For the first time in a while, Aurelien Collin is perfectly content with the path his career is taking. And, the way Collin tells it, that’s all thanks to landing with Sporting after a trying spell in Portugal.
So trying, in fact, that it forced him to turn to arbitration to free himself from his contract with Vitoria Setubal in order to move to Major League Soccer. In Kansas City, the facilities are first class, the coaching and training staffs are top notch, his paycheck arrives on time and, most importantly, Collin is wanted and appreciated.
“If, outside of soccer, you have a good life, I think you feel it on the field,” Collin said. “Here I am very happy and on the field I’m good. I was less happy back in Europe, and you felt it on the field.”
In fact, the only thing that could make Collin happier would be if things on the field, specifically results, started going to plan as well.
Just two weeks after helping shackle fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry at Red Bull Arena, Collin is in store for another high-pressure moment as Sporting KC attempts to snap a three-game losing streak that has fans concerned and coaches and players scrambling for a result on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Collin’s reaction to facing the likes of David Beckham and Landon Donovan is typical of his first few weeks in Kansas City, not necessarily arrogant but pointed all the same.
“We respect them,” he said, “but we are not scared.”
That’s exactly what manager Peter Vermes wants to hear from the rugged central defender that he had been trying to bring into the fold since late last fall. After struggling with depth at center back for the past few season, Vermes now has a cadre of talent to call upon with Collin quickly becoming the group’s stalwart.
“I can sleep at night knowing that we have central defenders that, at any given time, I can pick from and feel very comfortable going into any game with them,” Vermes said about the luxury of choosing from Collin, Julio Cesar, Matt Besler and Shavar Thomas. “It wasn’t like that before.”
It has certainly helped that Collin has adapted to MLS quickly, the result of plying his trade in a handful of leagues in Europe at the ripe age of 24 and an attitude and physicality that is, as his manager puts it, “tailor made” to fit the demands of the league.
And even though he feels more relaxed and able to focus on his game here, Collin points out there isn’t actually much of a difference between the game on the old continent and the one played in the United States.
“I played in Scotland,” he said, “and they have the same mentality as here. It’s a little different in Spain, Portugal and Greece, a little more tactical. But the pressure is here. There are good players. It is the same for me. There is no big difference between Europe and here.”
None save for maybe the most important part -- the peace of mind Collin has found smack dab in the heart of the U.S.