One of the brighest stars for UC Berkeley over the past three years, Andrew Wiedeman signed a Generation Adidas contract with MLS on Tuesday night. Wiedeman will now prepare for the 2010 MLS draft combine in Ft. Lauderdale, FL from January 8th to January 12th. With the 2010 MLS SuperDraft taking place in Philadelphia on January 14th. Andrew tallied 30 goals over his three year career with the Golden Bears and 11 in 2009. Wiedeman was a focal point in Cal's NCAA tournament teams in 2007 and 2008. BerkeleySportsBlog.com has his first exclusive interview since signing his deal with Major League Soccer.
What are your thoughts on signing for MLS?
“It’s feels great, it’s obviously pretty cool to have some closure to this long process. A lot of stuff was up in the air so it feels good to have finally signed and I’m excited to start the next step in my career.”
How does it feel to have finally signed?
“It really hasn’t hit me yet. Obviously, I’m very excited because it’s always been a dream of mine to play professionally, so it’s really cool to have accomplished that. However, I have a lot more that I want to accomplish and this is only the start of it. I’m trying not to be too complacent, obviously it’s pretty cool to start the professional aspect of my career because this is my passion and I’ve been doing this all my life. Having said that, the feeling will be brief because I have more that I want to accomplish.”
What was the signing process like?
“Honestly, there isn’t too much to it. For awhile, I heard that I was on a list that the league had, but that was quite awhile ago. More recently, the league formally declared that they had interest so they sent over a proposal and it went from there.”
How do you plan on preparing for the Draft Combine?
“I’ve been training pretty rigorously. I took a couple weeks off after the college season ended, but ever since then I’ve been training a lot and I’m going to continue doing that until the combine."
Have you been keeping up to date with your projected draft stock?
“I’ve come across it, but those things really don’t mean anything. Draft stock really changes with the combine so if I perform well, then it will improve. It is obviously very flattering to see that somebody rates you, but I don’t think that the opinion of these people really carries weight with the coaches and GMs of MLS so I’ve got to improve my draft stock regardless.”
Mock Drafts have Andrew going anywhere from 6th to 11th spot.What do you feel that you could bring to an MLS squad?
“I like to think that I have a pretty good attitude and a good work ethic, but I just hope that I can get some playing time so that I can contribute and develop more.”
How would you describe yourself as a forward?
“I’m a fairly simple player. I’m not exactly the player who is going to dribble through the defense and rip an upper ninth shot. I try to keep it simple and combine with the other players and put away my opportunities when I get them.”
What gives you that extra bit of edge that helps you succeed?
“I try not to be complacent and always improve. However, I’m not out there to try and beat the other guys, I just want to improve my own game and always get better.”
Who was your biggest influence as a player growing up?
“That would have to be my buddy Kyle Davies who currently plays for FC Dallas. We played a lot when we were younger and he was always the super star doing big things. I’ve always wanted to push myself to get to his level.”
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In 2009, Cal Soccer came into the season with high expectations, but was unable to qualify for the NCAA tournament; can you explain how the season unfolded for the Golden Bears?
“Obviously, the season didn’t go the way that we wanted it to. We came out flying out of the gates by playing great soccer, but then we had some pretty unfortunate injuries at the wrong time. Ultimately, that’s what hurt us the most. Having said that, I think if we hadn’t had these injuries, the season would have ended a lot differently.”
With 30 goals over 3 season and 11 in 2009, Cal was always competitive with Andrew in the gameCan you explain how Head Coach Kevin Grimes has helped develop Cal as a top soccer program?
“Honestly, the thing that he does best is that he runs the organization so professionally. He has high expectations for everyone and holds them to a high level of conduct. I remember coming in as a freshman and thinking that some of his philosophies were weird and kind of pointless, but two years later looking back on it, he does all the little things that make us successful at the end of the day.”
Can you describe about how you developed over your Cal Career?
“What changed was the amount of responsibility that I received. When I first came to the team it had guys like Andrew Jacobson and Javier Ayala-Hil who carried a lot of the responsibility so everything that I got was simply an added bonus. However, I feel that I’ve matured as I’ve grown. Also, getting a few more goals really helps build your confidence so that I got a little more responsibility on my shoulders and I felt that if I could perform well then the team would always succeed.”
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Let's switch gears a little bit, what’s your favorite music?
“I really like the latest Lil Wayne mix tape and my little brother just got me a Matt Nathanson CD. We saw him in concert a few months back in San Francisco and I really liked it, so he bought me his album.. However, my pregame theme song is “Untouched” by the Veronicas. It was on the FIFA09 soundtrack and I really liked it. I bump that and it really gets me going.”
"With this pregame anthem, its understandable why Andrew goes 'untouched' on the pitch"Do you have any TV shows that you watch?
“I really love the Office and Californication on Showtime. I love that show, Hank Moody is my idol.”
What was your major at Cal?
"Social Welfare."
What’s your favorite spot to go to in Berkeley?
“As far as eating goes, Genova’s which is technically in Oakland is just amazing. They have the best sandwiches around.”
And Lastly, where do you picture yourself in 5 years?
“Hopefully, just playing on a team and helping them be successful.”
