Vincenzo Bernardo | Former US Youth National Team Member

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What do you think about what you've seen so far from the Americans? Well it's been great watching them you know during the qualifications for the World Cup and then leading up to to this event. They're a really young and exciting team to watch you know full of talented players now that all compete pretty much at the highest level in European teams so it's been exciting you know with the last game especially against Iran you never know what what's going to happen in games like that where it's do or die and you know they showed that they had some some character and they got the result which was really exciting to watch and I know the country's really getting behind this team and it's going to be really really good to see what happens in the next round. You say exciting and I think heart palpitations and I can barely sit down and the second half against Iran which just about sent me into orbit it felt like it was four hours. Do you go through the same emotions as someone who played for the U.S.?

Absolutely I mean you know especially the last 15-20 minutes being up one zero um and having to hold that lead and defend and having some opportunities against us late you know you just get really really nervous um you know but they did a great job battling in those tough moments and they got the result that they needed. What does this team do well Vincenzo? So this team is very young it's got a lot of energy um you know they they have a lot of chemistry and you could see that you know off the field uh you know I follow them on social media they're all friends and they're all together and there is a there is an understanding on the field that you can see that they've built throughout the years you know they they work very hard and they believe and I know that the fans too in in the United States we all believe in this group and I think you know with that all put together it created this great um great three games ahead of us and now with with the Netherlands coming up I think it's going to be really special for this country to watch a team compete at the highest level. When you saw the makeup of the roster with just one guy who'd had any prior World Cup experience did the youth give you pause at all? Um not really because the players even though they're young um and they don't have that World Cup experience under their belts they still play at a high level and um they they have been playing in in European matches that are that are really competitive against the best players in the world so I know that the talent I knew that the talent was good enough um it's just exciting to see now that when it's all put together that they're actually you know winning these games and showing the world what what this team's capable of.

Vincenzo Bernardo is with us here after hours on CBS Sports Radio. He played with the national team as a youth and so understands what it's like to rep the red white and blue and now has his own elite soccer academy which we'll talk about. What was that like for you to be part of the system and to play on some of the youth teams the teams that kind of feed into this national team? Honestly when you represent the country that you live in where you're from and you play with for them it's a sport that you love to do it's just a really exciting and it's an honor being able to play at the at the U17 level and the U20 level for the United States it's always an honor and it's been great for me and you know I get to see them now on TV and I get to mentor the kids in the club um throughout the way so it's just a great honor. What's that process like whether it's qualifying whether it's the practice the development what is that like when you're a kid and you're getting the opportunity to participate at the national team level? Well it's really competitive it's really hard um you know there's a lot of a lot of players out there that want to wear that jersey and uh with that being said you know it's just you got to work every day at that level when you're young and as you build the you know the confidence as a player you just hope that you continue to to stay informed and hopefully one day playing in the world cup which is everyone's dream. As you watch this team recognizing everything that goes into its development and then see how it compares to some of the other elite teams around the world where soccer is the only sport and so everybody who's a great athlete ends up playing their football are soccer.

How much of a disparity is there how much separation is there between the U.S. and the upper echelon? Well I'd say you know in the last five years we've done a good job um you know getting to a level where we where we can compete with these with these top countries in the world um you know I think the United States now is in a position that's probably the best position they've ever been when it comes to quality um and I think that in the next world cup which is which is here in the United States I think they'll have they'll have an even better roster right I think these players here that are on the team now are most likely going to be part of that roster but they'll have four years more experience so I think we're heading in the right direction. The way that soccer is treated here in the United States versus what it's like in other parts of the world you've experienced that so I love the way that our fans are passionate but I still get those responses oh it's soccer I just wish more fans could appreciate it for what it is. Yeah you're right I mean honestly with with all the sports that are going on in our country here with you know it's just it's just a lot going on and for fans to even be watching the United States compete in the world cup you know there's always excitement during this time of year um but I think that these world cups doing well in them you just grow you grow a fan base right so the country is behind this team regardless if they like baseball if they like basketball or football you know any other sport but the world cup brings the countries together so I think that this is good the more that success that they have on the field the more success for the sport in our country.

Oh yes we definitely like winners as Americans we're on board with winners that's for sure. Vincenzo Bernardo is with us here after hours CBS Sports Radio former youth national team member now has his own elite soccer program since you had a chance to wear the red white and blue you've been in those atmospheres where the fans are extremely passionate in the stadiums how does that feel when you've got the wave and you've got the chanting and the singing and all of that energy that filters down to the field? When I played you kind of just like everything just goes off and you just focus on playing so I'm sure the players you know although there's so much noise and excitement in the stands and you know I'm sure the players are locked in and they know what they need to do but you know at the same time when the game's over these players these United States players they know the excitement that's behind this team and how happy the country is for for the result to move on to the next round so I'm sure they're really excited and also motivated because this sport is growing in the country and these are all young players that want to make a name for themselves.

Right there's the challenge of having to be able to communicate especially on a pitch that's as large as it is for soccer and yet the noise in the stadium can be so overwhelming and in their last game against Iran you had what 75% fans rooting for the other team though the better the U.S. played man you could hear the fans in the stands it was pretty amazing. Yeah and it goes back to the chemistry point where if you have good chemistry with your team you know it's not even as much you know hearing them you just know where they're going to be at that time and you have a style of play and and you execute it. After you retired you decided that you want to work with youth and you formed a team called Morris Elite which is based in New Jersey. Why is it important to you to start developing players and and to work with players who are younger? Soccer has been my life I've played in my my entire life it's given me great opportunities and for me to now retire and move on with the next chapter of my life you know I wanted to make sure that I was still involved in the game and I wanted to give back to the game especially in my local community in Madison, New Jersey which is where Morris Elite has that started. So for me it's it's exciting to to still be involved in the game and offer the absolute best platform for these young players to express themselves on the field and get better. So it's really honestly a dream come true for me.

And how does it work? How do you find talent and how do you develop them and help them appreciate the game of soccer even as they're working on their own skills and abilities? Yeah so it's exciting because a lot of young players are starting to play soccer at a young age so we get them at around the age of five or six and we just develop them from the ground up we develop their skill set on the ball off the ball training and you know some players obviously take in the training better than others and and you know we see their growth and we kind of just mentor them along the way.

I know that I've traveled in other countries specifically Central America, South America, so Ecuador, I've been to Cuba, I've been to parts of Africa and there are three and four-year-olds who can dribble circles around me with a soccer ball it's pretty amazing but how much they love it and and even being in countries when the world cup was going on Ecuador for instance didn't have a team in the world cup when I happened to be there and yet every single stall in the local market was tuned into this little black and white tv to be able to watch the games that passion is pretty incredible did you experience that in other countries too? Absolutely I mean soccer is the world's game it's the world's sport everyone around the world is watching the game especially this time of year with the world cup but the excitement's there from from when a when a when a young girl or young boy is born you know you're just automatically given a soccer ball you know and and I think in this country we're not there yet but it's it's gotten a lot better so you know the the excitement and the growth for the sport is is growing here in the states and I think it's going to continue to. Looking ahead to this game against the Netherlands how does the U.S. approach this match against an opponent that is really prolific when it comes to scoring and is one of the better teams in the world? Absolutely I mean it's going to be very very tough for the United States to get the result here but at the same time you know their their youth their energy their their exciting team to get behind and support I think they have a a good chance that they just defend well stay organized as a team and make sure that they don't make mistakes early on I think the team that makes the least amount of mistakes this game will will get the result you know we hope to be we hope to take it take our chances in the final third and and you know kind of do what we did with Iran. Yeah so it's interesting too because we've seen multiple strategies that we've seen Greg Berhalter use different formations whether it's exploiting the midfield matchups whether it's the prevent defense which makes me so nervous against a high scoring team like the Netherlands how would you play it?

If you open up the game and leave a lot of spaces for the Netherlands they're gonna they're gonna rip you apart and they're gonna finish their chances so you want to limit the space you want to make sure that you don't sit back kind of like the way we did when we were up one nothing you want to go at them you want to keep possession of the ball as much as you can and again like limit the mistakes and and set pieces are going to be crucial in this game as well. Can't wait although I'm already feeling the the hard palpitations looking ahead to the knockout stage he is the president of Morris elite soccer club in New Jersey and you can find it online morriselitesoccer.com also on twitter at vb10 vincenzo bernardo former youth national team member and now can help us break down what we're seeing at the world cup level so great to have a couple of minutes with you thank you for your time. Thank you for having me. Ready to pop the question? Let your love sparkle with Blue Nile. Blue Nile has helped millions of couples create their perfect engagement ring.

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