KANSAS CITY, Kansas.- If home is where the heart is, there’s a part of United States FW Nicholas Gioacchini that has never left Kansas City, Missouri, where he was born and raised, though it has been over a decade since he last lived there.
The son of a Jamaican mother and Italian father, Gioacchini was eligible to play internationally for three countries, but the U.S., where he first learned to kick a soccer ball, is the one that won out.
“Kansas City is home for me,” said Gioacchini in a recent media call. He mentioned specifically what it meant to him to recall childhood days when he played the game for fun, not for a living, or to avoid relegation, or for any reason other than the sheer enjoyment of playing.
The winger/forward now plays professionally for Caen in Ligue 2, France, but while for many players a chance to feature for the U.S. is mainly another opportunity to earn positive reviews from coach Gregg Berhalter, for Gioacchini, making the Gold Cup roster led to a special homecoming, since Kansas City, Missouri, is where the U.S. will play all its Group B matches.
It was during those Missouri years that Gioacchini first learned to love the beautiful game. “I played with the kids, just having fun,” Gioacchini said, mentioning that his memories were so vital, he recognized the particular smells of his hometown as soon as he deplaned.
While he has lived in Maryland, Italy and France since he left, Gioacchini asserted he immediately felt at home in Kansas City. Old friends are coming to see him in the opening game against Haiti, and his mother and sister are flying in from Paris for the occasion as well.
What Gioacchini was unsure about was whether Berhalter would prefer to have him play as a winger or a forward in upcoming matches. So far, Gioacchini has trained in both spots. “The exact position, I’m not sure as to yet,” Gioacchini mentioned.
He also stressed that Berhalter seemed less rigid about formations and more focused on instilling a strong mentality into the U.S. players. “Being relentless, never giving up, bravery,” Gioacchini said of the qualities the coach seeks from his players. “If we have that as a group, it will make us all stronger.”
Whether against Sunday’s opponent, Haiti, or other Gold Cup opponents, Gioacchini, who has three caps with the U.S. thus far, knows the U.S. coach will be looking for performances to improve and players to respond to the rigors of international competition.
Aside from currently wanting to play well and build his national team future, Gioacchini has another distinctively vision for himself in the years to come. Excited by the improvements to local fields and the soccer scene in general, Gioacchini envisions a permanent return to Kansas City, perhaps as a player, or in some other soccer capacity, where he helps to develop and raise the profile of the game he loves in the city he loves. Kansas City, the soccer city? “That’s my dream,” Gioacchini asserted.
