As the 2021 MLS SuperDraft kicks off next week, Jack Harrison, who was once the No. 1 overall pick back in 2016 when he was once selected by Chicago Fire and then traded to NYCFC, recalls his days in MLS as one of the fondest memories of his young career.
“It was once literally a dream come true, being in the U.S [already] and knowing approximately MLS and everything,” says the 24-year-old winger, who is on his third year on loan with Leeds United, from Manchester City. “Whether I could have chosen one team to be at, it would be New York City…the amount of class that they had on that team. Working with Patrick Vieira, having the affiliation with Man City, all of these items put together, the style of play, everything, it was once just somewhere I wanted to be…it was once like my second home.”
Harrison’s journey is an intriguing story. His dream of turning into a professional footballer, which in fact started with Liverpool and Manchester United when he was once seven years old, took him backward and forward between England and the U.S. At 14, he moved to Massachusetts from Bolton to attend Berkshire School, one of the most biggest powerhouses in high school soccer in the country. After winning the Gatorade National Player of the Year for high school soccer in 2015, he entered the draft and began his professional career with New York.
Now at Leeds United, after returning to Manchester City, who own NYCFC, Harrison says he still misses his days in NYC, including the food.
“[Laughs] The pizza [here in Yorkshire] is nowhere close as good. I will be able to tell you that at the moment. The food is something I overlook. I love my food but here at Leeds we have weight targets so I should be actually careful approximately what I eat and stuff,” says Harrison, referencing mandates put in place by legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa, who has returned Leeds to England’s top flight for the first time after 16 years. To say the side has been entertaining upon its return is an understatement. Leeds, like Jack, have been incredibly impressive and are only one win absent from the top half of the table with 30 goals scored so far, the fifth most in the league. That’s significant for a newly-promoted side. But like Bielsa’s tactics, they’re also erratic defensively. They have got conceded 33 goals (only West Bromwich Albion have allowed more) and this past weekend were embarrassed by League Two side Crawley Town in the third round of the F.A. Cup.
What makes Leeds so unique is that if it’s Crawley or Liverpool, the tactics will stay the same. As Harrison mentions, they may not change it for anyone. “I think this is one more reason why a large number of people admire him [Bielsa], for how he works. It’s not relevant who we’re playing against…we are going to continue playing our intense, aggressive style of play,” he says. “There’s still areas we will be able to reinforce on but I stand by what I said 100% and I am certain Marcelo would agree as timely. It’s not relevant who we’re playing against, we need to continue our style of play and continue doing what we realize has been best for us and what is worked for us, and what is gotten us to where we are today, which is the Premier League. There is something that we’re doing correct and we need to continue doing it.”
The philosophy has also worked in Harrison’s favor as his game has developed immensely since his days at NYCFC. Earlier in the season, he became the first loanee to make 100 appearances for the club and because of Bielsa, he has flourished. In this crusade, he is had seven goal contributions (three goals and four assists), an accomplishment made the entire more impressive because he isn’t a forward. Taking forwards out of the equation, Jack Grealish, who has 12, is the only Englishman to contribute to more goals than Harrison.
Everything is down to the day by day and because it’s Bielsa, it is all approximately the intricacies of training. It’s regimental and carefully designed. Harrison says they follow well-planned patterns that should be repeated over and over again. They constantly work in small units. There is yelling and pushing limits, but it is usually organized. It is the equivalent of a piano concerto playing Chopin in the course of a fire with an NFL-training-camp mentality added on top. Bielsa sees these sessions as a puzzle, where you first want to assemble the entire pieces with a view to see the whole picture, but most puzzles don’t come with the speed and physicality demands of a Bielsa side. “I’m certain you realize approximately the Murderball sessions that we call them. These sessions are reasonably hectic,” says Harrison, smiling as he explains the exhausting routine. “There’s a large number of shouting and running approximately and it’s physically enduring. But a large number of our training sessions are very particular, our passing patterns that we do – they should be done in a sure way…how the rotation of the ball, it can’t go sideways, it has to go forward. The amount of detail that Marcelo goes into is unbelievable and this is likely one of the reasons a large number of managers and yourself admire his work and his methodology.”
Communication and language barriers are, for some bizarre reason, occasionally a topic of criticism with Leeds United but Harrison says it’s never an issue and in fact, both the squad and the manager are learning every other’s languages. For what it’s worth, Harrison’s Spanish is in fact not naughty. “It’s getting a little bit better,” he says. “I studied Spanish in school for a little bit so I understand how to formulate sentences…my girlfriend is in fact Costa Rican so I understand a large number of the Spanish, I think I am getting a bit shy relating to in fact speaking it.”
Bielsa, for his part, is taking English lessons too. “He tries to speak increasingly English,” says Harrison. “In reality, a few weeks ago he read one of his speeches in English for the first time and that was once unbelievable to hear it from him and just to realize he is trying. But [him speaking Spanish] has been good for me cause I am getting to be told more!”
When prompted to speak a little, he quickly diverted. “Yo no quiero practicar, no quiero hablar…” he said laughing albeit with a good accent.
For now, all that affairs is climbing up the table, continuing to deliver in the Premier League and showing fans just how far this team can go.
“We’ve shown as a team glimpses of what we’re capable of, it’s just approximately being consistent with that and making it final a long enduring season,” he says. “The first season when Marcelo came, it was once difficult as it took everyone by surprise and we didn’t realize what to anticipate but the following years we’ve been ready to mentally and physically prepare and now we realize what’s coming and what to anticipate…making European football would be fantastic but making top 10 would be a great accomplishment for a club like Leeds United. Particularly after being absent for so long…I think it would be a great accomplishment for us as a club.”
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