Andy Iro: The World is HIS Oyster
by FFI Soccer Magazine, Subscribe Today
Past, Present, and Future
On a cold, windy day on the campus of UCSB, Andy Iro took time out of his extremely busy schedule to sit down with FFI and chat about his amazing life and exactly what he’s been up to since he became the #5 overall draft pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft.
Body: At 6’5” 220 lbs, Andy Iro is not someone that you’ll lose in a crowd. In every sense of the word, Andy is “BIG”. The young man, who led UCSB to its first NCAA Title and earned All-America Honors every year he played, has a big frame, big personality, big voice, and even a big smile.
But despite his colossal stature, Andy Iro is one of the most kind-hearted and genuine people that you’ll ever meet. This gentle giant has a zest for life that attracts people to him wherever he goes and in many ways he demonstrates a level of maturity that shows he is no rookie when it comes to life. However at the same time, Andy is your typical 20-something that enjoys clothes, music, girls, junk food, and all the other fun things that people of his age worship.
Over the course of an hour we discovered how Andy Iro, English transplant and son of Nigerian immigrants, is the perfect example of a young man, thrust into the limelight because of a unique talent, but simultaneously trying to retain his youth.
Read on and discover Andy for yourself.
FFI: What was it like when your name got called and you made the walk up to the podium and had your picture taken with Commissioner Garber? Can you tell us about that experience?
AI: Yeah, it’s really crazy man. I mean what you see is just the hour on TV, but it really starts the night before. The night before you get in and go into this 5 star hotel and then you see the coaches who are potentially going to draft you and you’re looking at them and you’re wondering, “What are they thinking?”
Then you walk around and talk to them, schmooze with them or whatever and they just don’t give nothing away. In terms of me, on draft day I got a call at 8 o’clock in the morning from ABC or NBC and they woke me up and were like “You’re live on radio” and you know, “How are you feeling the day of the draft?”
And so literally I went from that to me eyeing me shit and everything and then I went and done another interview with BBC World and then I came back, had a shower and then had to go to lunch. It was like literally from 8 o’clock until 6 at night. It’s non-stop. It’s cool, but until your name gets shouted out you have no idea. I didn’t have any idea about where I was going to go. I knew what teams were interested in me but I mean a lot of teams that were interested in me were at the later stages of the first round or at the beginning stages of the second round. I had no idea that it was going to plot out the way that it did.
FFI: Were you surprised that you went in the first round?
AI: Not really surprised that I went in the first round. They only flew out 15 of us, 10 of which were Generation adidas guys, so they planned that all of us would go in the first round or early second round. It wasn’t necessarily of being taken in the first round. It’s just like I didn’t know it was gonna be necessarily to Columbus Crew. I knew that they were interested in me ‘cause they spoke to me at the combine, but I just thought it was general interest. There was a couple other teams that spoke to me. It was funny because someone was saying to me “You’re going to go to Salt Lake, You’re gonna go to Salt Lake, with that third pick.” And then I was like, really? Okay. And then that third pick came and they didn’t call me.
No one has any idea what they’re talking about. Everyone thinks they do. Everyone thinks they can like predict what people need. But no one had any idea that it would pan out the way that it did. It was a really cool experience.
FFI: You were rumored to be headed back to Europe, what was the thing or things that made you decide to stay here in the US?
AI: Well, I mean it’s funny because I was reading the articles and blogs and one thing that kind of annoyed me was when people were like “Oh, Andy Iro says he has a chance to play in Europe and he’s decided to stay in the US. I think he was lying or whatever” and I was like, “You’re an idiot. You have no idea the reasons why I want to stay.”
The truth is that I wanted to stay for one, because I want US citizenship. After living in Europe for the first 19 years of me life, I feel that soccer wise, opportunity wise, and job wise, long term, I want to live in the US. That was ultimately a very big reason why I decided to stay. Because I want me citizenship. And I think that many Americans don’t understand how difficult that is to get.
The other main, main reason is that in the next couple years me sister and me mum plan on moving out here or at least coming out here for a long period of time. And so, as much as Europe is a great opportunity, in terms of life matters, the US is just a far, far better fit. I’ve always said that if I am happy off the field I think I’ll be happy on the field and I’ll get the most out of me self.
I think going back to Europe at this stage in me career was just not the right thing to do. It’s the “glory move” that every American kind of wants, but I know what it’s like. It’s very, very cutthroat. I mean you go there and you get one chance and you’re not really going to get another look again. Look at Landon Donovan man. He gets his shot and it didn’t work out and I don’t know whether he wanted to leave, but I know that teams are now going to look at him and say that he couldn’t cut it. And I don’t want to be that player. I want to position me self where I’m set from a life standpoint. Where I got me citizenship, me family is over here and settled, and then if the opportunity comes in a few years, where there is a good European offer, then I’ll consider it. But I want to know that I can always come back and do whatever I want in life. I think that for me was ultimately by far was the most important thing.
FFI: Ivan Becerra got the chance to play with Columbus. Have you gotten a chance to speak with him about his experience with the Crew?
AI: Ivan is me best friend. He came back from Columbus and he’s pretty much been living with me here in Santa Barbara. Ivan talked to me from his standpoint, but when Sigi came in he completely overhauled the team so it was hard for Ivan to assess the players, but he did talk about Sigi and how Sigi is very straight forward and very disciplined and Ivan gave me a lot of insight about the Columbus Crew. I do have another friend who’s already there and I’ve spoken with him a lot and I think that it potentially could be a very good fit for me.
FFI: How has your life changed since signing with the Columbus Crew? More attention? More Girls? Etc?
AI: (Laughs out loud) The girls were always there. No just playin.
It’s hectic man. Literally, on the day of the draft I got 25 missed calls and half of them are from numbers that I don’t even know.
“Andy I just want to congratulate you!” and “Andy this is so and so from this paper.”
It’s really cool, but the transition is just like crazy. It was only a month ago that I was trying to stay eligible. It’s like crazy man. My phone is constantly going. I’m doing this interview with you now, I done a photo shoot like an hour ago, I done another interview yesterday and then I’m still trying to finish school so I mean as I’m walking over to meet you I was on the phone with the Dean of Students. I think that once I leave here it will really calm down, but now I’m trying to balance two hectic schedules. It’s really difficult but it’s really cool.
FFI: What things are you going to miss about college/UCSB?
AI: Santa Barbara is sick man. Definitely been the best 3 1/2 , four years of me life. Luckily for me a lot of my friends have came and gone so the transition will be a little easier, but again I’m going to miss a lot of people here. I’m going to miss the players and coaches. It’s really relaxed here and laid back. And then of course going out and partying and eating whatever you want and hanging out whenever you want. It’s just a very, very relaxed place. Obviously, once you step to the professional level everything is very regimented. I think once I leave I’ll really realize how much I miss it.
FFI: Let’s go back a few years. Can you tell me why you initially chose to come play soccer at UCSB as opposed to staying in England and trying to carve out a career there?
AI: It becomes difficult (to play in England) because in Europe it’s so structured. If you’re not in with a good club at age13, 14, 15, which I wasn’t, it becomes very difficult to break that mold. I don’t know why it is. You just can’t get in.
I think for me I missed a key time because I stopped playing. I played rugby in high school and I didn’t play soccer for like three years and then when I finally picked it up again at 16, I kind of missed that stage where clubs are picking up players. So I got back into it really late.
And then I got to a point where I don’t want to get a job and I don’t want to go to college in England. And then one of me friends told me to look into this, look into that. And then I stumbled across (UCSB). I’d never even heard of Santa Barabara. I barely knew where California was. I knew it was on the West Coast and that was it, you know. I randomly sent out a bunch of emails and Tim was one of the few to respond. And then it just went from there. I went on a recruiting trip, loved the place, and then four years later I’m sitting hear.
FFI: Did you have any idea in your mind that day, when you went on that recruiting trip that you would one day be sitting here?
AI: Not at all man. I’m like truly blessed man. I’ve never really thought me self a lucky guy, but after the surgery in ‘06 and I was able to come back and I was able to play the season out and then people are talking about getting drafted, and I had gotten the awards and everything, but I kind of thought that after a knee operation I wouldn’t be able to come back to a point where I could play professionally and then luckily it looks like I’m going to get that opportunity. I’m just really lucky. Somebody is looking down on me or something.
FFI: How would you compare the college soccer scene to the professional ranks in England?
AI: In terms of college soccer, it’s definitely getting better. From my freshman year to my senior year the quality players has gotten a lot better, a lot more technical. The main thing about college soccer is that it’s just really, really fast. Really, really good athletes. Not necessarily the best players technically and players make a lot of mistakes and often a lot of those mistakes go unpunished. But when you step up to the higher level, I mean when I went over there I was just like “Wow.” The transition, the change, the style of play, the tempo, the touch that they EXPECT you to have you know the decisions that you have to make are just sooo, sooo different to what you can do in college.
Don’t get me wrong, I think our UCSB team was a very good team and I think we could compete with a lot of the lower level teams in England, but just when you step up to the level of Championship and Premiership they’re not only unbelievable athletes, but they’re so efficient in everything they do and they just NEVER make mistakes.
One thing I noticed when I was there is I’d clear a ball and I’d think to myself, “That’s a pretty decent clearance.” and then “boom”. They’d smack it right back and it’d go in for a goal. And I was like, I just cleared it for 25 yards and then they just hit it from 30 out. I mean the expectations are just so high.
I think another reason why I wanted to stay in the MLS is that the transition in games from college to the higher levels in England is not a transition that is right for me right now.
FFI: Since coming to California, what has been the biggest challenge that you’ve had to face? Why?
AI: Off the field…me family. I mean some of me family members were pretty sick. Some of the ones that are pretty close to me. And it’s annoying because I see everyone going home every couple of months or at like Thanksgiving and I literally only get a few days at home in England at Christmas. That, especially the first couple years, was really difficult, to a point where I almost left to go back. I mean I loved the place and loved the soccer, but I was just really homesick and then it was at a point where I thought about transferring, maybe to the East Coast because, you know, it’s a lot closer, like only 5-6 hour flight. But then I began to get really settled here and I began to get a lot less homesick.
Then on the field it was just like…me freshman year I was flying. I felt good. And then halfway through my sophomore year me knee was like killing me man. I don’t know what it is and I was tried to just play it out. And then it got to a point where I went in for some tests in spring season after me sophomore year the doctors were like, “You kind of need this surgery, but if you get this surgery then you’re going to be out for 8 months and you’re going to miss your junior year.”
And so then me and the coaching staff were talking about it and they said that the doctors said that if you play your junior year you won’t be 100% but you’re not going to get any worse. And then I played out me junior year and I was really happy because we won the national championship and obviously that was what I was striving for in college, but at the same time I was disappointed because I wasn’t even playing at 70% and I felt like a lot of players were carrying me and that is not the type of player that I am. I was really frustrated about me self. I wanted to do things, but physically I just didn’t have it in me. It was definitely a tough time. I mean I was the team captain as a junior and I was looking to the freshman to cover me back.
FFI: Did you learn a lot about yourself during that time?
AI: Yeah, at that time and then post surgery when I was like out for 8 months and all the guys are out partying and living it up after our championship win and I was in bed on this leg machine.
I think my sophomore year I really just wanted to be “it”. I wanted to be the focal point. I think maybe that’s the type of person I am. I really want people to put emphasis on me. I want to be the main guy that people can look to. I used to get really annoyed at myself when I can’t be like that. It was frustrating, but at the same time it was kind of humbling.
In college I always wanted to go on these big, long runs and part of it was for the fans because they liked seeing it and part of it was because I just wanted to do something, I wanted to be something.
But then I realized when you step up to the professional level you’ve just got to be like “This is your role and you’ve got to stick to it”. You’ve just got to defend. You don’t have to go on these big mazy runs. So what happened after me junior year is that it just calmed me down a lot and made me reflect on me game and certain things that I need to do.
FFI: What accomplishments are you most proud of since you’ve come to UCSB?
AI: I think any time you get to two national finals in four years that’s pretty solid. And I know we were massively disappointed this year because we were 3-1 up in the Sweet 16 game with 30 minutes left and we would have had the Elite 8 game at home which we knew we would have won so we potentially had the chance for 3 college cups. But the two national finals is definitely huge.
For me personally, making two College Cup First Teams again is pretty good. I mean I guess being All-American every year was pretty cool, but there was times I felt like I was getting the award because of my name and not necessarily for how good I played. There was times when I got Third Team when I thought I should have got First Team and then when I got Second Team I felt I should have got Third Team.
FFI: What’s your most memorable game at UCSB?
AI: Indiana freshman year. Indiana hadn’t lost in 23 games and they were coming off a national championship in 2003. And we were playing them in New Mexico and what I thought was our best player, Tony Lochead, got a red card inside 90 minutes so it goes to double overtime. Both of us had 10 men, in the dark, and then me friend Tino has a shot that goes for a corner. Corner comes in, I head it, gets cleared off the line and then somehow it comes straight back to me head and so I head it again and it goes in and we win in double overtime. And as a freshman scoring the game winning goal against a team that hasn’t lost in 23 games. It’s just… I called me sister straight away and I’m like crying on the phone in front of 3000 fans in the stands and I’m like, “What am I doing here? I’m used to playing in front of 17 old guys in the park. I don’t even know what I was doing.”
That was definitely the most memorable game.
FFI: Tell us about your family, particularly your mom and sister and how they affected your decision to come to the US in the first place?
AI: When me dad wasn’t around all that much and I was the last one left in the house with me mum it was just me and me mum and it was during me teen years and we just really butted heads. She just like annoyed me a lot man. It’s not like she did anything bad. She gave me a lot of freedom actually. She was just always on me.
I went to private school and she was like “Why aren’t you doing this” and “Why aren’t you doing that?” and “Why aren’t you looking at college?” and so we really didn’t get along and then she was so happy for me when I was like, “I’m going over to America to go play and I’m also going to college, too.”
She was like “Oh, okay. Well, just watch out for the guns in America.”
(Laughs)
That’s really what she said to me.
And then I left and when I was over here for me freshman and sophomore year and she fell ill and I just got a lot closer because I wasn’t there all the time. She’s really cool man. She like really tries to live her life through me. She always wants me to send stuff home. I’m talking like these little flyers or posters. Like nothing man. Newspaper articles, that I just take for granted and just throw them away. She wants them.
And then I go home now and she’s got them hanging up on the wall and I’m like “What are you doing?”
She means the world to me now. She struggled to raise all of us. She’s like a role model to me.
In terms of me sister, even though I had 8 brothers and I’m really cool with all of them, me sister was always kind of like the closest brother. She was the one that would take me to games and when I ran track, she ran track herself, and she would take me with her. And it was her that ultimately told me that I should definitely look at going over there (to America) because when she used to run track she was actually looking at UNC and a couple other schools to go do a scholarship at and she said that was her biggest regret that she didn’t do it.
She was like “Listen. California is great” and she had actually been to America a couple times so she was like “Go. Trust me. Go.”
So me and her came out on my recruiting trip and she was just like “Do it, do it, do it.”
Now, she’s always the one that is calling me up and she’s in England online trying to see the draft and see my games. She’s just a character man. She’s a real character.
When she was off and did her college thing in London and I was in Liverpool I got real close to her. She’s cool man. She’s really cool.
FFI: If you had to have a “real” job, what kind of work would you want to be doing?
AI: Probably what you’re doing. Anything around sports and entertainment. Ultimately, I have plans outside of soccer and it’s important that I get my degree.
Writing about soccer.
I love coaching so ultimately after I’m done I’d love to get into coaching whether it be full-time or part-time.
But I mean, you got a sick job man. You get to travel around and interview people, you get to write about soccer, you get to watch soccer. It’s almost like being a pro except you don’t have the pressure of being on the field.
FFI: I wouldn’t consider myself anything near a pro.
AI: I can definitely see myself writing. My sister is a journalist and she’s had a major influence on me.
FFI: Have you talked to Sigi Schmidt about your role within the Crew Organization?
AI: To be honest, I’ve literally talked to him for only 10 minutes after the Draft. I think that’s the kind of person he is. He’s like, “Do your thing, do your thing, do your thing. And once you get here it becomes our thing.”
When he drafted me he said that our (old starting) defender had decided to go back to Chile and he was the starter at the left-sided center back and that obviously is my position, so I think he’s putting a lot of faith in me to replace him or do something where the team doesn’t feel the effects of the loss. And that’s all you can really ask for from the coach. Put faith in you and hope that he has some patience with you because I’m not going to come in and be the finished project, but I think he sees me playing realistically so hopefully I can fulfill expectation.
FFI: What do you know of Columbus? Have you been there before? Do you have any contacts there?
AI: Me friend Jason Garey is on the team, but the only thing I know about it is from when we went there to play Ohio State. We arrived on a Thursday, played on a Friday, out on a Friday night. I really don’t know anything about it. I asked a LOT of people, but the people I’m asking are California people so they’re comparing it to California and they’re like “You’re going to hate it, you’re going to hate it.”
But I mean, soccer wise it’s one of the best places for me. Like I said I have a good chance of playing so I’m looking forward to that.
Also, I mean, I had no idea about Santa Barbara, that I would love it this much so I think it would be naïve of me to say “Well, it’s not California so I’m not going to like it.” I’m just going to go out there with an open mind and hopefully I’ll like it.
FFI: Are you a bit apprehensive about the move?
AI: Yeah. I am. The people I’ve grown closest to are still here in California and initially I said I want to stay near them, but one of the first things that Sigi told me is that “I’m a California guy and so is Frankie Hejduk, and Chad Marshall and so are a bunch of other players and they love the place.”
You move on you know. And I know in the off-season I’m going to come back. Plus, I think it’ll be good to leave California and get a little more worldly view and open some doors and then come back if I want to.
FFI: If you had to tell the world “Who Andy Iro is” what would you say?
AI: (Laughs) Uh, pretty confident I guess. I think I come off as kind of loud and kind of in your face guy, but deep down I think the people that really know me know where me true values are at.
I think I’m a friendly guy. I think coming from England, but with a Nigerian background, and living in America I’ve got a pretty open mind to things and I’m a pretty worldly guy.
I think in general I’m just a lively kind of guy. I’d rather go out and socialize and go out as opposed to a guy that would sit at home.
AI: What sorts of things does Andy Iro do you do for fun?
FFI: I really like music. I’ve got a lot of R & B, Hip Hop, a lot of dance and trance music. That’s the European in me. I’m really into music.
I really like to buy clothes. Like a lot. In a bad, bad way. I buy way too many clothes. It’s gotten me into trouble a couple times. (Laughs)
I remember one time freshman year, I called up me mum crying and I was like “Mum I just spent me scholarship check that was supposed to be for me rent on clothes.” And she was like “Go return them” but I had lost the receipt and I already wore them and she told me that “this was the only time I’m going to bail you out like this.”
It’s gotten me into trouble a few times. Spending money that I don’t have. And then I’ll end up just giving the clothes away to Good Will or something.
FFI: We need to hide your credit cards!
FFI: Last question, where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Being in MLS. Being in the Allstar team. Potentially have an option to play elsewhere. Potentially. To have started a couple of the pro jerks that I want to try and get started sooner rather than later in the soccer world.
FFI: What do you mean by that?
AI: Well, there’s a couple of things again, that right now, I’m just a college kid now, but maybe in like 4 or 5 years, there’s a lot that I’d like to do to develop the game. Not really in Europe because it’s already really advanced there, but here in America or maybe in Africa.
There’s a lot that I’d really like to do and the only way that I can really do that is to get a name for me self. So hopefully I can play and be successful and lead, and then I can do more for other people.
I just came out of nowhere man. I didn’t even think I was that good when I came out as a freshman. Imagine those kids that just need the opportunity. I was very, very fortunate to get that opportunity. We have a guy on our team, a Hispanic kid, and he came from a town that didn’t really have a good club team and most college coaches go watch club games and not high school games so he played for his high school at a bad high school team, but he’s a GOOD player man. I think a lot of kids like that get missed and me plan is to do something to kind of bridge the gap between college and high school and maybe do some sort of combine throughout California and then move it to other states.
And that’s ultimately what I’d like to do as a side note and then maybe do something similar in Africa. I know that there are a lot of people that get exploited there (in Africa) and I feel like there are so many teams that go there to get players. I think that Asia and Africa are going to be the next big places that big clubs are going to start taking players. It seems like Asia is starting to develop their own leagues and they’ve got a decent amount of money and a good infrastructure, but Africa is just so far behind the times.
Take a player like (Patrick) Nyarko. He goes to high school in Ghana, gets recruited to play college soccer, and now he’s going to play in MLS and he was projected to go #1. There’s a bunch of players there like that, but unless you’re on a national team in Africa you’ll never really get seen and so there’s tons of kids that get missed. If I can do something to kind of promote them, then I think that would be pretty cool.
FFI: Let’s play a little word association:
FFI: Soccer
AI: Life
FFI: Gauchos
AI : Fun
FFI: MLS
AI: Opportunity
FFI: Isla Vista
AI: (Busts out into laughter) REALLY fun
FFI: Columbus, Ohio
AI: Challenge
FFI: Family
AI: Everything
FFI: Liverpool
AI: (long pause) uh…Left behind. In the past.
FFI: Future
AI: money, success, and happiness