MLS & USMNT standout, Edson Buddle was kind enough to give us some of his time during this time of Coronavirus crisis yesterday, we had an assist from Jimmy Conrad, also a player in the MLS and the USMNT now seems he is everywhere on media as he provided us with one of the questions, thank you for that. It was a far ranging interview touching on things such as the value of mental & physical health, the import of fitness in everyday life, his Jamaican heritage, yes we went well off the rails on many an occasion.
First it was inquired of him of his history of playing soccer, like many he did begin to play with is father, Winston Buddle, head of the most successful Golden Touch Soccer program based in NY. That exposure gave him a huge step up when at the ripe old age of 7 he began to play at Blindbrook in Rye, NY, he further informed us that through the game he has established many lifelong connections with others. Still in Rye he moved on to travel ball with players 1-2 years older, this he found more challenging and it raised his game. Next up New Rochelle with HC Jose Morales, now playing two years up the coach felt Edson may not have been ready yet, he was left impressed but doubted that due to the age gap and the soccer culture that the mostly Latino team was from that it would have been so good of a fit. FC Westchester was his next team for a few years. It was then that Buddle came to where else but Long Island and our friend of decades now Declan McSheffrey and a team with Amityvillle, he stayed with the team as it moved to HSB . Dr. David Masur (HC St. John's Univ) became his HC when he arrive at Hewlett Blue Star. Off to JUCO at State Fair in Missouri under HC Carlos Moralez where he then went off to National Team Camp for the U-18's, they took a tiitle. Next a return to Long Island and the Rough Riders under HC Paul Riley (HC NC Courage) in the A -League in order to better his play in hopes of making it to the U-20 MNT and their World Cup. Among his teammates were, Lawrence Pitturo, Danny Leon, Ronan Weisman, Cordt Weinstein, Paul Grafer (MLS HQ), & Richard Mattson. At the U-20's the recently departed Wolfgang Suhnolz thought him to be not ready , Edson admitted he "couldnt' wait for the buffet " and back to the LIRR, where he was tops in goals, then wound up with the U-20's and a goal v Chile as they bowed out with a 2nd round loss.
On to the big time, MLS, although DC United had him along for a trip to El Salvador, he wound up getting drafted by the Crew and HC Tom Fitzgerald, where he was teamed up with Brian McBride (USMNT GM), Jeff Cunningham, John Wilmer Perez, Robert Warzycha ("The Polish Rifle", Polish MNT) & Dante Washington. In that he was a Project 40 player, he was not as motivated as he admits he should have been. He found the first year of full time pro ball to be quite the learing experience and was still suffering at his own hand to poor nutrition. Come the 2nd year it was different, as the team had their own nutritionist which was a tremendous help with him dropping 30 pounds. This made a big difference with his on field performance with a team leading 9 goals from the wing position, his endurance was up big time and even noticed an increase in his speed. Again to the NY market with the newly named NYRB and has the first assist for the team and a hat trick later that year. When Mo Johnston left for Toronto, he brought Buddle with him to be the primary striker where he would spend half the year. With TFC, he teamed with Dannny Dichio of Queeens Park Rangers, Sunderland & Mill Wall. He was then off to the Galaxy, a team he would revisit in his career. He would be coached by Frank Yallop who with the efforts of Alexi Lalas who knew Edson from their time with NYRB, as the team would also consist of Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Chris Klein (Team Prez.), Alan Gordon, Ante Jazic (Canada MNT), Joe Cannon, this was clearly a rebuilding year with Buddle being one of those pieces, he had a goal in his first game on the left coast. The next year of 2008 saw the goals come fast and furious as he hit for 15 goals while Donovan struck 22 times, heading the best offense in the MLS, backed by the worst defense, but a change was coming. 2009 they took the MLS Cup as AJ Delgaraza & Omar Gonzalez were brought in, still they droopped the MLS Cup facing Real Salt Lake with Jason Kreis and Long Islander Chistopher Wingert in pk's. 2010 began red hot as Edson was busy in the off season, netting the first 7 goals for the Galaxy then off to the South Africa World Cup.. That hot start got him to the take the team's Golden Boot Award, and 2nd league wide to Wondolowski despite missing 5 games while in SA, a similar fate in the MVP as he was for the team, yet # 2 in MLS to David Ferreira.
In 2011, Europe came a calling and he popped the pond to FC Ingolstad 04 in the 2nd Bundesliga and the Audi owned team of just 7 years who shot up in promotion to the 2nd level in Germany, no easy feat. Others there would include Marvin Matlip(Cameroon NT), Stefan Leitl (HC Furth) again a goal in his first game and the crowd went wild. He was well received, surprising at that time for an American player, he attributes that to the fans being well versed in the game, able to see through that stigma and they succefully fought relegation. 2012, the second half of the season in Europe, saw the team with their 4th HC on the season, Edson was tops in goals, and was then sought out by the coach to be a leader on the time in spite of his having very limited German. Afterward the Belgium League was after him as was Everton, he was however not eligible for a work permit as he lacked the 75% of National Team caps on the past year to qualify for that. Back "Home" to the Galaxy he went in 2012, now with one of Ireland's best in Robbie Keane. Upon his return to LAX, the fans packed the airport to welcome home the Prodigal Edson, left him excited for the season but a torn Meniscus had him sidelined for 2 months but he did get some minutes in the MLS Cup win over Houston, they were the "First to Five". This was a surreal moment for Edson, it left him pumped to get the knee squared away for the next season, get the next ring and be fully fit. Unlucky 2013 had him ply his trade with the Rapids, a transaction that left him "Salty". His knee was not right and with his previous year being a 2nd injury to the same meniscus, he went to see his NY doctor, Olcheck at the HSS, his son now works for MLS, to better address the recurring water on the knee. His pair of years in Colorado he was coached by Oscar Pareja who would go on to make his name with FC Dallas and another ex-USMNT mainstay Pablo Mastroeni. The third time to LA would be 2015, still affected by the knee and other nagging injuries due to that and he feels old age, coupled with a far younger locker room, he knew his time as a pro was limited, the year however was not without its highlights. Keane, still in town lead a visit to Ireland and a meeting with the Prez. of the Emerald Isle, this was great for Edson as he looked up to Robbie, he was a fan and taken aback by the hospitality extended by his team mate and his countrymen.
Wow, what a time in the beautiful game for Edson, the highest of highs with an MLS Cup and taking on England in the World Cup. This brings us to the next question though not ours, it comes from none other than Jimmy Conrad, US Open Cup winner, USMNT veteran and now a major media presence. He wanted to know "What did it feel like to represent your nation at the Word Cup", a great question indeed and an equally great reply was of course given. Edson informed the he felt very patriotic, found it fulfilling, something not to be taken for granted, that it was a privilege to wear the badge. He had this set a goal. it was a breath of fresh air to accomplish this. It all came together so very fast culminating with watching England come out of the tunnel, making the 30 man roster, playing the send off games to Sout Africa, then adjusting to the local time zone. Upon the start of the game the Jumbotron was down as they sought to take down the powerful Lions with Rooney, Gerrard, etc, "Welcome to it". There was a little build up and then thrown into the fire. He had a pair of goals in a preliminary game facing Australia with Bob Bradley (LAFC HC) A highlight of the games for Buddle was the game facing Algeria where a victory was needed to advance with the mighty England. That they would get and advance to the Round of 16 as in extra time. Donovan came through, with those attacking, Edson was able to watch it all unfold as Tim Howard fed Donovan, who passed to Jozy Altidore who gave the ball to Clint Dempsey, his shot was rebounded out to Donovan, who very near to Buddle sent it home true for the win. They were then sent home by Ghana. The takeaways from these games for Edson were that he always had the capability to be there, he was able to measure himself up against the best, he left with far more confidence and then had to carry that confidence, without it being too much confidence. This experience afforded him the opportunity to size himself up and see where he was at compared to the rest of the world. He was fortunate in that he had many in attendance, his the girlfriend, sister, dad, mom & step dad.
His playing days are done, why did he choose the Westcheste Flames. It was a pretty easy choice, he had been away from home his family was getting older and he wanted to be closer to them. He sought to take a year off, only to find that all others were at their jobs and he was free. He found that there was no one to tell you of your value, the value of your playing experience, the mindset of healthy eating habits, discipline. He found his communiications were lacking on the field, so he would adjust his game to others rather than let them know what he was seeking to do, was rather quiet in the locker room, this he has improved upon this area and has made this a key. He thought to come home where his father had connections, things he had not formed during his playing time as he was not communicating with locals in his various cities, thought of going back to Colombus OH where he has a place but found here to be a far better fit as he was more faimiliar as having been raised nearby.
LIke his father before him, Edson will be training players, between them a number of players have gone on to bigger and better things. Stephen Elias who just finished at Seton Hall under Andreas Lindberg, he began in the Carolinas for his college career after good looks from academies in England and is now with NPSL team FC Motown in NJ, he should do well at this level, we had seen him play twice and train once. The just retired Benny Feilhaber had a long career with the MLS, Europe and the USMNT had been trained in the mid 90's by Golden Touch Soccer and as youth players very often another player of note, Kyle Martino would make the trek from CT. down to train, he played for a number of years in the MLS, had time with the USMNT and a few trials in Europe before injuries put him out of the game and is now a talking head with NBC and their soccer coverage.
Like all during this time of the Coronavirus crisis, Buddle and the Flames have had to make adjustments. They hope to get together in mid-April to see how to proceed, he has been viewing a lot of highlight film to see how to better approach the season and staying active and busy with exercise.
The long and short term plans for Edson include developing the youth academy with the Westchester Flames, helping make soccer bigger here with the USL playing a big part in that. With the Flames, he hopes to better give back by way of a foundation, and he is involved in STEER, a mentorship with high school students to help them make the move to college.