When I see myself in the videogame it's amazing how realistic I look. This is the most authentic and realistic soccer game I have ever seen. It is like I am looking in a mirror. The attention to detail is incredible.- Claudio Reyna
What I have noticed in this game is how EA has even duplicated my moves and my style of play perfectly. It is really incredible and a lot of fun to play.
We're a crazy country about sports, but for the longest time, only followed our own sports.
The situation was, the team I was on when I got injured went down to the lower leagues. In America, they do not have that relegation, so when the team went down to the lower region, every player has his value, and they went off and sold any player who had value.
The more people who come from abroad who played soccer and are brought up playing it and watching it, then come over to America and bring what they know and what they play, that is how the sport will grow.
The contracts are structured different than athletes in America, but for me, it was good to move on and go back to playing in the premiere league, which is the best league. It was disappointing, as far as the team goes, but for me, there wasn't much I could do.
Sure we have skilled players, but the biggest thing might just be that we are so well conditioned and how we can play for 90 minutes at a high tempo which is needed in soccer at an international level.
Over the last 10-15 years, you've seen soccer finally start to grow at a fast pace, start to get the recognition it deserves, and I think it has to do with all of the people who come to America from foreign countries.
It's the only sport that is played in every country in the world. It's played and watched all over the world, it's the most popular sport in probably 90% of the countries, and then with the World Cup, you have the most viewed tournament of any sport in the world.
It's a unique situation as well because England is a small country, so it makes it easy for the fans to travel. If we play down in London, they get buses and we'll get three or four thousand fans come down. They'll all sit in the same area and show their support for the team.
It is an honor to be on the cover of this game because the World Cup is such a big thing around the world. My kids are really quite impressed so that is fun.
I was on the sideline with a knee injury and when I came back, I wanted to play at the best level I could. And that is the case for a lot of players, they want the chance to play against the best competition.
I think we have our sports within our own culture that are huge with baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. Those are the sports in America that we grow up with and soccer is not really there yet.
I think we have a good team, but soccer fans will know that we are in a really tough group. The three teams in our group are really strong. The Czech Republic is a very good team, Italy is traditionally a powerhouse, and Ghana is one of the best teams in Africa.
I hear good things about Xbox Live from some of my younger teammates. I think it would be fun to be able to challenge fans all over the world. It would be cool to be able to play some of my friends back home in the States. I am looking forward to trying it.
