With the last-minute arrival and late heroics of Ned Grabavoy and Joseph Ngwenya in the Columbus Crew's 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, largely overshadowed in the match was the MLS debut of Leonard Bisaku. But the Croatian midfielder will also play an important role once he gets settled into Columbus.
The Crew signed Bisaku in early April after being impressed with his trial during the preseason training camp in Cyprus. He played parts of three training matches in late February.
On Saturday, he came on for the final 30 minutes against the Rapids after arriving less than week earlier with his long-awaited visa.
"The night before I was not sleeping because of the time change," said Bisaku. "My legs were a little bit heavy after the travel. I was tired."
The 31-year-old thinks the adjustment process is nearly complete and that he should be 100 percent ready for the match on Saturday against D.C. United at Crew Stadium.
"Every day is better," said Bisaku. "I will be really good after a couple of more days."
The news is good for the Crew as there has been little competition for the two holding midfield roles since Danny Szetela was injured in mid-April. Jose Retiz replaced Szetela in the starting 11 until the most recent game. With Retiz suspended for a red card received against Real Salt Lake, Tim Ward, normally an outside defender, started in the midfield. Rookie Brandon Moss has started every game.
Bisaku comes to the Crew after playing professionally in Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Korea and his native Croatia. The allure of trying something new brought him to the Ohio club.
"My agent from Europe told me one day that he had the chance to send me to the U.S. I have never been here," said Bisaku. "I heard about the good soccer they play and I have seen it in the World Cup. Why not try it?"
Although he has not had too much exposure, Bisaku is impressed with MLS so far.
"They run a lot. It is good technically from what I've seen," said Bisaku. "American soccer goes up every season. It is much better than before."
John Kuhn is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
