Alejandro Pozuelo (Sevilla, 1991) became the second Spanish footballer -in 2016 David Villa won- to win the MVP of the season in Major League Soccer (MLS), a competition in which he scored nine goals and 10 assists for Toronto FC. The Canadian franchise was second in the Eastern Conference, but could not pass the eighth in the play-offs for the title. Already from Seville, where he faces almost two months of vacation before returning to Canada, Pozuelo details what has been his second year living the American dream. “I'm doing things well,” he warns.
How does it feel to be the best player in MLS?
I am still assuming it because, as there was no gala, I did not experience the atmosphere of celebration. As I am in Spain they have not been able to give me the award, they told me by video call and it was all colder, but I am very happy. It is a very important award. One of the biggest I've ever won, actually. It means that I'm doing things right.
When you were informed that you had been chosen MVP, you said you were not expecting it, did it really catch you by surprise?
Totally. I knew I was nominated, but they tricked me into saying that what we were going to do was an interview for MLS. I told the Toronto press officer that I don't like interviews very much, but she told me that you had to give it yes or yes, that it was the last of the year. So it was a surprise. I did not expect the video call to be with Don Garber or to tell me that he had been voted best player.
How do you interpret having won the press vote but not that of footballers and clubs?
I haven't noticed that. I have only seen that I won with 35% of the total votes, although I don't know how it was distributed. For me it is something of no importance. I do not care. The important thing is that I have won the award.
Nine goals and 10 assists. Happy?
I am very happy with my numbers. Last year I did better numbers, but I also played more games. I have been two very good years. It's hard to go to Belgium, play so many games and be one of the best players in the competition and now go to MLS and be the best. That means I have been doing things well for five or six years. People will say that it is easy because I play in the MLS, but it is very difficult to spend so much time being one of the best of the competition in which you play. It's a nice award for work.
“With my right leg I couldn't do anything. I couldn't shoot or anything. I couldn't play 100%, but I had to force because it was the 'play-off'”
Pozuelo, MLS MVP
Fundamental the freedom that Greg Vanney gave him.
Totally. He had a very good relationship with Vanney, both on and off the field. He trusted me a lot and offensively I could move wherever I wanted. It gave me freedom to go to receive the ball, find spaces … That they give you that autonomy is essential for a footballer. Feeling comfortable and confident is the most important thing. In Belgium he played similar. With freedom, space to move … When you play like that, things work out. That he won the MVP is, in part, thanks to him.
Personally it was a great season, a shame the early elimination in the play-offs.
It was a blow, but collectively it has also been a very good year. We have had to be playing in the United States for a long time. Away from the family. And yet we have finished second in the Eastern Conference. We had a very good regular season, but the 'play-offs' are sudden death and they are unforgiving. When they eliminate you it seems that everything has been done wrong, but not much less. It has been a very good year. We hoped to go further, but we were physically and psychologically tired. The team fell apart in the last stage, but it will provide us with experience for next year. If we had played in Toronto, surely another rooster would have crowed – the Canadian club changed its headquarters to the United States due to movement restrictions caused by Covid-19.
The injury he suffered at the end of the regular season also diminished him.
We had many problems and one of them was my injury. I had a problem in the pubic area and it affected my abductor. I did treatment, but I avoided the MRI because I knew that if I did it, I had to stop. There was nothing he could do with his right leg. Neither shoot nor anything. When it was time to shoot in practice, Vanney would take me out so I wouldn't shoot. The last stage was very good physically, but I found that problem in the abductor and that diminished me. I couldn't play 100%, but I had to force because they were the 'play-offs'. Still it has been a great year. I stay with that.
Defend MLS a bit.
MLS is a very competitive league. There are great footballers. Whoever says it's easy to come and play here. And to see if he can be one of the best players. When they tell me that playing here is easy, I laugh because so many great players have passed. Schweinsteiger, Henry, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard … None have been chosen MVP. I don't think it's that easy.
Facebook FC (Toronto)
Yes, Villa won it. I suppose it will be a pride to appear alongside the top scorer of the Spanish team on the list of Spaniards who have won the MVP in MLS.
Undoubtedly. For me it is a pride to appear alongside David Villa on the list of Spanish MVPs in MLS. It is something that remains in the history of the competition. Many Spaniards have passed through here, but until now only he, who is a legend of Spanish football, had managed to be the most valuable player.
Villa left without winning the MLS Cup. Does that go through his head?
No, far from it. I came here to win the MLS Cup. Last year we were one step away. We won the Eastern Conference, but we lost the final. I still have years of contract and my goal is to win the competition.
Do you think he has reached his best level or is there still a season with Genk in which he performed better than he is doing in Toronto?
In Belgium I also had many years. We played the Europa League regularly and in season 16/17 Celta eliminated us in the quarterfinals. We are one step away from meeting Manchester United in the semi-finals. That was also a great year. I was second in the award for best player of the season. I remember Vanaken, from Bruges, who in Belgium has more pull than Genk. That was also influenced by the fact that Vanaken was Belgian … But hey, I'm happy. I have been at a high level for five or six years and that is important to me.
In the end, the nine million they paid for you is going to seem small. It has made the fans forget Giovinco.
It is true that since I arrived, I have had two very good years. When I landed in Toronto, people were a little upset because Giovinco had just left. He was an icon and continues to be an idol in Toronto. Replacing it was not easy. It is true that I never set myself that goal because we are different players. We play in different positions. It is true that I came in his place, but I did not put any pressure on myself in that sense. I came to play, to enjoy and to do my best. If we had played together we would have done great things.
Do your former teammates ask you a lot about MLS?
Very much. Many colleagues I have had in Spain ask me about the competition. It is a very interesting league that attracts a lot of attention. It has a lot of marketing, a lot of repercussion … There is also the NBA, which is very attractive for footballers when they come … I have many former teammates who would be delighted to come here.
“Marc Gasol told me that he went quietly down the street with his family and people did not bother him. Imagine Gasol walking through Spain … It would be impossible”
Pozuelo, MLS MVP
Does being a franchise player pressure you? It is something that, initially, forces him to perform above his peers.
I am lucky to be special in that regard. Whether or not he is a franchise player is something I do not repair. I try to be a normal boy, spend as much time as possible with my family, and not put any pressure on myself. Others will have that pressure on them, but not me. I never think that I charge more than other colleagues and that is why I have to perform more and better. I'm just trying to have fun and do my best without any pressure.
It will help how peaceful life is in Toronto.
Yes, the truth is that I have a very quiet life. I spend a lot of time at home. The children leave school at three in the afternoon and, when they arrive, we spend time playing and resting so that we can perform in the next day's training.
Do you recognize him on the street in Toronto?
Yes, but they don't bother you. It's one of the positive things about playing here. That's why great players like Gerrard or Henry came here. They are well known people in Europe, but here they can lead a normal life. Going out for a walk, for a drink … Here they can do it normally and in Europe it would be impossible. It's something Marc Gasol also told me when I was in Toronto. That he went quietly down the street with his family and people did not bother him. Imagine Gasol walking through Spain … It would be impossible.
And now you are in Spain, do you continue to be recognized by Seville?
Quite the truth. In Seville they still recognize me when I go down the street. I will have a peculiar face, because even with the mask they know that it is me. It seems that I continue to play for Betis because when I go with my family people keep stopping me. That is good.
A few months ago he tried to emulate with Piatti the penalty that Messi and Suárez already did, but they went wrong. How did that come about?
(Laughs) Oh my. Speaking in training the idea came up. When they called us a penalty, we only needed to look at each other to know that we were going to do it. We knew that neither could fail, because either he made it or I made it. It went well, but the referee canceled it and I still don't really know why. Let's try it again. If Piatti continues we will do it again. I don't know if I should have said that (laughs).