Forward adjusts to American lifestyle, thrives in new system

Photo by Jonathan Segal

Francisco Rivero/Staff Writer

A 4-year-old Quentin Albrecht approached his mother and told her that his dream was to play soccer. She was surprised, to say the least.

“She was quite shocked because I was the only son, I have three more sisters, and she never asked me if I wanted to play any sports,” Albrecht said.

Ever since that day, Albrecht worked hard to become the best soccer player he could be, even if that involved playing against kids that were twice his age and size.

“On the streets, I played with a lot of my friends after school, on a little field that wasn’t even a soccer field. It was more like a track field but we played there every day,” Albrecht said. “You can learn the most when you play against older people. I was like 6 and the other kids were between 15, 16 and 17.”

Albrecht, a native of Hessen, Germany, currently leads FIU men’s soccer in goals this year with five which matches his total goals from last season.

Albrecht also has a number of favorite players ranging from Zinedine Zidane to Mario Gomez. But when it comes to the forward position for Albrecht, there’s only one guy he can pick.

“From my position, I really like Wayne Rooney because he’s a really strong player, he tries to keep the ball and creates a lot of chances,” said Albrecht.

As Albrecht got older, he got the chance to play for a university. It required him to leave his friends and family in Germany, but he decided to accept FIU’s offer given for one simple reason.

“The good opportunity I could have to get a degree and play soccer, I always wanted to get a degree but I never wanted to quit soccer,” Albrecht said. “You have to choose either between studying or playing soccer [in Germany] and here I can combine both and that’s really important to me.”

During Albrecht’s freshman year, the young forward had problems off the field. Albrecht had to adjust to the social change of life.

“The language was the hardest challenge, at the beginning I was a very quiet guy because of the language,” Albrecht said. “Normally, I like to talk and joke around with my teammates but at the beginning it was tough, because I couldn’t say jokes and stuff because of the language.”

As Albrecht steps into his second year, already having adjusted to the social change and having learned the language, fans and teammates can already see the change. With Albrecht’s five team-leading goals, he has become a main point in the Panther offense. That’s something Albrecht’s teammate, sophomore forward Colby Burdette, has taken notice.

“He’s been big, the way we play our game we need someone who can finish our chances that we have,” Burdette said. “Our style of play is really good for attacking so having him up top being able to finish the plays is really a big deal.”

Burdette has also been able to see the changes in Albrecht’s game from the very beginning when they both played for FIU as freshmen.

“The team chemistry has to be the biggest change,” Burdette said. “He’s brought all of us together as one team and we’ve been able to play with each other, we know each other’s instincts like we’re one solid team instead of separate groups.”

As FIU looks to continue its great season Albrecht’s message to the Panther fans is quite simple.

“I hope that all of them are coming to our games because I think we are doing something great this season,” Albrecht said. “There’s a change, everyone can feel the change and I hope everyone is coming out to see us play because we love to play in front of a big crowd.”

francisco.rivero@fiusm.com