The first thing you notice when you pull up to the Gall family home is a nice, shiny black Mercedes with Ohio license plates on it parked calmly out front.

The Mercedes belongs to the young American footballer Romain Gall, and the car is a perfect fit for the players persona.

Like the Mercedes, Gall carries himself with a smooth, sturdy presence loaded with confidence but gifted with humility. Like his cars shiny, shimmering exterior, the footballer portrays the same effortless, happy glow of someone who knows that he is doing exactly what he always wanted to.

Gall’s career started after his family moved from France to Northern Virginia due to his fathers employment transfer. In France, he played with the locals often but never on any sort of organized team. Shortly after coming to the States, Gall began playing in the house league with a team from the local youth club, Herndon Youth Soccer, where he excelled through the years and was eventually invited to play with DC United. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Real Salt Lake’s youth academy in Arizona, where he received his first real taste of professional football life.

Real Salt Lake’s academy (RSL-AZ) offers a European-style set-up where the players live at the academy complex and are surrounded by the game almost 24/7. RSL-AZ attempts to give players the best learning opportunity by not only instruction, but encouraging the players to educate and study the game themselves. Gall credits his time at the academy as a key component to his transition to success in France, especially because they were training every day.

Family is important to the Galls. They always stay in touch with each other. There are still lots of family members who reside in France, near Lorient, and this would prove to be a blessing for Romain in a large way. His uncle had a good friend who knew the youth director at Lorient. Through a series of conversations, Romain’s uncle ended up speaking with the youth director about Romain and his impressive skill set. Convinced that this was someone they needed to see in person, the youth director gave Romain a call and invited him to France for four days on trial. Gall impressed, and after the trial the youth director told Romain that he wanted to sign him. Romain felt it was a good fit and opted to ink with the club from north-western France at age 15.

There were a host of factors that helped Gall have an outstanding experience at Lorient, but it wasn’t easy at first. He lacked a license and could not play for a while. He was far from his family and home. He knew very few people.

As time went by, Romain learned how to deal with these issues. Not only was he familiar with the country already, but the language was not a barrier (he’s fluent in French), extended family was close by and could visit regularly, and the club made him feel welcome and important.

Romain says the game in France is different compared to the rest of the world, but particularly the United States, for a couple of reasons. The coaching education is at a much higher quality, from the youth teams up. The coaches are a lot more strict, not simply meaning there’s discipline on and off the pitch, but also during practices when players are expected to perform to a rigorous measure. Coaches will go to great lengths to correct even the slightest of issues – from positioning to vision to ball handling. Gall adds;

“Tactically, they emphasize [it] a lot more than in the United States. That was one of the biggest differences I saw. Also sharpness in training as well as the facilities. Over there, every academy has a residency where kids are exposed to high-level coaching and the game every single day.”

“In the U.S., kids may come to practice every day (or choose to not even show up and there is no penalty), then they get back in their cars and go home where there are a lot of distractions from the game. Kids need to be away from home in a program where [the game] is the sole focus. Over [in France], players can leave the academy and the club can get paid. Here, it’s just not set up the same.”

Gall is not trying to criticize the setup in the U.S., but he has experienced a different way first hand (that delivers product) and looks forward to the day it arrives in the States. He has been impressed with how much the game has changed since he left for France, “MLS is trying to change the game here in every single way. Especially after the World Cup, the popularity seems to have increased and I think MLS is going in the right direction.”

Speaking of MLS, Gall feels very comfortable in Columbus and is adapting “very well”. He loves the club, the city and the fans. To Crew fans he says, “Thank you for settling me in, you guys are great, and be ready for the 2015 season because we’re coming hard. We have a good young team – guys are willing to put the work in so that’s a plus. Already for next season, our coaches are just on point. They’re just there for everything. They set up very professionally and are focused. Our team is willing to work and I think we’re going to be able to do what the coach wants and have a very good team. I think we’re going to get a lot of good results.”

Romain is a fan of the new Columbus Crew logo, stating “It’s a very European look, which I really like. A good logo. Something we can rally around.”

When asked about the differences between style of play with Lorient versus the Crew, Gall is positive about them.

“The style of play is similar. At the Crew, we look to play the ball on the ground, which is what we did at Lorient. We’re a team that looks to play combination play, which is exactly the same as what we did in France. Lorient is a team that likes to keep possession and we’re trying to do that in Columbus as well. The difference is in the culture behind the game. I’ve had to adapt to the different players (teammates or other) and understand who they are and how they play.”

He’s also pretty positive about his chances of being released for qualifying since it’s the off-season in MLS and it’s such an important time in his career. Romain takes nothing for granted, but doesn’t “see a problem with the Crew releasing me”.

“The U20 cycle has been going great. We have a really good team, a lot of core players – a really big group even, just because we’ve been bringing in a lot of different players in and out of some camps. Everyone who comes could potentially have a spot on the team, that’s why it’s such a competitive group. I’m looking forward to qualifying. Right now we have the camp in Bradenton (FL) just to get fit, then the camp in Honduras, and qualifiers start in January so I just have to fight and hopefully get a spot on the qualifying team. Hopefully we qualify, and I can get a spot on the U20 World Cup team. That’s the goal.”

Gall spoke highly of the U20 coach Tab Ramos, stating “He’s obviously been a great player and has a lot to bring to us, to teach us. I just have to listen to him and what he tells us, then do it.”

If you’ve ever watched him, one of the first things you notice is that Romain Gall is very tactically astute. He knows where he should be. He knows where to go and how to move. His head is always up, constantly searching the pitch for gaps, teammates, passes. He’s incredibly sharp in front of goal. As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he models his game after his favorite players which include Angel Di Maria (Manchester United), Neymar (Barcelona), Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich), and Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon, and who he knows personally). Gall enjoys playing with the ball at his feet and taking people on 1v1. As of December 27, Gall has 13 goals in 12 appearances for the US U20 National Team – an impressive stat.

In his spare time, besides watching Champions League football like he was when I knocked on his door, Romain enjoys hanging out with friends and family as well as listening and creating music. He also particularly enjoys drawing and designing fashion, which he states he’s “very into”.

That really comes as no surprise for the American Mercedes. And, just like his car, the player has a bright future.