SCOT RUSSELL IS LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM IN MLS:
STARS AND STRIPES... FOOTBALL’S BIG NAMES GRACING THE MLS
MAJOR League Soccer has struggled to overcome a chronic image problem. That of the retirement home for washed-up Europeans seeking one final payday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Villa, Ashley Cole and Bastian Schweinsteiger all currently play there at the moment.
Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Yaya Toure are in negotiations.
When Johnny Russell moved to Sporting Kansas City in January aged only 27, it raised eyebrows.
The Scotland striker was an established name in the English game.
When he left, Derby County lay in second place in the Championship, with reasonable hopes of promotion.
Entering the last six months of his deal, it felt too soon for a switch to America’s sleepy Midwest. Yet Russell begs to differ.
‘I played against Zlatan and it was brilliant,’ said the former Dundee United player now on Scotland duty. ‘It was a great experience to face a player of his stature — and also to play against Ashley Cole in that game.
‘There are so many players from throughout the world in the MLS. It’s littered with talent.
‘We played New York in our first game and I came up against David Villa, a player I’ve admired for years.
‘Getting to play against people like that is a great experience.’ The problem here is clear. The names he cites are all over the age of 30.
Yet, in recent times, a raft of big-money ‘designated’ players in their 20s have signed up for American clubs, lowering the average age of first-team squads in the league to just 26.
The big beasts might be the names many people know. But they skew the perspective.
‘A lot of players in the MLS will be going to the World Cup,’ added Russell. ‘The league is littered with big talent.
‘There has been a perception in the past that somehow it’s a retirement league — but they are completely changing that. They are now attracting younger guys and some real quality players.
‘It has been a brilliant move for me. We’ve started well and so have I.
‘It was difficult to leave Derby as I had been there for so long but I felt I needed a change for the sake of my game and I’m grateful I made that change now.’
In a recent interview with Sporting Kansas City’s official website, Russell spoke of his turmoil after missing out on promotion to the Premier League two years ago.
‘I just fell completely out of love with the game,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t enjoying it. I didn’t enjoy training. I didn’t enjoy the games, either. Matches were finishing and I was thinking: “Thank God that’s over”. It was a relief.’
Refusing to divulge the full story, he spoke of feeling ‘stabbed in the back and betrayed a little bit’.
But he has moved on. Indeed, Russell claimed his first hat-trick in five years against Vancouver Whitecaps two weeks ago. Far from reaching for the bath chair, the MLS has had the regenerative effect of a course of Botox.
‘I always wanted to go and play outside of the UK. Even when I was at United, it was something I wanted to do,’ he revealed.
‘I felt now was the right time, especially as they don’t want the older guys any more. If I’d left it any longer, I don’t know if I would ever get another chance.’
Asked how the move came about, Russell doesn’t mess around.
He declared: ‘Mo Johnston. It came from him. He asked if it was something I’d be interested in.’
Sporting Kansas City also tried — and failed — to sign Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths early in the transfer window.
‘Mo and my agent worked together on it,’ said Russell. ‘It helped he had been at Kansas for a while, so he had nothing but positive things to say about the coach, the city and the team.
‘It was tough to leave Derby, but an easy decision to join Sporting. By no means have I moved to the MLS to relax. I’ve moved there to push myself, to try something different to further my game.’
The travelling is less of a pain than people think. Flights up and down America’s west coast are shorter, sometimes, than a coach trip to Newcastle with Derby.
‘I’ve not seen everything there is to see but it’s a nice place to bring up the kids and that was one of the reasons for moving here,’ said Russell. ‘It was something different for the family and new opportunities for them, too.
‘We’re fortunate to be so central, so it has not been too bad — we haven’t travelled more than three hours on a flight. In England, you’re on that every week on a bus, sometimes even more.
‘The travel hasn’t really affected me yet, although it still might. I’ve played half a season at Derby and straight into a full season with Kansas and I feel good.’
How he might navigate Scotland games at Hampden has yet to be discussed. Keen to take the opportunity of a short hop to Mexico, however, SKC manager Peter Vermes played ball.
‘I will miss a league game but I spoke to the manager at Kansas and said: “This is an opportunity I’ve not had in so long and I really don’t want to pull out the squad”,’ explained Russell.
‘He was brilliant with me. He asked me to stay for the match against Columbus and then he would let me go to play against Mexico. I’m happy he let me go.
‘My last cap was the game in Gibraltar three years ago.’
Now the chance to play in one of football’s iconic arenas — the Azteca in Mexico City — is one Russell intends to savour, despite the altitude and heat.
‘You grow up looking at places like that,’ he continued. ‘I grew up wanting to play for Scotland and hard work took me there.
‘I’ve played at altitude before with Kansas, at Colorado, in my fourth game in the league and it was difficult. But it’s a challenge to relish.’