UNCLE SAM
He’s still playing in maroon but former Hearts winger Nicholson is savouring a whole new ball game in USA
You have to fly everywhere. I feel I’m getting used to away games now
THE club colours remain maroon but everything else has changed in Sam Nicholson’s world, where he is proving a big hit with fans of Colorado Rapids.
The Rapids are his second MLS side since the ex-Hearts winger left Gorgie in the summer of 2017, and the 23-year-old insists he could not be happier with his new life in America.
Nicholson quit Ian Cathro’s Tynecastle side for newly-formed MLS franchise Minnesota United 13 months ago — midway through their regular season — and enjoyed a 20-game initiation in America’s flagship soccer league before swapping the Minneapolis side’s grey and blue shirt for the more familiar maroon of Colorado.
‘It was a move that came out of nowhere but I’m happy that ithappened,’ Nicholson told
Sportsmail . ‘I said when I came over to America I’d like to at least try another team and live in another state and I’ve done that.
‘Colorado is a beautiful place, so I can’t complain. You can tell the club’s going in the right direction, so it’s good to be a part of it.’
Edinburgh-born Nicholson admits playing football in America has its own challenges, with travel arrangements a little more extreme than those in Scotland. The Rapids can endure energysapping flight times in excess of six hours to away grounds and, last month alone, they crisscrossed the country and played in Canada twice.
‘You have to fly everywhere. Sometimes you’re flying into different time zones, so it can be tiring and takes a lot of getting used to,’ said Nicholson. ‘I feel like I’m only just getting used to the away games now.’
The hectic travel is a minor inconvenience when the former Scotland Under-21s cap considers some of the players he now finds himself sharing a pitch with.
‘A lot of people keep asking me which is better — Scotland or MLS, but it’s so hard to compare,’ he added. ‘All I can say is it’s different. In this league, you’ve got a lot of superstars. People say they come here to retire but clearly not. Look at what Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bastian Schweinsteiger are still doing over here.’
Wayne Rooney was another superstar opponent when Rapids faced DC United in Washington. It was a game that had everything, from Rooney’s first MLS goal to his first MLS broken nose, not to mention a late own goal that condemned Nicholson’s side to defeat.
‘It’s great to watch these players because they’ve done it at the highest level,’ he said. ‘You try to learn little bits from them. They’ve been coached by the best coaches in the world, so you just try to pick up as many things as you can but at the same time try not to be star-struck.
‘I’m at a stage in my career where I’m taking in a lot of good things from a lot of good coaches.
‘I’m in a different role now. I’m playing more up front and getting more opportunities in front of goal, so I’m enjoying it.
‘As you get older, you learn more through experience, so I feel like I’ve improved.’
Nicholson is a regular in head coach Anthony Hudson’s starting XI and rounded off a man-of-thematch performance with a last-minute winner against Ibrahimovic’s LA Galaxy last weekend.
Domestically, things are looking up for Colorado after a poor start to the season as they try to close in on a play-off spot following a three-game unbeaten run.
‘This league is crazy,’ added Nicholson. ‘Because of all the travel, teams go up and down all the time. If we hit a good bit of form before the end of the season, we’ve still got a great chance.’
While impressing in the US, he hopes to catch the eye of Scotland boss Alex McLeish. McLeish used his controversial summer fixtures in Mexico and Peru to experiment with new players in the hope of unearthing a diamond who might be the answer to Scotland’s problems in attack. Nicholson believes he could do a lot worse than look at the MLS’s Scottish contingent.
‘It wouldn’t do any harm,’ he said. ‘It’s incredible the number of international players who went to the World Cup who play in MLS.
‘Costa Rica had five players here. Johnny Russell was tearing up the Championship in England, now he’s doing the same here with Sporting Kansas City.’
Talk of a potential call up to the aforementioned tour for Nicholson and team-mate Danny Wilson, the former Rangers defender, never really got off the ground. But he plans on being patient in pursuit of a first senior cap.
‘I didn’t really hear much about it,’ added Nicholson. ‘Many people looked at them as “nothing” games but, for me, I was looking at it as a chance and if I’d have been called up I would have been buzzing.
‘I don’t think Colorado would have been happy letting us go because they were struggling at that moment. It would have been a great feeling for me and my family but, at that time, it maybe just wasn’t right.
‘If I was to get a call-up, it would be great but I’m not in any rush and, if I’m ready, they’ll let me know.’
Nicholson still takes a keen interest in how his former club are faring, of course, and believes Craig Levein’s squad are strong enough to challenge at the top of the table, just like they did last weekend when beating Celtic.
‘I’ve been impressed watching a couple of their games,’ said the former Hearts attacker. ‘Uche Ikpeazu looks a handful and, with Kyle Lafferty up top and Steven Naismith in behind, they could do a lot of damage.
‘It’s a well-run club with diehard fans who always support them no matter what, so Hearts will always do reasonably well.
‘I’m still supporting them and when I come back in November I’ll be going to all the games.’