Nick Rimando entered his second MLS season at age 21 and with 22 starts under his belt. Get to know MiamiÆs Californian keeper in this segment of SoccerAmerica.com’s series on the USA’s most promising young talent. INTERVIEWED BY BRYAN ALVAREZ Name: Nick Rimando Position: Goalkeeper Height: 5-11 Weight: 181 Born: June, 17, 1979 Hometown: Montclair, Calif. College: UCLA 2000 MLS Season: 22 games, 10 wins, 11 losses, 1 tie, 2 shutouts, 1.84 GAA. (2 assists, 2 points) International: U-20 World Cup (1999), U-17 World Cup (1995). SOCCER AMERICA: What do you do when you are not playing soccer? NICK RIMANDO: I usually like to go down to the beach, go to the movies, or stay home and play the PlayStation. SA: What is your favorite sport besides soccer? NR: Basketball and football. SA: Who is your favorite actor? NR: Adam Sandler. SA: Who is your favorite actress? NR: Julia Roberts. SA: Who is your favorite musician? NR: Bob Marley. SA: Do you like to listen to music before a game? NR: Actually, I do. A lot of guys don’t like it [in the locker room], so we have to listen to it in the car or at home before a game. SA: What’s your current living situation? NR: I live with Kyle Beckerman and Antonio Otero. Kyle and I lived together since last year. I met Antonio through Chris Albright. He’s one of my good friends. We had an extra space at the house this year, so Antonio moved in. SA: How did you adapt to living in a new city? NR: We live in downtown Fort Lauderdale, right next to the beach. It’s a perfect location. It’s cool. It’s like the East Coast version of California. SA: What is the biggest adjustment you had to make? NR: I think just living on my own and taking care of myself. I didn’t know anyone on the team. In college, I was just 30 minutes away from home. Now I gotta take care of everything. SA: Do you have time to go out, be young? NR: We try to. Kyle’s not 21 yet, but we get him in, here and there. SA: Just tell them you guys are from the Miami Fusion and they should let you in! NR: [Laughing] Yeah! SA: Do you get homesick? NR: The first year, I was. My parents really miss me a lot. They came out for the first game. I had some of my friends fly out. Also, some of them saw me in L.A. It’s not so bad when you’re doing what you love. But, it’s [Ft. Lauderdale] not a bad place to be! SA: What are your impressions of your first year in the MLS? NR: I came in as a Project-40 player. I didn’t expect to play a minute. Due to injuries, I ended up starting most of the year. That was a big surprise to me. Obviously, we didn’t get the numbers for attendance last year. But, that’s something we’ll work on this season. Things should be better fan-wise and team-wise. We made some big trades so I think we’re going to be all right. SA: How is the MLS different from the college game? NR: The competition is a lot stronger. I came from UCLA where we did play some good college teams. But the MLS is more physical and shots come harder. SA: What are your opinions about college and high school players coming out early? NR: I think it’s good for some players and not good for others. For me, it turned out to be a good move. I talked to a lot of coaches before I made a decision and they thought it was a good choice. SA: What was your favorite moment from last season? NR: My first game. It was Ray Hudson’s first game, too. It was against D.C. United. Ray said there was no pressure and just do what you’re good at. It was overtime and we won, 1-0. SA: Who has been your greatest influence? NR: Pablo [Mastroeni] and Leo Cullen. They are really young but mature at the same time. I look up to them a lot. SA: How do you plan to improve in your second season? NR: Obviously, I want to let fewer goals in. I think our team goals are to make the playoffs and go on the MLS Cup final. We have the talent and experience to get there. SA: What can the MLS do to improve? NR: I’m a real big fan of how teams work overseas, especially with reserve teams and youth teams. Once we start doing that, teams will get the rights to players. Then coaches will give the money to the players they want. I think the reserve teams are the big thing. SA: What can the MLS do to retain its young stars? NR: A lot of the young stars are looking at the money. That can be good or that can be bad. You want players here to show the passion for the game. SA: What is your relationship like with the fans? NR: It’s good. I think they really like me. I’ve never gotten a “boo” from them so I guess that’s good. SA: Do you get recognized in public? NR: Sometimes. Not really too much. I don’t expect to be recognized yet. Hopefully, in the long run, I will be. SA: Who is the toughest opponent you faced last year? NR: Mamadou Diallo. He always got a shot off and he’s always around the box. SA: Are you a soccer fan? NR: Yeah. I try to watch on TV. If not, there are a lot of games held at the Orange Bowl. I try to get to those when I can. SA: Who is your favorite team? NR: Real Madrid. SA: Do you eventually want to play abroad? NR: Maybe, in the long run. But right now, my career is here, and I want to stay here as long as I can. This is where I want to be. SA: What are your predictions for this year? NR: We’re going to be really good. I think teams should watch out for us once we get it together and find our formation. SA: What’s it like playing for Ray Hudson? NR: I love it. He’s a great guy. Obviously, he’s played the game before so he knows how to handle situations. He’s really energetic and passionate. That’s what we need, that’s what the country needs, right now.