, all the enjoyable aspects of being a true professional footballer, and all the little things that shapes the life of the midfield general. I was lucky enough to have a very interesting chat with Mr. Hunt (via email), and the interview’s transcript is below.

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Landon Donovan:

Bob Bradley and Stuart Holden

Charlie Davies:

Inter Milan Press Conference (Diego Milito):

AC Milan Press Conference (Leonardo):

Clarence Seedorf:

Oguchi Onyewu:

Julio Cesar: