The Rondo - USMNT MLS VS EUROPE

We're here with USMNT star Austin Trustee

and we're gonna be asking him the ultimate question. What really is the difference between MLS and European clubs

What was it like growing up as a player in the Philadelphia Union Academy? And I think this goes for a lot of kids nowadays

They're looking at the Philadelphia Union Academy that it is now. They're seeing the school develop

They're seeing four or five world-class pitches. They're playing games against the Philadelphia Union Academy

seeing guys like Jameer Johnson, Kevin Sullivan. And these guys are prospects that European clubs are looking at from the age of 15, 16

But Austin, it wasn't like that for us. So tell us a little bit about what that experience was like seven years before these guys came out

Yeah, it wasn't the Philadelphia Union. It wasn't really a thing. There was a thing called Union Juniors

So I can kind of get a little bit of my backstory. So I was at actually, I also had Boy Scouts

I was a Boy Scout. And one of my Boy Scouts played soccer. He said, you know, there's a Philadelphia Union coming

I'm like, oh, yeah, I heard about that. They're actually doing a thing for the academy. They're making an academy a couple of years

but there's a thing called Union Juniors. So every Tuesday, you can get free training by a guy named Phil Karn and Ian Monroe

who are like these world-class soccer coaches. I was like, shoot, let me try out for that. So I tried out for it, made their training squad in a sense

So it was the best players around the area. So I did that for a couple of years, and then they started the academy system

And they already kind of made their tryout list. I wasn't on a tryout list

so I remember the last day of Union Juniors, they said, okay, guys, last drill

Just want to say bye before the last drill. Everyone's going to do their own thing. go out there always want to make sure i say bye thank you for the past two years you know we really

appreciate it hope you guys wish you guys the best in all your endeavors in the future playing soccer

great if not good luck and i remember thinking okay cool but it was the last last little drill

it was like a three on three four on four game like five minutes and i remember just being like you know what i'm just gonna go so hard so i i was doing my thing and playing my game and one of the

u18 coaches as i was leaving the door so my ac was kind of like i don't explain but basically you

You leave the door and you walk out like any other place. As I was leaving the door, this guy taps you on the shoulder, like a movie

And I'll tell you, I was two steps away from walking out the door. If I walked out of there

I probably would have maybe played high school soccer, maybe that's it, and maybe stopped

He tapped me on the shoulder and said, do you want to try out? I remember it, like literally today

I even have, I have chills, you know what I'm saying? It's like, I remember that feeling of being like

what, like you want, you want, like I felt seen. Like you want me to try out for the academy

And he's like, yeah, yeah. I said, come tomorrow, come whenever it was. I was like, all right, I'll come

So I ended up trying for the academy, and I actually made the team. So I remember in the Philadelphia Union, there's a new team coming in

You get free tickets to the games. I remember putting on the Union shirt

I'm like, holy crap. I felt like a knight in shining armor. And we got free Adidas boots

So I was just on such a high. So I made the team. And then that year, as I was saying before, didn't play barely even in a minute

and I later that year they had a cut list and a keep list in the coaches room and apparently what

I was told is that I was on the cut list because again granted I played like zero games except for

one right and I quit rain uh all right I gave you a job so there's a cut list and keep list

and apparently the story's been told that I was on the cut list and Ian Monroe who's a Scottish

legend played for range over here he actually lives like 20 minutes away from him he went in

the room he's like an og like yse like wasn't part of the academy just like again he was like an og

coach like can't say nothing to him went in the room and said oh what are you guys doing here and

he was like oh you were doing the who's staying who's not going who's going and he saw my name on

the cut list and he went up there with no permission no nothing grabbed my name and put it on the keep

list and said you're not cutting him and so without that without him doing that again i because you

It's time for the, you're in the academy, you're on the high, but you play no minutes

And you're at such a high, it's just such an extreme low. So if I was on that cut list, I probably would have stopped playing soccer

Have you talked to him about that? I've actually never one-on-one talked to him about it

I've only heard, and again, I'm really close to him. I really should, but we just, I don't know

I really should have a sit-down conversation. Why did you do that? Like, what did you see

So yeah, he saved my academy career. And then next year, I was the captain of the U16 team

So I went from literally 0 to 100. I was captain U16 team, played every single minute, every single game

got on the national team, and I started for the U17 World Cup against Nigeria. Played against Victor Oseman your first match

Yeah, so I went from literally 0 to not playing, not even being looked at

to almost being cut in the academy to the very next year, being one of the leaders in the U17 World Cup team

What about that European move, man? Because that's a culture thing. That's, I mean, distance, right

Like family, all that stuff. What's that like? Not to mention too, as well, trusty, like when it happened

like people were like, Arsenal, like Austin, trusty the Arsenal, like people kind of had eyebrows raised at it

You know what I'm saying? How did that make you feel in that process? As to add to Tom's question

Well, I don't really care. I mean, if people don't notice or people don appreciate what you doing the ones who actually know what they talking about know what they doing they appreciate it If someone who Joe Schmo down the street doesn appreciate or doesn recognize what I done in MLS what I was doing at the time in Colorado like I don really care

as long as the people who I'm actually trying to go to, I'm doing what they want to see, you know

so to have Arsenal come in and then going to Birmingham City and Birmingham City want me out

of all the teams and whatever, we want to be all these people. It's because they see certain things

and I'm doing that. So I don't really care about Joe Schmo talk

Like, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter at the end of the day. But you have the transition. The dream always was to go overseas

Like I said before, going overseas was not even the reality. But I always thought, like, if I go overseas, like

I will feel so fulfilled of, like, achieving my dream. It didn't matter where it was. It could be in Syria

It could be wherever it was. As long as it was overseas, I was good

And I got blessed enough, obviously, for one of the best teams in the entire world to notice me and want me on their squad

and gave me an opportunity. At the time in Colorado, I turned down a really big contract to re-sign it

And I decided not to do that because a lot of guys would probably sign that contract

that was offered to me. And I said no. And I remember the GM pork

I sold really close with Colorado. I remember he was just so shocked that I turned down that deal and that money

because my dream was bigger than that. I've always just been so fixated on achieving my goals

because it's kind of been the spark of how I was treated and how I was like, I never want to be overlooked

I want to achieve my goals. And I know my ability. I know what I can achieve and I'm going to go achieve it

And so, yeah, I've turned down all that money. And I was actually on less money at Arsenal

than I would have been there. And that's actually interesting because a lot of people don't know that, bro

Like sometimes the MLS salaries could be higher than the ones that you get, than the deals that you get in Europe

because for American players, it's much tough. It's tougher for us overseas. Well, they're giving you a shot

I mean, that's just how it works. And the deal that I turned down in Colorado, I mean, at that time, the European club at that situation probably weren't going to pay that

So yeah, I believed in myself. I believed in my ability. And then I knew I'd go right on loan and I have to earn my way

And went straight to Birmingham and then I was player of the year. And I think I shocked a lot of, I didn't shock myself, but I think a lot of people who maybe

you were talking about before, maybe like, oh, who's this guy? They realize, oh, shoot, this kid's actually like really good

And I went back in the next year with Arsenal and was with the guys in that preseason and

show them what I can do and then I was boys with all the boys boys with all the guys since then

was it always just Arsenal like with that if you don't mind me asking man were there like other

other offers other clubs I know you said you wouldn't mind playing like wherever the hell

yeah there was a I'm not gonna name names but yeah there was at the time in Colorado you know

I was doing really really well and I had a lot a lot of interest and again you see stuff from guys

and stuff I didn't promote it I didn't my agent's not leaking into the press not doing anything I'm

I didn't want anything to happen. I wanted to actually go there and do my thing

and get the ability to go. So not leaking the press, not doing anything like that

So yeah, there was multiple clubs interested. And then once Arsenal came to the mix, get everybody out of the way

Let me, this, this. Yeah, once Arsenal come, that's it, bro. Make that happen

So yeah, then we're full focus on Arsenal and then ended up signing

And then started my career, then went from Sheffield. I did that Birmingham to Sheffield to play in the Premier League

and then now got the opportunity to play in the Champions League last year. And now we're in the Europa League. I mean, unfortunately, we had the loss to get out of the Champions League

but played Premier League and Champions League, which are right behind me

Insane, man. That's insane. And obviously, you've been in these incredible locker rooms

You know, you've been in Arsenal. You've been in Birmingham City. You've been at Sheffield. You've been at Celtic

All differing degrees of success. All teams trying to, you know, chase different objectives throughout the season

What were the biggest cultural differences that you saw at like a club? at let's say for example like an arsenal or celtic who are like really aiming to win the league trying

to compete for titles consistently in a club like birmingham or sheffield where it's like okay

you might be in like an elevator club you might be in the champ you might be in the premier league

but the goal is ultimately not always winning the top tier titles it's more than my it's the

mindset and i guess the culture around it you know i think going to going to birmingham in a

sense they almost relegated the year before so in the sense the mindset was and really stay up

they were trying to stay up now with bergam city and tom wagner there and tom brady they're trying

they're trying to get remote so it's a different culture different mindset and then going to arsenal it's a whole different vibe hold up in order guys know that they're good guys know that

the team is good the mindset isn't losing the mindset is if we don't win the premier league

then then we failed in a sense failed for the season this is a whole different shift of trying

to stay alive versus trying to win and going to Sheffield it again it's it's trying not to get

relegated in a sense it should that's not my mindset but I'm seeing when you're looking around

seeing the vibe how guys react in certain situations it really uh it you know it kind of

it's kind of triggering and then going to going to Celtic and coming to team of this caliber and

in a historic club like this the mindset is only only winning if you if you don win 3 or 5 or 6 in these league games in a sense it like a loss So that the difference of being so tuned in and so obsessed

and only accepting and only really internalizing winning. That's the locker rooms that I've really thrived in

and that's one of the ones you've kind of been in. So yeah, that's the difference between the two. What's it like, man, playing in the Champions League

How can you explain that? And do you maybe put that in a perspective from a kid who was, you know, you were saying, oh, I was almost cut

Like, do you know what I mean? Did that feel like a seminal moment? And then, bro, you know, that big game against Bayern Munich, like, dude, that was crazy

I've gone into every game. I think after the fact, you really have like a pinch of your nose

snap that really just happened. But I think before the game and as it's happening

I have never in a sense, because of my upbringing and how my story is

is I've never really needed external validation to know how good I am

and what I can do. And I know that if I'm on my game

I'm doing my thing, I can hold anybody. So when I'm playing these games

that's the mindset I come with. I'm not coming from it with like

oh my gosh, I'm playing these teams. I'm coming from like, oh shoot, this is my time. I've been waiting for this moment

and I'm going to take full, full advantage of it. So that's kind of the mindset I've been

And then after the fact, I'm like, oh my dude, I'm just like, I'm playing the Champions League

Or like, I played 32 games in the Premier League and I've done this, I've done that, I've done this, I've done that

So I think after the fact, I realized it because I'm talking to Mahim

and a couple of my friends and my family being like, dude, do you realize that just happened? Like, oh, that actually did just happen

But I don't know, I've just been so tuned in, so fixated on achieving my goals and achieving what I want to achieve

And again, I think that mindset has allowed me to, one, come for where I come, but also to still succeed and excel

in these situations that I've been put in and I will continue to be put in

trusty what do you think was harder for you do you think it was harder to be at a club where the

expectations are really high to win titles to win trophies to win consistently or is it harder to be

on a side where like relegation is a is a real possibility you have you know basically the

livelihood of a city on your back on the results of someone getting relegated which one do you

think was harder on you in your career that's actually a really good question because people

think winning is easy winning is easy and obviously losing is not you don't want to lose either

But so when you're in that kind of relegation situation where the team is on the lower spectrum of the league, it gets very, very intense and it can quickly, quickly get toxic

And people start turning to each other and it's an interesting environment to be in

And with Birmingham, like that was the situation we're in. I was thriving because I was there doing my thing and I was achieving my goals

So I knew in every single game I thought we were winning. And we ended up coming like 18th and we stayed off relegation

but I've never been in the mindset of like, oh, it's a relegation team. Like I thought, or in Sheffield

I thought we were going to win the Premier League. That was my mindset. I think you need to be, need to have that mindset

You can't just go in the game and think you're going to lose. The winning side of things, say with like Arsenal and coming to Celtic, it's, people think winning is so easy

and it's not, it's really, really hard. When you get, when you get, when you're excelling through football

you get really good, once your skill sets a certain level, the key thing is mentally being switched on

So when you get to that, in a sense, that level of being so tuned in and it's like a high, high frequency of like you're zoned into

your sport, into like your mindset, your skillset and how you're seeing things. You got to learn

very quickly how to stay in that frequency. Make sure it's always turned on. You know

when you step away from the pitch, it's really hard to like get out of that mindset. You can ask my wife. That's the hardest thing is staying at that, staying at that frequency of really excellence

because you can't, can't afford not to be excellent, especially in my position. If you mess up like that's it you know so yeah it's uh it's it's different it's different mindsets

and from that from that form that you've had on club level you were able to take it into the

national team now and you know you're playing on the national team you're getting called up

by you know birth both greg berhalter and mauricio pochettino what are the biggest differences in

camp between the two managers now that you've been a part of both cycles yeah greg greg greg

called me up. He didn't call me up when the teams, the times I wanted, obviously with Copa

America and World Cup, and that was obviously very, very upsetting. And me and him have had

conversations. So I want to talk about that. But Mariso, it's actually really good. I think it's

really fresh having a new face come in. And to have a guy of his caliber as coach

he's got Coach Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, all those guys. He has a backing of every single player

I think to have a coach of that caliber, you can't say nothing to him

You can't say anything. He knows. He's been done that and you have to respect that

And I think that's the biggest thing. And he has like, again, he has like an aura around him

where we all look up to him. And I think that's what you want as a national coach

One other question about that. What's it like playing for the national team? That gotta be so generic But like you put that jersey on I mean Raheem faking it right now but like what it like it the best feeling in the entire world it um i remember when i made my debut it it i

felt again putting the shirt on and feeling like it's like shining armor that that's that's what

it feels like and uh that feeling never never grows away and that's why i i will do anything

possible to to be on that team be a player of that magnitude for the for the team and be there

you know be the guy for the for the u.s and i i know i can do it i know my ability i've shown it

and uh it's just about getting the opportunities and when i get the opportunity to thrive in it i

know when i get the opportunity that it's it's game over so how has it been for you trust as well

because you're competing with friends for these positions like you know what i'm saying like this

is not just like you know you're playing on the u.s men's national team you don't know anybody on the team like everybody on that team we know each other we're all 98s 99s we grew up together from

you know mark mckenzie to christian pulisic to weston mckinney to tyler adams we all grew up with

each other we developed with each other we trained with each other from the age of 15 till now as a

grown adult you're still competing with these guys to get a spot how do you kind of get that

mentality where it's like yo i know these are my homies but like i gotta get my spot bro like the

world cup is next year like what kind of mindset are you gonna be putting on when if you get called

into that next camp and what is it like competing against friends for these spots i don't view it as

competing against friends and at the end of the day we don't make the decision the the coach makes

a decision and the staff so it's about it's about proving to them of your what your ability is and

what you can do and how you can affect the team in a positive way and also proving to the fans

that hey i'm here too and i can be this person for the team so i don't really view as you would

as competing against friends or whoever it is it's not really like that's happy yes it is a

situation in a sense but we don't we don't make the decisions you know you just gotta you gotta

show up there and improve yourself really. And then how do you put yourself in that mindset to

really compete and really be like, okay, I want to be on this World Cup squad next year. What do

you think are the things that you have to improve on and do in order to be there? Really, it's a good kid called in. I think it was unfortunate. I tore my plan of fashion

just coming back a couple of days ago. So yeah, that kind of ruined some momentum

but it's about getting back into momentum and showing them that, hey, I'm here as well. I'm performing at an extremely high level. Look at all my stats. Look at all the people I'm defending

in the Champions League and now we're in the Europa League. And then game-wise and league-wise, I'm performing

My passes, my accuracy, I'll look at all my stats. And when you get the opportunity to get called up

it's about performing in there. And once you get the opportunity outside of training to play in the games, it's about not giving any excuse

giving anything and really set in stone why I should be in anybody who's playing should be starting

And that's just the mindset of a professional footballer. And anybody competing for spots

competing for such a historic tournament playing the world cup in the united states that's that's a

that's a proposition of any any american you know so i think we're all coming with that coming with

that mindset real quick as a follow-up to that mate you've seen like with pochettino when he's

brought like some of his guys in they've like performed and they've stayed in do you know what i mean like i think of a diego luna for example like that kind of like those lads when they've

come into the team and performed do you kind of like i guess take heart or like be encouraged from

that mindset like you've seen that that's maybe the attitude from the coach yeah i think with any

coach and especially uh marissa it's about performing so if guys are getting called in

and taking a shot and performing that's the name that's the name of the game that's why that's why

we do what we do you know so for guys who's called in to uh take a shot and do well that's that's

what you can wish for for sure do you think i feel like obviously you have to do what you got to do

within the camp like you said but obviously at the end of the day it is up to the manager it's

the manager's decision do you think that as a manager do you think you have the players have

more of a fair chance under pochettino than greg berhalter to make that squad in terms of like

listen there's not as many favorites there could be some new players coming in fresh faces that

come and shake things up mauricio he's letting people have a shop and letting new people come in

and he is um you know that's what you want if you if you're a player on the outside who wasn't

necessarily the one's getting called in every single camp no matter what you know and he's

letting opportunity to letting for opportunity to happen for other guys to come in that's what

you want and i think we're doing that just to just to wrap it up then the cheesy question

what's one piece of advice you'd give to the next generation man again this is probably cliche but

really is back yourself the only person who really is going to back you is is yourself and how you do

that is you got to show yourself in every opportunity every single moment you possibly get

to to show out show yourself that you know what i think i can do this i then from the

think that like I know I can do this you know so at the end of day you need to completely completely

back yourself and trust yourself and trust your instincts and trust your capabilities and all

your skill set because at the end of day it has to start with you and then if I if you believe

yourself and trust in your ability it's going to resonate with everybody else but if you don't do

it no one's why would someone think that about you