September 3, 2012
THE TRANSITION GAME
Arteaga looks to improve his defending and other aspects of his game

Jhonny Arteaga: “Coming from playing in lower leagues to playing in the MLS has definitely been a big transition, from the administrative side of things to the soccer side, the standard is much higher and more professional." Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images

By Kristian R. Dyer
BigAppleSoccer.com Contributing Editor

The past year has been a whirlwind of sorts for Red Bulls forward Jhonny Arteaga.

This time last year, the Colombian-born forward was wrapping up a successful season with F.C. New York in the USL PRO League, the level below Major League Soccer. With his team’s future uncertain heading into this season, Arteaga took advantage of a trial opportunity with the Red Bulls and impressed enough to be signed before the start of the season.

Arteaga brought to MLS a solid scoring pedigree from the USL, netting 13 goals in league play. With his baby face, it is easy to forget that Arteaga has been playing professional soccer since 2008 and is hitting his prime at 25-years-old.

Despite having been with the team since pre-season, there is still an obvious enthusiasm eminating from Arteaga when he talks about playing in MLS.

“Coming from playing in lower leagues to playing in the MLS has definitely been a big transition, from the administrative side of things to the soccer side, the standard is much higher and more professional,” Arteaga told BigAppleSoccer.com.

“The atmosphere during games has surprised me the most. The fans are great and the soccer culture in the United States is growing rapidly!”

Playing time has been limited for Arteaga this season, as he has made five appearances – all off the bench – for a total of 17 minutes in league play. But it has been a learning experience for the young player and the reserves match have been a positive showcase for him.

“One of the main aspects of my game that I continue to work on and needs improvement is the tactical part of my game," Arteaga said. "As a forward you may think you can get away without defending much but at this level, defending as a unit is really stressed and I think this is something I must continue work on and improve.

“Reserve games are a great opportunity to get games in. Personally, I haven't played much in the first team so I use the reserve games as an opportunity to gain playing experience. The competition is usually strong so it has definitely been beneficial to me.”

To that end, Arteaga is already beginning to line up off-season plans. Over the past couple years, he has been training at a soccer facility in Connecticut but this year he would like to find a club to train with during the off-season to continue his development.

To his credit, he’s honest about his development on the field.

“One of the main aspects of my game that I continue to work on and needs improvement, is the tactical part of my game,” Arteaga said.

“As a forward you may think you can get away without defending much but at this level, defending as a unit is really stressed and I think this is something I must continue work on and improve.”

Kristian R. Dyer is a Contributing Editor at BigAppleSoccer.com and can be followed at @KristianRDyer