America is crazy for a Hungarian football player
After winning against the Seattle Sounders, Nikolics Nemanja scored twice during the 3-0 match against the Colorado Rapids, informs nemzetisport.hu. The 29-year-old Hungarian striker is on top of the MLS shooter list with his ten scores, all the while breaking records as a Chicago Fire player.
Upon being asked if he was surprised about his strong opening in the MLS, he answered with a question, smiling: “No, I wasn’t. Why, were you?” Those who know him and what he is capable of are not surprised at all. He was goal king of Videoton three times and one time of Legia Warszawa, and if he keeps scoring at this pace, he might be the most productive football player of the United States at the end of the season. Playing in a team, which prefers entertainment to violence and attack tactics, is beneficial for Nemanja. Nemanja is the first one in the club’s history to score ten times in eleven rounds, already surpassing the previous goal king, David Accam, who scored nine during 24 matches. At the moment, Nemanja is the second best on the league’s rankings. If he keeps this up, he is likely to best surpass Ante Razov, who closed the season with 18 goals in 2000. No wonder, journalists were most interested in him after the last game.
“Those who know me are aware that I am at my best when my teammates are cooperative. I’m not the type of striker who, starting from half-court, dribbles eight players and scores the ball into the upper corner by himself” – told Nemzeti Sport the young footballer. “I have other strengths. If necessary, I will try everything I can to get into position in front of the net. My teammates needed a bit time to get used to this, but we’re getting more and more in sync, and with the arrival of Bastian Schweinsteiger, we are more collected and better at handling the ball. Also, the two home victories fell well on our confidence. We’d like to get into the playoff, and then, if things go well, we can shoot for the stars.
“I honestly wasn’t surprised that I started so well, I was signed to score, and I’m just trying to repay the trust put in me, proving that it was a good decision to take me in. There were one or two matches in the beginning where I wasn’t that good, but I was never in despair, as I had good opportunities; I would’ve panicked if I never made it to the net.
“I feel great, I hope the city will be in a football frenzy soon. Chicago isn’t really windy, it’s squally, rather. It is hard to get used to it, but it can be used to our benefits when we’re playing home, this is what helped me score my first goal in this case. I had a really good pass, I only had to head the ball into the net.”
Nemanja says that he gets his strength from his family. In Poland, the matches were always late in the evening, with rather bad weather, but in the US the five-year-old Tijana and the three-year-old Marko are able to root for their dad at the football court. Marko puts on his jersey in the morning and recites the team’s hymn from heart.
Even though he bid farewell to the Legia in the winter, Nemanja is still the third best with his 13 goals on the Polish rankings. Nemanja claims that this proves that the Ekstraklasa is hard, it’s not easy to score. Even if one plays in a really strong and good team, scoring is tough in Poland, same goes for the MLS. Nemanja hopes that they will win against the DC United as well, saying that the week would have a perfect ending.
featured photo: www.chicago-fire.com
Ce: bm
Source: nemzetisport.hu