9.23.15 – 

FC Wisconsin.com's ‘Where Are They Now’ feature, regularly provides FC Wisconsin club members with an opportunity to catch up with former players. In this first installment, of the 2015 College season, we took time out to speak with Freshman, Buran Huseini at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay.

Buran is in his first season with the Phoenix and as a true freshman has had an excellent campaign to date.  He has started every game so far this season playing at either Right Back or Center Back. Below Buran talks about his time with FC Wisconsin and how he is currently adapting to the rigors of the College game

Interview:

Q. How long were you a player with FC Wisconsin and what made you join the Club?

H. I was a player for the club for 3 years. I joined FC Wisconsin, as I wanted to train and play at a higher level and knew that being part of the club would help me fulfill my ambitions of playing in College some day.

Q. What were the benefits of playing for FC Wisconsin?

H. Playing for FC had many benefits. The Club helped give me a lot of opportunities to talk to many college coaches during the recruiting process. Being surrounded by so many great coaches really helped me develop many different aspects of my game. Constantly training in an intense and competitive environment helped keep me sharp and made the game much easier for me as a player. The training sessions are of the highest quality and being part of this on a daily basis really helped me to improve my game. Playing for FC has helped me reach a lot of my goals I had set for myself as a player. 

Q. What were the best aspects of your FC experience?
H. Traveling with the team and growing together as a team were one the best aspects of my FC experience. Some of the best times of the season happened when the team was traveling. The intense training, team-bonding activities and the Bradford Beach sessions were great. After the season would get started seeing us go from a team to a family was really a great feeling and an awesome thing to be apart of.

Q. What did you learn the most from playing with FC?

H. I learned so many things during my time at FC. The coaches taught me many things on the field and helped me take my game to a new level, but also some important things off the field. I think the most important thing I learned was how to be a leader for the team. Not many people can assume that role but Coach Ben and Coach Billy really helped me grow into that spot.

Q. What are the biggest differences from playing Club and playing in College?

H. There are a lot of big differences when you transition from Club to the College game. The speed of play is so much faster; you don’t get much time to think when you have the ball so you always need to be one or two steps ahead of yourself during the game. Playing in College is much more physically demanding, as you are playing against men who are faster, stronger and quicker then any other players that you have seen before. I think the biggest difference is a player’s mindset. You have to be tuned in all the time because that one moment you’re not is when a team will capitalize off of your mistake. Fortunately this was something that was constantly emphasized at FC, which has definitely helped me adapt quicker than most.

Q. What is your lasting memory from playing with FC?

H. Being invited to the US Soccer National Training Combine is something that I will always remember. It was a great experience being able to train with the best players in the nation and it is definitely something I will never forget. Beating the MLS Clubs, Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew in my last year was also a great achievement for the team and club.

Q. How did playing and training at FC help prepare you to have such a successful Freshman campaign?

H. FC helped make the transition form Club to College a lot easier for me. Being put in intense training sessions really helped get my mind ready for College soccer. I think because I knew what it was like to have to be able to preform at my best day in and day out at FC, I just carried that mentality over with me into the training sessions we have at the university. Playing games at a high level helped prepare me but it was the high intensity training that really helped me to be ready for the next challenge in my soccer career, which is now to have to preform my best at the college level.

Q. What advice would you pass on to our younger players who have ambitions of playing in College in the future?

H. No matter what goal you have as a soccer player believe that you can achieve it. Always remember to listen to the coaching staff because they will be able to guide you on the way to your goal. Hard work and effort are two things that every player has in them so make sure to work hard and give 100% effort anytime you step on the field.

Q. What do you think makes FC Wisconsin different from other Clubs?

H. FC puts you in an environment that makes you go to places outside of your comfort zone to make you a better player. It can be tough at times but the coaches are there pushing you as they want to help you get better. They really care about every player’s future and they make sure each player is getting the proper attention they deserve to help become a better player. Everything from the intense training sessions to the great coaching staff help FC set itself apart from many other clubs