EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Sophomore defender
Alex Yi demonstrates his soccer skills while
eyeing the ball.
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
You’ll probably think Alex Yi is crazy.
Madness does manifest itself in many different shapes and
forms.
Alexi Lalas, that defender with the orange goatee, is the only
American-born soccer player to ever play in Italy’s Serie A
““ arguably the top professional league in the world.
That was 1994-95. Now flash forward to April 2001.
Brescia, a Serie A team, is courting Yi ““ a 19-year-old
freshman defender at UCLA.
He was treated like a king. His training gear and uniform number
were displayed in front of him, along with a contract offer.
This was it. Yi would probably be loaned to another club for a
couple of years before returning with a legitimate shot at playing
with the full team.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound physical specimen, a veteran of two
Youth World Cups, where he played under severe pressure against the
best in this country and abroad, was ready to permanently display
his abilities overseas.
“In my mind, I was ready to go,” Yi said. “I
wasn’t going to come back here.”
Born in Easton, Md., Yi was supposed to attend the University of
Virginia ““ a perennial men’s soccer powerhouse.
Witness to the Claudio Reyna era at UVA, Yi had verbally
committed to become a Cavalier. But something changed. He needed to
get away from the East Coast. After recanting on his commitment to
UVA, Yi chose UCLA over Clemson, Indiana and Maryland ““
largely in part to the efforts of his roommate freshman year,
now-departed goalkeeper D.J. Countess.
Another factor in coming to UCLA was his partner in crime,
Nelson Akwari. The sophomore duo have played together for more than
three years now, including time spent with the Under-17 National
Team.
Akwari calls Yi a laid-back person, one that doesn’t say
much, but who takes everything seriously.
“Everybody knows when he gets on the field, he’s all
business,” Akwari said. “It’s kind of like,
whoever you are, he doesn’t really care. He just wants to get
the job done on the field.”
Yi began his rapid ascent to the top echelon of the soccer world
on the Under-17 National Team during his sophomore year in high
school.
His junior and senior years were then spent at a residency
program in Florida, along with Akwari and Countess. This became a
key period in Yi’s development as an overall player.
“It’s a given that he’s athletic and
he’s skilled,” UCLA head coach Todd Saldaña said.
“It’s the mental aspect of his game that I think can
separate him from others.”
All of the praise and attention don’t mean Yi is perfect.
One of 13 Hermann Trophy candidates, Yi has amassed three yellow
cards in the season’s first five games ““ including a
pair which led to his ejection in the opening game of the season at
Maryland.
His chances of winning the Hermann Trophy are hurt deeply by his
position. As a defender, he won’t record mind-boggling
statistics (0 goals, 1 assist last season).
If Yi is to live up to his reputation and the expectations that
come with it, he must play aggressively while trying to set the
tempo in most games ““ disregarding awards and to a degree,
yellow cards.
“Honestly, I have no idea how I’m a Hermann
candidate,” Yi said. “I just play. I just do the little
things and defend.”
Yi spent almost a month and a half debating Brescia’s
offer. He knew there was a possibility another offer like that
won’t come along again. And despite interest from a club in
Germany, the idea of becoming the second American-born player to
participate in Serie A was No. 1 on his wish list.
“When we were in that (residency) program, we knew that we
were all going to be professionals,” Yi said. “We had
MLS offers our junior year in high school.”
Yi spoke with virtually everybody during the agonizing period in
which he mulled his decision ““ coaches, family, friends who
had turned pro, etc.
The conclusion was if he felt any doubts about such a big
decision, then it’s not right.
“I know it’s an opportunity lost,” Yi said.
“But hopefully, in the end, it will all work out.”
Is Yi crazy? Nah. Just determined to succeed on his own terms,
when the time is right.
It’s a feel thing.