FC St. Pauli

James Sand on…

…his initial contact with FC St. Pauli: "I was hoping to make the move back to Europe and my agent handled most of it at the beginning. When I learned St. Pauli was interested, I spoke to the manager, I spoke to a lot of people, and it seemed like a very good project. The club is definitely moving in the right direction. I didn't need much convincing. When I did a little bit of research, I realised that the club is amazing, the fans here are amazing, so it was something I really wanted to do."

…the difference between the Bundesliga and the MLS: "The matches here are very fast. There's a very fast pace and you have less time on the ball. The MLS has a lot of quality players but here it's just a little more intense."

…adapting to the St. Pauli style of play: "The coach does a really good job making everything clear. The Bundesliga is very different, so this is still an adaptation I'll have to make, but I feel confident I can do that in the weeks ahead."

…the atmosphere at the Millerntor: "It's amazing. The fans are singing the whole game and are so supportive of the team. It's really cool to be a part of. Sunday's a very big game so I expect them to be very loud and have a lot of energy. In the US it's more like entertainment, more a show. The people come and watch but they don't feel involved in the game., whereas here the fans feel like they're on the pitch. They sing and cheer for 90 minutes."

…his experience against German teams: "I remember playing against all those teams (eds: for Rangers in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt, Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund). They have a lot of quality and they're really good. I thought their style of play was very attractive, so I've wanted to come play in Germany a long time. I watch a lot of German football and I have some friends in the league. Whichever teams my friends from the US were playing for, I supported them a little bit. I played with Joe Scally and Gio Reyna in the academy in New York."

…his favourite position and the possibility of being rotated into central defence against Union Berlin: "It's still so early in the week and we haven't really spoken about it yet, but it's something I've done in the past so I'm obviously open to it. Midfield is where I've played most over the past couple of years, but I have played at the back before."

…the chance of playing for the US national team: "The league here is one of the best, so I think it's important to be playing here. Now it's just about learning and improving. There's a lot of quality players playing for good teams in Europe, so it's always difficult to get in the national team. I was in for a little bit a couple of years ago, but I've not been in recently, so hopefully I will get back."

…how Hamburg compares with New York City: "I grew up outside New York City but lived in Manhattan the last two years. Hamburg doesn't seem as crazy as New York, but it seems like a very nice city. Once the weather gets a little bit better, I'll enjoy it a lot, so I'm looking forward to exploring."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters