Catching Up with Sacha Kljestan
1/7/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Famer Sacha Kljestan is currently in his third season playing with Anderlecht in the Belgian Jupiler League, winning the league title in 2012 and then qualifying to compete in the Champions League. Anderlecht is off to a great start to its 2012-13 season, currently at 16-4-2 overall and leading the Jupiler League once again. During a recent visit to the United States during his holiday break from the club, Kljestan took some time to answer some questions about how life is going playing soccer abroad, the unique experience of playing in Champions League and how he keeps up to date on American culture while living a majority of the time in Belgium.
You are currently in your third year with Anderlecht and are once again experiencing success with a 16-4-2 record through the first 22 matches of the year, how have you adjusted to play in the Belgian league?
"Usually it takes about the first six months to really get adjusted not only to a new style of football or a new coach but also life off the field, learning French, making friends, things like that. Now we have been there for two and a half years and it really feels like home to us; Brussels is a great city. In the league we have done well, in my second season we won the title and now this year we are in first place and currently on a 10-game winning streak, so things are going great."
You have talked some publicly about your future, possibly resigning with Anderlecht and possibly attempting to play in another league; is that something you spend much time thinking about right now?
"I try to take it one part of a season at a time, so I am basically concentrating on the next four months, which is to hopefully close out our second title in a row. Then I have a year left on my contract and we have been talking about a new contract with Anderlecht, which is nice to know that they want to keep me around because they have some time to make their decision. After only being there for two years they already put a lot of faith in me that they want to keep me there for four more years so we'll see what happens. But I am also open to anything that comes along; I'll take a look at it."
Who would you say are some of your favorite teammates to play with over the past couple of seasons with Anderlecht?
"The guy I play next to in the midfield is named Lucas Biglia, he's a very talented player from Argentina and I think our partnership has really helped Anderlecht get over the hump after my first season when we didn't really play a lot of games together. Last season we played nearly every game together and this season as well, so playing next to him has been very easy for me because I think we have a good understanding. The guy who won the golden Shoe in Belgium last year, which is the best player in Belgium, his name is Matias Suarez, who is also from Argentina. He is probably one of the most talented guys I've ever played with. There was one other guy when I first joined Anderlecht named Moubarak Boussoufa, who's a Moroccan player who now plays in Russia. When you look at him in his street clothes you would never think that he could be a professional soccer player because he is about 5-foot-5 and weighs about 130 points. But he is really the player I have played with that has the best technique and the most technical awareness, really an amazing player. So those three have been the top for me."
You had the awesome experience of competing in the Champions League this year, but had to go through an extra round of qualifying before the first phase, did you feel a lot of pressure trying to get over the hump and finish qualifying?
"We definitely felt a lot of pressure especially because we went up against a team that nobody knew about from Cypress called AEL Limassol. And I think it also dated back to two years ago when we lost in that round of Champions League qualifying to an underdog team and two years before that we lost to an underdog team in that same round as well. So it had been building up that we hadn't qualified for Champions League in 6-7 years and if we were ever going to do it now was the time with the team that we had. We had a lot of pressure going into those games and we lost the first game away 2-1. Then we had so many scoring chances in our home match and just couldn't put them away but in the final 10 minutes we scored twice. It was a huge monkey off our backs to get over that hump and now I think we're going to stay there because I think if we win the title again this year we will be back in Champions League next year with some more experience."
When you opened champions league play I saw a great quote from you on twitter about the feeling of hearing that Champions League anthem played before the first match, what was it like playing in that prestigious international tournament?
"It was so cool because my brother and I used to watch Champions League since we were 14 years old. The games are always at 8:45 at night in Belgium, which is 11:45 a.m., in California, and we used to get out of school at 12:15 when we were in high school and we would rush home during our lunch break to catch the second half of the Champions League games. Just hearing that anthem all the time, for guys who love soccer it's like the one anthem that you want to listen to before a game. For my first game in Champions league to be at AC Milan in San Siro, a historic stadium, Milan has won Champions league seven times, to have my first game there was really cool. It was a really great experience and something I will never forget."
How would you assess the level of play in Champions league and how Anderlecht performed? I know you had a tough difficult grouping.
"I think the level you see at Champions League is the highest level of club soccer in the world. You really get to test yourself against the best players in the world. I think we underestimated ourselves. When the draw came out we were it was going to be tough, it's going to be hard, but I think after a game or two we realized we have a chance in this thing, we've actually played very well and we have a good team. We got a bit unlucky because we made what I guess you would call a few rookie mistakes early in the tournament and we really paid for them in the end when we couldn't get those last few points to make it out of the group."
It seems like the fans in Belgium have really taken to you, what is that experience like dealing with fandom and celebrity internationally?
"Obviously in Belgium Anderlecht is the biggest club and we're on TV every week and we are in the newspaper every day so you do get recognized a lot around town. But the thing I can always say is that the Belgian people are very appreciative and very nice and genuine. When you meet them they always have very good manners, they don't disturb you too much, they just want to say hello and take a photo. So as long as everyone says please and thank you I have no problems sitting and taking photos with people all day long. The people there are very nice, they welcomed me from the moment I got to Belgium. I think it helped a little bit that I learned French right away so I could interact with not only my teammates but with fans as well. I think they respect me for that and it's been a great relationship between me and the supporters."
This is your third year with Anderlecht, what parts of the Belgian culture have stuck with you so far?
"Belgium is a beautiful country, it's a really nice, small country and I think the people there are really nice and welcoming. I think I have kind of taken that into my personality. I started doing the postgame interviews in French, it took me two and a half years, and I wish I would have done it a little bit earlier but the confidence wasn't there. Now that it is I think it's even better, not only communicating with my teammates and being able to joke with them but also to interact with supporters as well and also with the media."
I know that you try to keep up with American sports, television shows and movies, how do you stay connected with American culture when you are living in Europe a majority of the time?
"One of our favorite things my wife and I like to do is go to the movies. Sometimes we have movies that come out the same time as in the states and sometimes ours come out two months later in Belgium, but we usually see all of the big ones. I have a sling box on my computer that I have hooked up to a cable box set up in the states that I can watch and typically I only use that to watch MLS soccer games and then watch the NBA games on the weekends. Then I can use iTunes to watch some of our favorite TV shows."
You are currently in your third year with Anderlecht and are once again experiencing success with a 16-4-2 record through the first 22 matches of the year, how have you adjusted to play in the Belgian league?
"Usually it takes about the first six months to really get adjusted not only to a new style of football or a new coach but also life off the field, learning French, making friends, things like that. Now we have been there for two and a half years and it really feels like home to us; Brussels is a great city. In the league we have done well, in my second season we won the title and now this year we are in first place and currently on a 10-game winning streak, so things are going great."
You have talked some publicly about your future, possibly resigning with Anderlecht and possibly attempting to play in another league; is that something you spend much time thinking about right now?
"I try to take it one part of a season at a time, so I am basically concentrating on the next four months, which is to hopefully close out our second title in a row. Then I have a year left on my contract and we have been talking about a new contract with Anderlecht, which is nice to know that they want to keep me around because they have some time to make their decision. After only being there for two years they already put a lot of faith in me that they want to keep me there for four more years so we'll see what happens. But I am also open to anything that comes along; I'll take a look at it."
Who would you say are some of your favorite teammates to play with over the past couple of seasons with Anderlecht?
"The guy I play next to in the midfield is named Lucas Biglia, he's a very talented player from Argentina and I think our partnership has really helped Anderlecht get over the hump after my first season when we didn't really play a lot of games together. Last season we played nearly every game together and this season as well, so playing next to him has been very easy for me because I think we have a good understanding. The guy who won the golden Shoe in Belgium last year, which is the best player in Belgium, his name is Matias Suarez, who is also from Argentina. He is probably one of the most talented guys I've ever played with. There was one other guy when I first joined Anderlecht named Moubarak Boussoufa, who's a Moroccan player who now plays in Russia. When you look at him in his street clothes you would never think that he could be a professional soccer player because he is about 5-foot-5 and weighs about 130 points. But he is really the player I have played with that has the best technique and the most technical awareness, really an amazing player. So those three have been the top for me."
You had the awesome experience of competing in the Champions League this year, but had to go through an extra round of qualifying before the first phase, did you feel a lot of pressure trying to get over the hump and finish qualifying?
"We definitely felt a lot of pressure especially because we went up against a team that nobody knew about from Cypress called AEL Limassol. And I think it also dated back to two years ago when we lost in that round of Champions League qualifying to an underdog team and two years before that we lost to an underdog team in that same round as well. So it had been building up that we hadn't qualified for Champions League in 6-7 years and if we were ever going to do it now was the time with the team that we had. We had a lot of pressure going into those games and we lost the first game away 2-1. Then we had so many scoring chances in our home match and just couldn't put them away but in the final 10 minutes we scored twice. It was a huge monkey off our backs to get over that hump and now I think we're going to stay there because I think if we win the title again this year we will be back in Champions League next year with some more experience."
When you opened champions league play I saw a great quote from you on twitter about the feeling of hearing that Champions League anthem played before the first match, what was it like playing in that prestigious international tournament?
"It was so cool because my brother and I used to watch Champions League since we were 14 years old. The games are always at 8:45 at night in Belgium, which is 11:45 a.m., in California, and we used to get out of school at 12:15 when we were in high school and we would rush home during our lunch break to catch the second half of the Champions League games. Just hearing that anthem all the time, for guys who love soccer it's like the one anthem that you want to listen to before a game. For my first game in Champions league to be at AC Milan in San Siro, a historic stadium, Milan has won Champions league seven times, to have my first game there was really cool. It was a really great experience and something I will never forget."
How would you assess the level of play in Champions league and how Anderlecht performed? I know you had a tough difficult grouping.
"I think the level you see at Champions League is the highest level of club soccer in the world. You really get to test yourself against the best players in the world. I think we underestimated ourselves. When the draw came out we were it was going to be tough, it's going to be hard, but I think after a game or two we realized we have a chance in this thing, we've actually played very well and we have a good team. We got a bit unlucky because we made what I guess you would call a few rookie mistakes early in the tournament and we really paid for them in the end when we couldn't get those last few points to make it out of the group."
It seems like the fans in Belgium have really taken to you, what is that experience like dealing with fandom and celebrity internationally?
"Obviously in Belgium Anderlecht is the biggest club and we're on TV every week and we are in the newspaper every day so you do get recognized a lot around town. But the thing I can always say is that the Belgian people are very appreciative and very nice and genuine. When you meet them they always have very good manners, they don't disturb you too much, they just want to say hello and take a photo. So as long as everyone says please and thank you I have no problems sitting and taking photos with people all day long. The people there are very nice, they welcomed me from the moment I got to Belgium. I think it helped a little bit that I learned French right away so I could interact with not only my teammates but with fans as well. I think they respect me for that and it's been a great relationship between me and the supporters."
This is your third year with Anderlecht, what parts of the Belgian culture have stuck with you so far?
"Belgium is a beautiful country, it's a really nice, small country and I think the people there are really nice and welcoming. I think I have kind of taken that into my personality. I started doing the postgame interviews in French, it took me two and a half years, and I wish I would have done it a little bit earlier but the confidence wasn't there. Now that it is I think it's even better, not only communicating with my teammates and being able to joke with them but also to interact with supporters as well and also with the media."
I know that you try to keep up with American sports, television shows and movies, how do you stay connected with American culture when you are living in Europe a majority of the time?
"One of our favorite things my wife and I like to do is go to the movies. Sometimes we have movies that come out the same time as in the states and sometimes ours come out two months later in Belgium, but we usually see all of the big ones. I have a sling box on my computer that I have hooked up to a cable box set up in the states that I can watch and typically I only use that to watch MLS soccer games and then watch the NBA games on the weekends. Then I can use iTunes to watch some of our favorite TV shows."
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