Sam Brotherton has some explaining to do when he gets an international call-up.
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While most players chat with their coaches or general managers, Brotherton has an extra step when coach Anthony Hudson brings him into the New Zealand side, as he's done for October friendly matches against Mexico and the United States. Brotherton, a sophomore, has to tell his business professors at the University of Wisconsin.
"The conversations I’ve had over the last couple weeks, explaining the situation which is obviously quite unique, it can take a little bit of explaining and takes a little while to get it through sometimes," the 20-year-old told Goal USA.
Once he gets the release, Brotherton has done well. He's become increasingly involved with the All Whites since playing all four of New Zealand's contests in the 2015 U-20 World Cup and making his debut with the senior team later that year in a friendly against Oman.
The left-sided center back is good in the air and organizes the back line well, according to his Wisconsin coach John Trask, but also maintains a near-perfect GPA in classes and shows enough leadership to have earned the captaincy in just his second season with the Badgers.
While players from outside the States playing college soccer has become a more common path, it's still not the preferred method for most players. But for Brotherton, whose dad went to Oxford, education always has been part of the plan.
"The whole concept of collegiate athletics is just really not the same in New Zealand. There’s only one official club in New Zealand, so your options are limited," he said. "It was a consideration I had before I ended up in Wisconsin, but in the end I decided that education was important to me and I wanted to get a start on my degree and I ended up coming here."
While Trask said his experience as a MLS assistant and producing other pros has given him a good sense that players are sometimes ready to become professionals before finishing all four years of college, he also said goalkeepers and defenders generally can take more time to develop.
With mental dexterity and experience sometimes more important than physical prowess for defenders, players often come into their prime later than their attacking counterparts, meaning Brotherton could benefit from staying in the Big Ten a few more seasons. It's a path that one of New Zealand's most renowned internationals took and ended up paying big rewards.
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"Ryan Nelsen played for me at D.C. United," Trask said. "He came over, went to school at Greensboro, transferred to Stanford, finished his degree, went into MLS and by the age of 25 when he was really coming into his own you had a really well-rounded person who went on to become the captain of Blackburn and is pretty much a legendary player not just in New Zealand but in England.
"I think Sam’s a lot like that. He’s a kid that when he fully matures both on and off the field, I think he’ll be able to play at a level that some people may be surprised."
The pros will come calling for Brotherton, especially if he continues to show well for the All Whites. While many teams are in World Cup qualification this window, limiting options for CONCACAF teams, New Zealand ended up with back-to-back matches against the strongest teams available to play in October in with Hudson calling it "one of the biggest windows" the All Whites have ever had. With Brotherton able to hop a much shorter flight than usual to get to Nashville, where he traveled after winning NSCAA Player of the Week for his showings in a pair of Wisconsin wins, they're matches he's also looking forward to playing.
"Obviously. It’s such an exciting window just with the caliber of opposition in both Mexico and the USA but even more for myself being based in the U.S. just makes it even more special," he said. "From the day the games were announced I was really excited and just hoped I’d get the opportunity to be involved."
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Judging from his trajectory, Brotherton will be involved in New Zealand's national team success for years to come with the team set not only for World Cup qualification (he'll stay behind in November with an eye toward helping Wisconsin win the Big Ten) but also the summer's Confederations Cup, while he also hopes to captain the Badgers to new success.
"His mom said he wishes he could be cut in half right now, half with us and half of him with New Zealand," Trask said. "When I told the team, because I was going through some things with Sam and making sure the commitment was where it needed to be for us, I think once I addressed the team and told them that Sam has been called up and is going, every one of the guys, they’re friends of his, they’re all excited."
Until body-splitting technology emerges — or Brotherton decides the time is right to leave Wisconsin — he'll have to keep getting in his professors good graces, splitting his time rather than himself between hard work off the field and on it.
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