D.C. United midfielder Branko Boskovic, who has made it past the 75th minute in just one of his 10 starts this season and was pulled in the 56th minute of Saturday’s 2-1 win over the New England Revolution, on Tuesday sounded off on his playing time.
I’ll have a full story ahead of Thursday’s match at the Philadelphia Union, but here are a few of the more intriguing comments from Boskovic:
“The season is over and I’m still not ready. I don’t know, I can play more but he decided to take me out. If I’m not ready now at the end of the season, when am I going to be ready? Maybe I look like this, but I really want to play. He decided to change me out, but it’s always me. Maybe I look like this, like I’m tired, I’m not ready, but that’s how I play, that’s how I run. I cannot change myself. I’m like this. Maybe I’m not good enough, good enough physically for this league. You know, it’s the end of the season. When am I going to be ready if I’m not ready now?”
“It’s always first me. Maybe if I stay, maybe I score, maybe I have another good free kick. I had before that good free kick. If I’m tired, I cannot shoot a free kick like this. When my leg is tired, my ball goes down and it’s difficult to shoot a free kick and everything like this. Benny’s the coach and I respect that. He decides best. He put in Lewis Neal, he scored the goal, we win. This is important. Now in that game, it looks like he made a good decision, and I’m happy because we win. But I also say I’m not angry. It’s like that — I don’t know why always me first.”
“How can I be happy when every time I go first out? Nobody can be happy. I also say I’m not angry with Ben, I respect his decision, his decision was right because we win the game.”
“Maybe I’m not good enough physically for this league. Maybe this league is stronger — I don’t know. But I also played in two, three leagues that are strong also and good in Europe, and there I play. Maybe the way I look on the field and how I run and this and what they expect from me, it’s not enough. OK, I respect this decision.”
