DAVENPORT, Fla. – Few paths have been as winding as the one that Mike Grella has endured. But you won’t hear him complaining.
Maybe it’s because the Long Island native is at peace with the trials and tribulations that have brought him to this point. For Grella, the ends have justified the means.
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After a breakout season in his first MLS campaign, the 29-year-old has been loving life, and who could blame him? After all, this might have seemed like a pipe dream just a year ago. A trialist turned away by the New York Cosmos and New York City FC alike during the 2015 preseason, Grella looked to the New York Red Bulls as his one last shot to make it big in his hometown.
“He was scoring goals by the buckets; everything he touched went in,” head coach Jesse Marsch recalled. “That’s a rare thing for anyone.”
His prowess in front of goal certainly turned some heads, enough to earn Grella a contract and a spot within the first team. In and of itself, his performance was somewhat of an anomaly. It’s not every day that a player comes into camp as trialist only to become a staple within the starting XI each week, let alone earning a Newcomer of the Year nomination alongside the likes of Sebastian Giovinco and Didier Drogba in the process. Most people would look back at season of that ilk as their “made it” moment. But Mike Grella isn’t most people.
“Not much has changed,” he said of his approach from last preseason to today. “I feel like every single day, my successes come from working as hard as I can. [That doesn’t change] whether you’re a trialist or whether you’re established, it’s the same either way. The established guys here, the leaders, they all work hard every day. And the new guys have been excellent; they’ve worked so hard.”
It’s not a surprising sentiment to those who know Grella. When asked about his personal accomplishments, he immediately defers to his teammates and their contributions. It’s precisely that team-first attitude that has helped the Red Bulls winger blossom into one of the team’s most potent attacking threats. And for Marsch, there’s no reason to expect anything less in 2016.
“Mike’s a great guy,” Marsch told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “He’s a humble guy who works really hard. He cares about the team and he cares about the right things. He comes from a great family, he’s from the New York area, and in all ways he’s a great fit for our club. I’m excited for him to have another big year.”
Sure, the success has been sweet. But what good are those accolades without celebrating it with those closest to you? Luckily for Grella, he no longer has to choose between work and family.
After a journeyman career that saw him ply his trade throughout England and Denmark, the kid from Glen Cove has finally come home.
“It’s been excellent so far,” Grella admitted. “It’s crazy; I’ve traveled to a lot of places, played for seven different teams in Europe. But to end up here and be enjoying myself the most has a lot to do with me being home. The guys that I’ve met here, the management, it’s very important for my family to be back home and kind of make up time that we lost when I was over in Europe for six years. It’s been really great, to be honest. I’ve really been enjoying myself.”
For Grella, the personal accolades matter little, but the ability to share those memories with those closest to him have made all the difference. At a time when his life was filled with uncertainty, his career at a crossroads, the Red Bulls offered him a chance to start again. But for as much as the Red Bulls offered Grella a lifeline, he’s done just as much for the club he now calls home.
“I think throughout his career he’s been put in some difficult situations, but now he’s happy to be in a place where he’s appreciated and he has trust,” Marsch added. “Obviously Mike performed at such a high level last year and had such a big impact on our team’s results. But even more than that, the way he comes to work and fits in the group and commits himself everyday contributes to what we are as a team.”
A frequent sight at Red Bull Arena after a match, Grella can be seen touting his son around the pitch, with the joy written on his face plain to see to any spectator. It may not be something that shows up on the stat sheet next to his honor as fastest goal scorer in MLS history, but it’s precisely those little things that have helped Grella to thrive in New York.
“I don’t think he knows what’s going on yet,” he said with a chuckle. “He’s only 15 months old now. It’s been somewhat of a dream come true and I have to thank God for that. Having my family—my dad, my mom, my wife, my brother who is a huge supporter of mine—all come out to the game and sort of get satisfaction for all the things they’ve given me throughout the years and all the things they’ve done for me is a lot of satisfaction for them.”
So maybe this wasn’t the way that Grella had it all drawn up when kicking the ball around his Glen Cove home. It would be easy to look back and lament the many hardships that had befallen him over the years; the adversities were surely taxing. But throughout a career full of twists and turns, highs and lows, Grella has no time to look back at what could have been. When all is said and done, it has only served to help him appreciate all that he has today.
“It’s hard as a soccer player, or really anyone, to plan a year ahead or two years ahead; you never really know what’s going to happen. I don’t regret anything’s that’s happened in my career, I’m happy with all the experiences I’ve had, the people I’ve met. As a young kid, you have huge, huge dreams, which I still have; it’s what keeps me going. I’m really proud of what I’ve done and what this group has done. I’m really proud to be in New York and play for the New York Red Bulls. It’s one of the proudest moments of career. It’s been amazing.”
