Atlanta United’s Greg Garza is back with the U.S. men’s national team and he was obviously happy about it during Wednesday’s training at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
Garza worked to finish each conditioning drill ahead of the other players in his group. It may be part of his personality. It may be part of his efforts to lock down the left fullback, which has been a problem area for the team for years.
Manager Bruce Arena said on Wednesday that the spots have been a little thin in recent years and that competition is open. The U.S. team will play Serbia on Jan. 29 in San Diego and Jamaica on Feb. 3 in Chattanooga.
Garza, who played for Tijuana before coming to Atlanta United on loan, answered a few questions following Wednesday’s training session.
Q: It’s early, but how is camp going so far?
A: It’s good to be back. Last time I was here was probably September of 2015, which is right before my surgery. It’s good to be back in the mix, looking very forward and excited about this three-week long journey.
Q: How would describe the level of the depth of competition at left back in training camp?
A: It’s a position to fight for. I think that over the years it’s been something that hasn’t been our strong point. We have Demarcus (Beasley) here as well to lead the way for all of us young guns coming up in the system. Maybe something a couple years ago I straddled on and found my place. Just had to get through a couple of excruciating surgeries to get back in it. But I’m very happy for the call up. It’s been a while. I’m glad they have a bit of confidence in me to get back in the mix.
Q: Have the coaches given you any direction yet on what they want to see from you? An attacking presence, for example?
A: It’s a new transition with Bruce. He’ll probably pull me aside to explain what’s going to be the objective and goals for this next World Cup cycle. That’s the main goal. Hopefully the move back to the States can be a stepping stone for that as well.
Q: Any more thoughts about the players Atlanta United is acquiring? Another was added today with Yamil Asad .
A: Awesome. The club is getting bigger and bigger and more experienced. There’s a lot of young talent. I just hope that we can gel and find that chemistry for an early stage. I’m sure it will be a difficult start at the beginning since we are coming from all over. Different languages, difference cultures. Hopefully they can find a way to make us all gel and be a pretty cool expansion team.
Q: Chemistry is something you mentioned a lot in our previous interview. You've played for a couple of different teams. How do you develop that chemistry? Are there things that you've experienced that helped that you want to see at Atlanta United?
A: The main thing is probably the coaching abilities that “Tata” Martino has. Coaches I’ve had in the past have been really good about that. You learn from all your experiences if they are mistake of their good. I think “Tata” has the experience to help us all gel in the right manner and right ways. It all comes down to building those different cultures and making a good group and good team.
You can have tons of amazing players but if you don’t have the right team it won’t work.
You can say the same for the national team. We have a lot of guys that need to make a pretty good bond, a pretty good group to move things forward. It’s pretty much the same thing with Atlanta.
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