Interview with Hany Mukhtar: “…then I will run to Qatar”

Mr Mukhtar, what do Landon Donovan, David Villa and Robbie Keane have in common?

(considers) Either they all won the Golden Boot or became MVP in the league.

the latter! They were all named Major League Soccer MVPs. Will the name Hany Mukhtar be added to this list anytime soon?

I hope so! I will definitely do everything for it and I think I deserve it this year.

They lead the scorer list with 23 goals, have also collected seven assists and four scorer points in the cup. Why is Nashville doing even better than before this year?

I’ve changed my style, coming out as more of a hanging point than a playmaker. I’m fine with that. I am very happy about my position in the team. When you score that many goals in a season, it boosts your confidence.

Your coach Gary Smith recently said that no MLS player is as valuable to his team as you are, “really no one”. What do you say?

I gladly accept the compliment. Football is a team sport. I know I couldn’t do it without my team-mates. I just read a funny statistic.

And which ones?

Namely, the percentage of goals that the most prolific player per team is involved in.

Do you lead the list?

I’m directly involved in 60 percent of our goals. When you read something like that, it makes you enormously proud. It’s a great feeling to be so important to your squad. But it’s also a responsibility. I have to deliver, that’s why I was brought in.

You have by far the most shots on goal in the league (120), is the Nashville SC game tailored for you?

Definitive. My degree was always relatively good. Now as a hanging striker, I’m closer to the goal than I was before as a ten.

There is no such thing as a classic Özil anymore.

You mentioned your position. You’ve been found this season on the left wing, in attacking midfield and more recently as a hanging striker: So that’s where it fits best?

It will benefit me. But you also have to say that the classic tens don’t really exist anymore. That was also one of the reasons why I came to the MLS.

In what way?

There were a few offers back then at Brondby, but someone signing me as a playmaker wasn’t what I imagined. If you watch football: there is no longer a classic Özil. Now everyone wants to play on the flank, or as a striker, or as a eighth. Football has developed enormously. So I think this move to the striker position has helped me progress. It wasn’t easy, but I worked a lot with our assistant coach.

Video analysis for example?

Exactly. You won’t believe me, but he showed me videos of Jamie Vardy. I was a classic ten, and suddenly he’s showing me videos of Vardy. “We’re worlds apart, we’re completely different types of players,” I told him. Then he said: “You can become that type of player with your degree.” Of course, I’m still nowhere near Vardy, but I got the message.

Nashville, fourth in the Western Conference, is four points clear of seventh. That’ll be enough for the play-offs with two games left, right?

We have a very important game ahead of us against Houston. We want to get into the play-offs, but more importantly, we want to play at home. The top four play the first playoff game at home. This year we slipped temporarily into the Western Conference. And it makes a huge difference if you have to fly four or five hours to Los Angeles or if they come to you.

Popular with the fans: Mukhtar feels comfortable in Nashville.
IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

Wait a minute, you just got shoved into another conference for a year?

This year Charlotte joined the Eastern Conference, next year St. Louis. Then we can go east again and St. Louis west. We’re a lot closer to Florida than to the west coast.

So much for that. Los Angeles FC with Gareth Bale and Co. and the Philadelphia Union in the east are enthroned above all in the league. Do you count your team as a serious contender for the MLS Cup?

It’s an old saying, but true: you can beat anyone in a game. I think that’s so cool about the system in the USA. No matter how well LA can play in the regular season, in the end not so many people care if you are eliminated in the playoffs. Especially with our kind of football we can annoy LA.

What kind of football is this?

We play interchangeable football, we don’t really take possession of the ball. We mostly let the opponent come and then try to hurt him. We’re waiting for a counterattack. And we want to win the thing, that’s quite clear.

The playoffs begin on October 15th and end on November 5th with the MLS Cup finals. Then you would have exactly the time to continue your journey directly to Qatar.

I intend to do that one way or the other.

As a vacationer?

(laughs) My fiancee has never been to Dubai, Qatar and so on, so we wanted to combine that with the World Cup. My teammate (Walker Zimmerman, ed.) plays for the American national team, I would look into that.

And if Hansi Flick needs you?

Then I will run to Qatar.

Mukthar in the DFB team? “You can dream”

Do you think that even though you “only” play in MLS, you could be a candidate for Flick?

I’ve never been there before. Will it be difficult? Yes. Is it out of the question? Definitely not. I think you can add someone who has had an outstanding season, even if it’s just MLS. Someone who also has a lot of self-confidence; who has scored many goals; who can also give an assist.

The national team is still looking for a striker.

Exactly. Who knows what will happen by then. I don’t think that’s out of the question. One can dream. I still know a lot of the guys.

In 2014 you became European U-19 champions together with Joshua Kimmich and Julian Brandt, scored the golden goal in the final against Portugal – that could be repeated in December this year in the senior national team.

That would be cool. (grins)

After two and a half strong years, you extended your contract in Nashville until 2025 in April. Was going back to Europe not an option?

That was an option. But I’ve learned in my career that you have to enjoy the moment. It is very important for us footballers that you can develop further. Because the league is very much on the rise and is very interesting and will become more interesting with the 2026 World Cup, I decided to take advantage of this potential here. I can develop further here, you can see that in my season. I didn’t sign here for good money and a nice life, that’s not me. Football means too much to me.

Is going back to Europe an option again?

I wouldn’t rule that out. I’m 27, in the prime of footballing age and have gained enough experience. But it has to be the right club and the right step.

Herta for example?

Hertha is an affair of the heart. Hertha is my club.

You landed in Nashville via Berlin, Lisbon, Salzburg and Brondby. Would you take this – let’s say – crooked path the same way again?

The short answer is yes.

I arrived in Salzburg, provided an assist in the first game, was the superstar and was substituted after 30 minutes in the next game.

And the long answer?

I’ve learned a lot about myself. I am grateful for every experience, I also needed every one. I just want to be happy, so I give it my all every day. I would do it all over again because I thought it was the right decision at the time. Every dent makes you stronger, I think.

By dent do you mean the rather mixed years in Salzburg and Lisbon?

I arrived in Salzburg, provided an assist in the first game, was the superstar and was substituted after 30 minutes in the next game. Those are things you might need. I was a child. I’m a man now and I’m living my dream. I can just say: I am happy and grateful.