Sainey Nyassi is one half of the Revs’ dynamic Gambian teenage duo (the other of course being Kenny Mansally) who have entered the league with aplomb this season. Nyassi has started 11 of the Revs 17 games this year and entered three others as a substitution, tallying two goals and an assist. Nyassi’s impact transcends the scorer’s sheet, however, as the player’s pace creates mismatches and opens up opportunities for teammates. ASN sat down with the young forward last week to discuss a variety of topics. Read on.

ASN: How does the national development system work in Gambia?

Nyassi: The way they develop players back home and here is quite a bit different. They concentrate more on youth than national teams, and you can see that – in Gambia our youth teams are doing better than the senior team. The U-17 league played the African U-17 champions and won, then proceeded to the World Cup in 2005 and from there rejoined the U-20s. We qualified for the African championship and from there to Canada, and that’s where we were spotted.

ASN: What are they doing that makes the youth teams better in just a few years?

Nyassi: They provide us with foreign coaches. The president back home likes soccer so he’s concentrating on the youth teams. . . One [national team] coach is from Ghana, and right now, a coach from Italy and one from Belgium.

ASN: The president of Gambia?

Nyassi: Yeah, he [President Yahya Jammeh] likes the youth teams and he’s putting a lot of money in us. There was a time that he promised $1 million [American dollars] if we won a tournament, but unfortunately we weren’t able to win so they gave us a land proxy and $5,000 each. I think he played soccer when he was younger.

I started [with the national program] when I was 15, but at that time I couldn’t play because I was so young, but I kept training with the team until I turned 16 and started playing for the U-17, then from there, proceeded to the U-20s. [When I was younger] I was playing on local clubs back home, and sometimes I would play against them. That was the time they sold me and I was selected for the national U-17 team – me and my twin brother and Kenny [Mansally].

ASN: Is your twin brother, Sanna. playing with a team now?

Nyassi: Right now he’s in the States. My agent is trying to work it out for him and I think everything is going good with him. Right now he’s training with Seattle.

ASN: What are the local youth soccer programs in Gambia like?

Nyassi: They’re set up by the towns. We have good pitches like this one [Gillette practice pitch] for the national teams, but not all the fields are really good like here. I think that’s another difference – back home we don’t have good fields but here you have good fields. I think if you have better fields in Africa then soccer will be great.

ASN: Kids play on a lot of crappy fields here, too – nothing like this pitch.

Nyassi: I used to play on crappy, crappy fields. I couldn’t even imagine playing on this surface when I came over here, and I think of the time when I was young and compare this to the fields I was playing on back home. I think we’re getting better fields now because FIFA even built another mini-stadium in Gambia, provided a field with artificial turf like the ones in the States. The country is really improving in soccer – lots of kids back home play soccer. Girls play. I can say almost all the kids in Gambia love soccer. They watch it on TV, they go to games a lot.

My parents encouraged me to be a soccer player. When I was young, they really knew that we were good – me and my twin brother – so they kept encouraging us and giving us football boots and buying us jerseys to keep training and things like that. My dad was a soccer player, but didn’t play professional. He passed away when I was fifteen. My dad was a businessman and my mom works with a food program, but now she’s retired.

ASN: How was the transition to the United States?

Nyassi: The technology is the same as back home – cell phones, Iphones, Ipods, the internet, video games, everything. The paperwork was our main problem. Last year, this was the reason I couldn’t play a lot of games. I think I played only one game last year – no, two games, one U.S. Open Cup and one MLS game.

ASN: Africa is supposed to be a rising force in soccer. What makes it so good?

Nyassi: It’s because we play a lot. Kids play everyday. You can see kids leave their homes in the morning and they won’t get home till seven or eight o’clock because they go out and play soccer with friends from one field and move to another area and play the other team.

ASN: What’s the professional league like in Gambia?

Nyassi: I don’t think it’s a professional league yet. Only eleven or twelve teams compete, and I don’t think it’s that competitive. Maybe you can compare it to a USL or Open Cup team.

ASN: What do you feel your job is on the Revolution?

Nyassi: I think my job on this team is to help create chances and create goals for the strikers because I’m fast and I’m good with the ball, so I always make use of it. When I get the ball, I try to pick my man and just make a cross for the strikers. Twellman is a great player. Taylor can finish, and he knows how to take on defenders and run into good spaces. He’s really good and I’d love to play with him on the field because I know he can score goals and make use of my crosses. I really miss him on the team, but hopefully, he’ll be back soon.

I also learned a lot from Steve Ralston, the way he plays. Last year I was watching his move on the right, and then when I stepped in I remembered what he was doing, so I kept doing it and it’s working for me. The way he handles the ball, and turns, he’s really great.

ASN: Do you think the Revolution will bring in a designated player?

Nyassi: I think so. MLS needs to get more big players to make the league more popular. Hopefully they will do it because when you’re playing home you need a great crowd. LA Galaxy has David Beckham and the attendance is really good. [Our] attendence is maybe 10,000, 8,000, 12,000 or 14,000, so we need one famous player so the attendance will be good. It helps. It makes the away team nervous to play so it helps the home team a lot.

ASN: So when the Revolution are playing away and fans are cheering the home team and trash talking the Revs, that affects you?

Nyassi: I’m used to it because back home whenever the national team is playing the stadium is always crowded. I like playing where our fans are over-populated. I like it.

ASN: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Nyassi: Hopefully, in the Premiership, that’s my target. Arsenal is my favorite team, so that’s my dream. I want to be on top, be a superstar like David Beckham.

I’d like to be on a team with my twin brother, that’s what I really wanted. He really wanted to be with me, but I don’t know how to help that. This is the first time we’ve separated. Since when we are young we are always on the same team. Since he is here, one day we might be on the same team. We are really close so I really miss him. [Being twins] helps us a lot, because we’re so close we talk a lot when we’re on the field. Now we keep in touch on the phone.