Why Los Angeles Galaxy defender Danny Califf has switched from surfing to golf … His plans for Raul … Recollections of his honeymoon game … Making it in MLS as at 20 … Get to know Califf in SoccerAmerica.comÆs series on the USAÆs most promising young talent. INTERVIEWED BY BRYAN ALVAREZ Name: Danny Califf Position: Defender Born: March 17, 1980 Hometown: Orange, Calif. College: Maryland 2000 MLS Season: 18 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 points International: 2000 Olympics (U.S. U-23s), 1999 U-20 World Cup. Soccer America: What is your favorite sport besides soccer? Danny Califf: It used to be surfing. (Jokingly.) Now, It would probably have to be golf. SA: How’s the nose? (Califf broke his nose in a January surfing accident.). DC:It’s a lot better. SA: Who is your favorite actor? DC: Kevin Spacey. SA: Who is your favorite actress? DC: Meg Ryan. SA: What is your favorite book? DC: I like J.R.R. Tolkein ôHobbitö trilogy SA: Who is your favorite muscian? DC: The Grateful Dead. SA: What song or music gets you pumped before a game? DC: On the way to the stadium I usually listen to punk surf music. I don’t listen to music inside the locker room. SA: What’s it like in the locker room before the game? DC: It’s pretty mellow. People kind of do their own thing. At home games, we have a soccer tennis court. SA: What’s your current living situation? DC: I’m living in Costa Mesa. I live with my wife. We got married last year, in June. I grew up in Orange, which is real close to Costa Mesa. We just bought a house in Orange, so we’re going to be moving back up there. I didn’t really have to adapt to a new city. It was real nice. SA: Do you have time to go out, be young? DC: Yeah, you always have to make time for that. Obviously, it’s been curtailed since when I was in school and now that I’m married. You can’t go out too much but there is always time for a little bit. SA: Being on the road so much, do you get homesick? DC: Yeah, totally. I’ve been traveling for a long time. It gets old. You get tired of the travel, you get tired of airports and stuff like that. It gets to be a grind. SA: Does your wife ever get to go with you on road trips? DC: She went to a couple last year. Hopefully, with our airline miles, she’ll be able to go on a couple this year. It’s always cool to have her come. SA: What are your impressions of your first year in the MLS? DC: I was just happy that I got to play as much as I did. I think I grew a lot with the players. We had some extreme ups and some extreme downs. It was a great learning experience. SA: How is the MLS different from the college game? DC: The speed of play is tremendously different. You are playing with and against people, who this is a job for. You take it more seriously. SA: What is the biggest adjustment you had to make? DC: Making it a lifestyle and a job. I made it a No. 1 priority. SA: What was your favorite moment from last season? DC: When I played on the day of my wedding. The game was afterward. SA: Did you play well? DC: (Laughing.) I played well. I was tired. SA: Who has been your greatest influence? DC: Last year, it was Paul Caligiuri. He was my carpool partner. He taught me a lot. Also, Robin Fraser. He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. SA: How do you plan to improve in your second season? DC: I want to become more consistent. I want to help our team distribute the ball better out of the back. I want to see all aspects of my game improve. SA: You left college after two seasons. What are your opinions about college and high school players coming out early? DC: I think it’s great if you really feel that is the right choice for you. I think you have to be comfortable and not get pushed into it by anyone. You have to really have confidence in your abilities and really come out and play. SA: What can the MLS do to improve? DC: I think it’s doing pretty well. If we can get the marketing down and try to get more people in the seats, then we can get a really good TV contract. SA: What can the MLS do to retain its young stars? DC: They have the advantage of being in the best country in the world. They’ve got to continue to improve the league. By getting more people in the stands, the pay will go up. Also, improving the quality of soccer by making good foreign acquisitions and stuff like that. By improving the quality, people will want to stay here. The money and the level of play is what draws the people to Europe. SA: What’s your commitment to the MLS? DC: I have three more years. SA: What is your relationship like with the fans? DC: They’ve been great. I think we have one of the highest attendence averages in the league. It’s a great soccer community. A lot of families get out to the games. There are a lot — of hardcore soccer fans, which is great to see. SA: Do you get recognized in public? DC: A little bit, in and around L.A. But, not so much in Orange County, which is where I live. SA: What is the best play you made last year? DC: Scoring the winning goal, at home, against Kansas City in the playoffs. SA: Who is the toughest opponent you faced last year? DC: Josh Wolff is always somebody who is hard to mark. Mamadou Diallo, because of his size and strength, as well. Those are the two that stick out in my mind. SA: Do you have any big rivalries? DC: Chicago, definitely. They upset us in the Open Cup. They are a really strong team and they match up well against us. SA: Do you eventually want to play abroad? DC: I would like to. I think that’s definitely a goal.Right now, especially in Europe, that’s where the lifestyle is at. It’s like being a basketball or football player in America. You want to see if you can make it where the soccer is the best. SA: Do you see the next summerÆs Club World Club Championship as a way to showcase your talents? DC: Oh, definitely. There are going to be scouts from all over the world there. But team achievement is a priority over anything personal. You are never going to make it anywhere if your team doesn’t do well. SA: What do you think about the draw for the Club World Championship? DC: I think it’s a great draw. I think it’s an honor for us to play Real Madrid. Why go there unless you are going to play that team. It’s going to be awesome for us as individual players. Hopefully, we’ll do well. SA: Have you been watching Real Madrid in the European Champions League? DC: Oh yeah. SA: Any matchups that you are looking forward too? DC: (Jokingly.) I hope I get a chance to kick Raul! SA: What are your predictions for this MLS season? DC: I don’t like to jinx our team. But, I think we are going to do really well. We’re going to have some young players that are going to contribute. Hopefully, we can get a team and keep it without too many things happening in the middle of the year. SA: Are you a soccer fan? DC: I like it. I think I get enough of it during the day. I don’t necessarily need to come home and watch it. If it’s on TV I’ll watch it. I like to do other things and get away from the game when I can. I’m a soccer fan but I’m not hardcore. I like watching games where I know the guys. I’ve become more familiar with teams in Europe in the last couple years. I’ll watch the Champions League, but if I miss it, it’s nothing huge. (Bryan Alvarez is an associate at Soccer America Magazine.)