Few cities in the United States can compete with the rich soccer history of New York City. With over two dozen U.S. Open Cup winning teams coming from the five boroughs, NYC laid its claim to the title of America’s “Soccer City” early on. Over time the title eventually began to slip away with soccer being less and less popular in New York, and across the United States as a whole. The NFL, NBA and NHL started drawing attention away from soccer in New York City to the point where between the collapse of the New York Cosmos in the early 1980’s and the creation of New York City FC in 2013 there was a lack of top-tier soccer in New York City which still reverberates today.

For children who only ever saw brief glimpses of professional soccer on television, or followed teams their immigrant parents supported in their old countries, there isn’t a distinct New York City soccer culture. While many advocates of the game lament over the fact that soccer hasn’t established itself as a “major” sport in the United States, the lack of a distinct soccer following allows for vastly different experiences from one part of the city to another. The soccer identity of the city, is much like the rest of the city, a mix of different ethnic groups from different culture who speak multiple languages but share a love for the same sport.

In this series we’ll be speaking to people with unique perspectives who have played the game, follow the game, or are growing the game in New York City in their own unique way.

Christian Fuchs is one of the more recent proselytizers for the beautiful game in New York City. Unlike most local coaches, Mr. Fuchs isn’t your typical weekend warrior who packs orange slices for the team he coaches. Born in Neunkirchen, Austria, Fuchs is the starting left-back for both English Premier League team Leicester City FC and the Austrian national team. Fuchs has won the DFL-Supercup in 2011 with FC Schalke 04 and the Premier League with Leicester City in 2015-2016, he has played in over 500 games in his professional career. In addition to his duties for his club and country teams, he’s the founder of the Fox Soccer Academy, a play on his last name: Fuchs, which is the German word for “fox”. His academy holds training camps in Austria, the UK and the United States. He agreed to talk to us about his attempts to grow the game via his academy in New York.

Christian Fuchs’ talks about his academy & experience with soccer in New York

Question: You manage the Fox Soccer Academy, the “No Fuchs Given” brand, work with “Kicking & Screening”, and still manage to play in both the Premier League and international tournaments. I have to ask, how do you find the time to do all of it?

Christian Fuchs: I like to keep myself busy, it keeps me going and makes me more motivated when I’m playing football.

Q: You’ve mentioned in the past you’d like to try being an NFL kicker. Given the choices kids in the US have when it comes to choosing a sport, why do you think they’re drawn to soccer?

CF: It’s a good sport, not only for the game but for working together as a team, the kids love the excitement being with friends when they score the winning goal for their team.

Q: As a follow-up, if you grew up in New York do you think you’d still be a soccer player?

CF: That’s very hypothetical. I believe that wherever I could have grown up football would always have found its way to me.

Q: You’ve said your family lives in New York, is that why you started your academy here?

CF: Yeah of course. I have seen the lack of quality training being offered in certain camps my son attended. So my wife and I decided to do it better. For us quality is far more important than quantity.

Q: Last year your academy worked with the New York City Housing Authority to provide scholarships for kids living in the area, is that program still available?

CF: We are also in touch with the New York City Housing Authority. They have been great to work with. The kids that came initially didn’t really know what to do and we had the feel they didn’t really want to be here. After the first day of training the same kids were the first ones waiting at the gate to start training again. That was an amazing feeling and confirmation for the good work of Fox Soccer Academy.

Q: Are you working with any other community groups?

CF: We did not so far but are open to work with anybody that approaches us to do work for and with the community.

Q: What differences, if any, do you notice in the soccer culture between your camps in New York, the UK and Austria?

CF: Not too different, they are all very committed and have a love for the game as I do. We try to get more tactics, on- and off-ball movements into the US-kids training routine at our camp. Compared to same aged players overseas they lack some understanding on that level. But this can be trained fast and easily.

Q: In the past you’ve stated your intentions to move to New York once your Leicester City contract is up so naturally the question remains: have you spoken with NYCFC or the Red Bulls about continuing your career in MLS?

CF: My contract is still for 2 years at Leicester and that’s what I am focused on. Both clubs invited me to their games in the past and also my son always pushes me to go with him. I like to go and watch games when I am in New York and have been to both stadiums several times already.

Q: Do you have plans to expand the Fox Soccer Academy once you’re in New York full-time?

CF: I definitely like the idea of Fox Soccer Academy becoming world-wide, but we’ll see what the future holds. At the moment we have presences in New York – which includes city and state, we have programs running in England as well as in Austria. I am trying to develop the US side step by step and we are in the process now of expanding the training programs.

Q: What have been some of the struggles, if any, you’ve faced with Fox Soccer Academy?

CF: It is very hard to run a camp without a regular presence. It is hard to get fields in the city which makes it even more difficult since you’re relying on the departments. Nevertheless we are trying everything to have more presence in the city because this is where my family and I call home.

Q: We always seem to think that professional athletes have it made. What’s a negative to being a professional athlete that most people never see?

CF: Being a professional athlete is amazing. Making your hobby, which I started at the age of 6, supporting family and life is the best that can happen. For me living most time of the year apart from my wife and kids is tough. It takes a lot of effort and the traveling can be tiring. We make the best of the situation knowing it isn’t forever.

Q: What lesson do you want to make sure everyone at the academy takes away when they leave?

CF: I want to them to take away a great experience standing on the field with a pro player. But further more I am aiming to deliver my story which is that with a lot of effort and the determination to achieve your goals you can make dreams come true. I had a hard time when I was a teenager in my young career. I was told I wasn’t good enough. I took this as my motivation and 2 years later signed my first professional contract. I am happy to see that fire in the kids when they understand that everybody has a chance. Lastly I want to give them a venue to get better with the right training but then also to introduce them to European teams.