Brandon Vincent completes crazy week with USMNT callup
When Brandon Vincent stepped off the cricket pitch in Lauderhill, Florida on Friday afternoon, he quickly checked his phone. There was a missed call on his screen. The former Stanford defender didn’t recognize the number, but he decided to call it back anyways.
The return call instigated a round of phone tag that ended with an unexpected and wonderful message a little bit later. Vincent listened to United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann invite him to national team camp for the first time on the ride back to the hotel.
“I was freaking out in my seat on the bus, trying to keep it together,” Vincent told FOX Soccer in a phone interview from south Florida on Friday night. “I called him back and we got to talk. He extended the invitation to me. I was so thankful. It was crazy.”
Somehow, Vincent managed to keep his emotions in check as he and his Combine colleagues rode back to the hotel. He let Cardinal teammate and fellow Combine attendee Ty Thompson listen to the message, but he stayed quite until U.S. Soccer confirmed his call-up as part of a series of roster changes on Friday.
The whirlwind day -- from the audition in front of every MLS team to the news about his inclusion in January camp to the text message from U.S. forward Jordan Morris shortly before Morris won the MAC Hermann Trophy -- capped a wild week. He entered the week with his future in the balance. He ended it with a contract in hand and a flight home to his native southern California on Saturday.
“Being able to go to the draft is a huge accomplishment in and of itself,” Vincent said. “This callup is just a dream come true. It’s something you can talk about with your friends, wishing it would happen. It really happened. It’s a dream come true. I’m really looking forward to it and trying to prove myself.”
This opportunity arrived after Vincent wrapped a sterling career in Palo Alto with a national title last month. The 21-year-old established himself as one of the top defenders in the counter and piqued MLS interest with his combination of intent and solidity at left back. His track record included two first-team NSCAA All-American nods and that magical ride to the title last month.
All of those exploits prompted United States under-23 coach Andreas Herzog to include him in an Olympic identification camp last year and spurred his call-up now. Vincent earned his chance to establish himself as a potential contributor in the Olympic playoff in March and state his case for inclusion with the senior team ahead of the friendlies against Iceland (Jan. 31) and Canada (Feb. 5) in the weeks ahead.
The series of developments this week -- the pro contract, the first trip to senior national team camp -- is a lot for anyone to digest. There is a lot of stuff swirling around now with the SuperDraft ahead on Thursday and the national team camp ahead for the next few weeks.
At this point, Vincent is trying to focus on the task at hand. There are a lot of opportunities ahead as he starts his professional career and steps into January camp for the first time. There is time for him to process everything. For now, it is all about preparing for the latest crazy step in his story on Monday.
“It’s a lot to think about when you put it all into perspective, but I need to take a step back, just knowing that I’m going in Monday to start training,” Vincent said. “That’s what I’m doing. I’m not thinking about future call-ups [or the Olympic team] or stuff like that. I’m just being in the moment and trying to do the best possible while I’m there.”
