Chris Richards

For me, I think it was all the setbacks I had.

I mean, you mentioned my injury before the last World Cup.

I remember the summer I decided that I only wanted to play soccer, I tried out for FC Dallas, actually, and I didn't make it.

Oh.

And that was the first step that I wanted to take into pursuing my dream, my career, and it didn't work.

And so it's little moments like that where it really, you know, looking back, I think it's what made me so mentally tough today.

Because, you know, if everything came easy, you know, you wouldn't,

know how to react when harder times come.

So I think it's all the setbacks I've had along the way, whether it was injuries, whether it was, again, coaches telling me I can't do it, whether it was myself not playing games, starting my first year and a half at Palace, I started four or five games.

And so it was really just a matter of me just putting my head down and keep working.

And again, I think I kind of have this story where I've always kind of been the underdog, you know, coming from Birmingham, everything that's happened and

I think just continuing to have the interdog mentality regardless of what your status is, I think that's probably the biggest thing.

Yeah, I think Germany was a whole different ballgame, you know.

I think not knowing the language before I got out there, not quite understanding how big of a club

Bayern Munich was when I got there it was tough because you know they are what a lot of Europeans look at as a powerhouse but especially in Germany you know they are the team yeah and I've never been at the team before so it was weird trying to I guess embrace and indulge myself into a new culture but you know I think everybody at Bayern was really welcoming really understanding I'm one of the only Americans who's ever played there so you know it was it was a cool dynamic I mean again to kind of be like the pioneer I mean we've had guys there but

I was there for four years and it taught me a lot.

But I think once I got to Palace, that's when I finally felt like I could really embrace and enjoy the new place.

And London is a beautiful place to find yourself and to become whoever you want to be.

For me, I think it reminded me a lot of home, especially South London.

You know, it was very hardworking.