ONLY IN AMNEWYORK
Noah Eile had a decision to make upon as we left his club in his home nation of Sweden, Mjälby, last year.
Either he could take the chance at going to a larger European league, which many of his compatriots attempted to do and failed to find consistent playing time, or find a home where he would be utilized regularly as a 21-year-old center-back.
“My goal was to get to an environment that is tougher and more challenging but also not take too big of a step like maybe some players do that take a big step to a big European club,” Eile told amNewYork. “Some Swedish players do, and they don’t play a lot. My idea was always to come to a place where they wanted me. That was very important and made for the qualities that I wanted.”
When first-year head coach Sandro Schwarz and the New York Red Bulls came calling, all of Eile’s boxes were getting checked.
“When I had the conversation with them, they were very clear that they wanted me to be in the team,” Eile said. “Then, of course, it’s about me and whoever plays best every week.”
Eile has held up his end of the bargain, becoming a regular center-back for a New York Red Bulls team that currently sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference heading into Wednesday’s match at home against CF Montreal.
The young Swede has usurped Andres Reyes as a No. 1 option of Schwarz, ranking third on the team with 1,608 minutes played this season. That sort of playing time for a defender his age is hard to come by.
In fact, only Juan David Mosquera of the Portland Timbers and Caleb Wiley of Atlanta United are defenders younger than Eile who have played more minutes in Major League Soccer this season. Wiley, however, features in both the midfield and is a wing-back while Mosquera also provides more of an attacking presence as a right-back.
Eile sits at the heart of the back line in the center — a responsibility that calls for far more composure on the defensive side of the ball. He has won 60% of his challenges (nine of 15) with 11 shot blocks, 72 clearances, and 35 interceptions, which ranks tied for fourth in MLS this season.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that he and the coaching staff have in me,” Eile said. “They gave me the chance to come here first and it’s a big thing for me to be able to come here and play for this great club and great league… I just want to be better to show that gratitude toward them.”
With Eile’s services at the back, the Red Bulls have conceded the fourth-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference this season to help build a plus-9 goal differential that also ranks fourth-best.
It has been an impressive showing so far in his first year in the United States — a move that was simplified by having a fellow Swede in superstar veteran midfielder, Emil Forsberg, within the Red Bull ranks. The 32-year-old also made the move to New York over the winter after a brilliant decade-long run with German powerhouses, Red Bull Leipzig.
“I think it has been a nice adjustment. Everyone at the club, the coaches, and all my teammates have made it very easy for me to settle in,” Eile said. “Of course, having Emil here as well helped me a lot to have a fellow Swede and someone who is also as experienced as he is, that has made it easier to settle in on and off the pitch.
“I feel like we have a close relationship and he can also put high demands on me. That’s what I want him to do.”
At Eile’s current trajectory, perhaps he can also follow in Forsberg’s footsteps to not just a successful career in Europe, but to the Swedish national team, which Forsberg has represented 89 times.
“That would be a dream, of course,” Eile said. “Right now, I’m just focused on being here. I love it here right now and I’m just focused on that and happy, but of course, it would be a dream to be in the national team one day.”
