Matt Hedges
The FC Dallas captain is now a card-carrying member of the U.S. men's national team pool. And he does a mean Napoleon Dynamite impression too.
- Juan Agudelo
- Eric Alexander
- Jozy Altidore
- Kyle Beckerman
- Tony Beltran
- Austin Berry
- Matt Besler
- Nat Borchers
- Terrence Boyd
- Will Bruin
- Edson Buddle
- Teal Bunbury
- Geoff Cameron
- Edgar Castillo
- Ricardo Clark
- Steve Clark
- Bobby Convey
- Kenny Cooper
- Joe Corona
- Sam Cronin
- Cody Cropper
- Danny Cruz
- Daniel Cuevas
- Charlie Davies
- Brad Davis
- Nick DeLeon
- Jay DeMerit
- Maurice Edu
- Michael Farfan
- Andrew Farrell
- Benny Feilhaber
- Greg Garza
- Eddie Gaven
- Luis Gil
- Alan Gordon
- Andy Gruenebaum
- Bill Hamid
- Matt Hedges
- Clint Irwin
- George John
- Sean Johnson
- Jermaine Jones
- Benji Joya
- Dan Kennedy
- Perry Kitchen
- Jeff Larentowicz
- Steven Lenhart
- Chad Marshall
- Jack McBean
- Dax McCarty
- Jack McInerney
- Matt Miazga
- Justin Morrow
- Patrick Mullins
- Lee Nguyen
- Conor O'Brien
- Amobi Okugo
- Michael Parkhurst
- Heath Pearce
- Chris Pontius
- Dillon Powers
- Christian Ramirez
- Nick Rimando
- Chris Rolfe
- Kelyn Rowe
- Omar Salgado
- C.J. Sapong
- Brek Shea
- Harry Shipp
- Tommy Thompson
- Wil Trapp
- Andrew Wenger
- Danny Williams
- Sheanon Williams
- Chris Wondolowski
- Graham Zusi
March 04, 2015
3:50 PM
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Howard C. Smith/isiphotos.com
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF SOCCER?
Oh man.... I don’t know how old I was but I remember playing in the winter when I was living in Philadelphia. It was freezing cold. I don’t remember exactly where we were by it was right next to this river and there was snow on the field. I was like ‘I’m never doing this again.’
WHO WAS YOUR SOCCER HERO GROWING UP?
If I said that I didn’t have a soccer hero growing up, would that be a bad thing? No? All right, then I didn’t have a soccer hero growing up.
DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE SUITING UP FOR THE U.S.
My first game...for FC Dallas was against Seattle. It was here though. I was pretty nervous. Schellas [Hyndman] called me into his office the day before to tell me I was starting. In the game, I was nervous for a little while but once I got to playing, it went away. [As of October 2014, Hedges has not represented the United States.]
WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN A SOCCER PLAYER?
Discipline, I think, would be the quality I admire most. Working hard on the field is part of being disciplined. Being smart.
WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST DISLIKE IN AN OPPONENT?
Not being disciplined. That’s frustrating to deal with.
WHAT IS THE KEY TO YOUR SOCCER SUCCESS?
I’ll say discipline, as my third answer in a row.
WHAT IS ONE SOCCER SKILL YOU WANT TO IMPROVE?
[No answer]
WHO HAS HAD THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR DEVELOPMENT?
My club coach, Isang Jacob, from Indiana.
WHO IS YOUR CLOSEST FRIEND IN THE GAME?
Kellyn Acosta.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST SOCCER ACHIEVEMENT?
I have three: NCAA National Championship. No. 1 in the country—UNC. Getting drafted. Being Captain and when I was announced Captain.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST SOCCER DISAPPOINTMENT?
[No answer]
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU LEARNED FROM THE GAME?
To always work harder than everyone else.
WHO ARE THE MOST TALENTED TEAMMATES YOU HAVE PLAYED ALONGSIDE?
This is a hard one because, do you pick the most talented or the player you would want to play alongside the most? Talent is a combination of a lot of different things. You could be talented with the ball but if you don’t work hard without it… I don’t know. It’s tough to find a player that I can say is fully talented. Kellyn Acosta.
WHO ARE THE TOUGHEST OPPONENTS YOU HAVE LINED UP AGAINST?
[No answer]
IF YOU WEREN'T A PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR A LIVING?
Something related to my major—computer science. I’d be a software engineer—coming up with new apps or something.
WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS IN THE GAME?
[No answer]
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