USL Feature Article by Jason Minnick
Thursday, October 29, 2009
VILA MEÃ, PORTUGAL – Sean Rush, who played in 16 matches for the Real Maryland Monarchs during the 2009 season, has signed a one-year deal with Atlético Clube Vila Meã of the Portuguese Third Division. During his 2009 season with Real Maryland, Rush scored one goal and assisted on three others in over 1,000 minutes of action for the 8-10-2 Monarchs.
AC Vila Meã is currently atop the Group B table with a record of 3-0-2. They have outscored their opponents 11-4 so far this season and will face AD Fafe on Sunday, November 1. AD Fafe is currently second in the table with a 3-1-1 record.
USL soccer.com recently spoke with Rush via email to discuss how the converted winger first earned a trial with Vila Meã, how his time in the USL Second Division helped him fine-tune his game and how he battles the stigma of the American player in a predominantly Portuguese locker room.
USLsoccer.com: How did you learn about the tryout with AC Vila Mea?
Sean Rush: Howard Goldberg and Carlos De Souza connected me to the Portuguese agent Pedro Goncalves, who then set up my trials in Portugal. I am a really a big fan of the soccer here and thought this would be the perfect place to continue my career. Last year I had a trial in Portugal but missed the transfer window. I fit perfectly with the style of play. It is more attacking oriented and I did not see myself enjoying another country as much as Portugal.
With Vila Mea, Goncalves called me and told me I had to be in Porto in August for a trial, which was crunch time for our playoffs in the USL. I sat down with Real Maryland Head Coach, Anthony Hudson and he said this was a great opportunity. He spoke to General Manager, David Noyes and the President, Victor Moran. All three gave me the go-ahead to leave early. To this day, I am still so grateful. I showed up and in less than three days at AC Vila Mea, I was told I was going to sign. By the end of the week, I signed a year-long deal. On top of that, they bought me an apartment and I have a restaurant where I can go for all of my meals.
USLsoccer.com: How did playing with Real Maryland help you prepare for the tryout?
Sean Rush: Real Maryland has helped me beyond belief, especially Coach Hudson. My whole career I have been a center midfielder, but before the 2009 season he said he saw me as a wide right player. I was a bit hesitant, but I really trusted what he said and worked very hard as a winger. I have now featured in three games here, coming on as a right midfielder. I feel great at that position.
USLsoccer.com: Discuss the differences in the style of play/speed of play between the USL Second Division and what you have experienced in Portugal.
Sean Rush: The speed of play is at times mind-boggling. In my first training session in Vila Mea, I felt like they were playing in fast forward. After about two weeks I was up to pace with the game, but it took some adjusting. The style is very controlled and very attack oriented. The coach here has been great. He explained how he likes to play. He told me the most important things are possession and small passes, very rarely is a long-ball considered a good idea here, where as in the USL Second Division, a lot of the game is favored towards a long ball over the top.
USLsoccer.com: How's your Portuguese?
Sean Rush: Haha. My Portuguese is actually good. I played a season in Brazil and it has been great being able to communicate. The problem is a lot of Brazilian Portuguese is different to the Portuguese here in Portugal.
A couple of the players are able to speak English but they have all been very helpful and understanding that I am in a foreign country with a foreign language. The Coach, Pedro Pinto has also been really great with communicating to me in English. He has pulled me to the side at times and told me what I need to do and what he wants from me.
USLsoccer.com: What are your thoughts about USL in terms of the development of the game in North America?
Sean Rush: My experience with Real Maryland was really good. USL has grown so much that it is actually great to see how many options there are for college players looking to go pro. As the pro teams continue to step up their youth academies, Premier Development League teams and Super Y-League teams, it really is amazing to see the development system beginning to form.
As a country we have a long way to go to be able to compare to the soccer schools of France, Brazil, Portugal and England, but the strides we are making are great. The way USL is developing players, it is honestly becoming a resource for players to make their way to Europe, which is what every player wants.
The teams making partnerships with big European clubs is great. I really hope it allows players to sign in Europe. I just read a player from the Austin Aztex is now possibly going to Stoke. I think that would be great for both clubs and that individual.
USLsoccer.com: What is the attitude of the players in the locker room about American players?
Sean Rush: It really changes drastically once you prove yourself. The first day of the trial, the players were all joking that this wasn't a basketball or baseball team. After I scored two goals in the opening session, all the views changed. Even that night, I heard the players saying ‘how good the American was.’ It is definitely a stigma all players have to fight but in the end of the day, I know our country can produce the top players to play at any level.
