Q&A: Former Atlanta United player George Bello

Bello spoke on a number of topics in a 30-minute conference call with numerous reporters Thursday. Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: What are some of the challenges that you believe you’ve already overcome?

A: Off the field, I would say the biggest thing I’ve overcome so far is just settling in. Obviously, this is my first time leaving the U.S. to move to a whole different country. But I think I’ve overcome that, and I’m settled in now, which is something that you definitely have to overcome when you move. And I’m really thankful. I thank my teammates and the whole club for being so welcoming, which made it so much easier for me and made it so quick. I feel like, in my opinion, I really feel like this is home.

On the field, I’d say the biggest thing that I’m still trying to overcome, obviously, but I’m almost there, is just adapting to the pace of the game. The game here is really quick, to think fast and just getting used to that. It’s very important, and I feel like I’m almost there.

Q: How do you compare training sessions between Germany and MLS?

A: I would say probably the intensity. Every session is really intense. You have to be locked in throughout the whole training. And obviously it’s still the same also in MLS when I was in Atlanta.

Q: What are some of the other differences between MLS and the Bundesliga? And what would you tell the next young American player who wants to make that leap from MLS to Germany?

A: Yeah, I would say the pace, obviously. And I mean, football is universal. So I feel like in any league, you still have to be locked in 100% of the game. So it’s not really like I would say, ‘oh, yeah, this league is better than this league.’ It’s really quick, so you have to think fast, play faster, and you don’t have the same time on the ball. That’s what I’ll say are the main differences.

And for young Americans, I’ll just say, if that’s your dream, and that’s your ambition, go for it and go with confidence because I feel like confidence is key. And when you come over here, just know that you’re here for a reason. Obviously at first it may hit you like ‘wow, like I’m really here,’ but you’ve just got to embrace that and know that you’re there for a reason and you made it there for a reason and worked all your life to get to that goal, so just do whatever you can to just keep going, keep getting better.

And I would also say if you want to make that leap, once you get here, don’t think that you’ve made it. I feel like that’s very important to know. Just because you’re in one of the top leagues, it doesn’t mean you’ve made it at all. Like, that’s what I always tell myself and just to keep bettering myself as a player because I know I have a lot of things to still work on, and I’m not the perfect player. So that’s what I would tell a young person trying to come over here.

Q: What was it that made you decide that Arminia Bielefeld is where you wanted to go?

A: Everything happened so quick. It was a crazy day. I had a chat with coach Frank (Geideck) and he made me feel like he really cared about me, which is really important. And I was coming to a team that was going to accept me and I could be myself and I could approach anyone with any questions I have. So him just giving me that kind of summary basically at the club made me feel like yeah, that’s the right place I need to be to grow as a player and a person as well. And I’m glad. I think I’ve made the right decision. I don’t have to change who I am, but also keep trying to improve myself as a player.

Q: How have you kind of adjusted to life in the city? What are some of the things you’ve enjoyed doing and what are some of the things that you want to do that you haven’t gotten to do yet with everything going on?

A: I love the city so far. It’s low key, not too much going on, which I really liked. So I said I’ve adjusted well, quicker than I thought I would, to be honest. I haven’t been able to do too much yet, but there’s some stuff that I can get into once I get more and more settled in. It’s a city that I like and it’s not really like the city of Atlanta. It’s kind of like a town which is fine because in Atlanta I was living in Douglasville, which wasn’t really the city either. So it feels like home.

Q: Are there any aspects of life in Bielefeld that have actually surprised you or life in Germany?

A: No, to be honest, not really. But before I left and came here I didn’t know what I was going to expect. But when I got here, it’s just a whole bunch of friendly people. Like they’re so friendly. And that’s why I feel like it’s been so easy for me to transition from life in the U.S. to life in Germany, because everyone is just like really friendly out here. Everyone has helped me settle in. If I had any questions, someone’s right there to answer it. So I think the biggest thing is is everyone is friendly here. That’s the biggest thing. And it wasn’t too much of a cultural shock or anything like that.

Q: Since joining the team, what do you think you need to work on most in terms of tactics and skills, and what do you think you’re doing well so far?

A: I would say the same things I still want to work on when I was in Atlanta: just being in the right position at the right time, because I have the pace but if I’m there before, I don’t have to waste more energy.

Also, working on one-on-one defending. I know I have to have the pace to get back but just reading that beforehand. So reading defensive plays and then also in the final third, attacking-wise, I want to work on just finishing attacks because I feel like I get myself in the right positions. It’s just that last pass, last shot, last cross, anything that might be that I just want to continue working on. And like I’m really critical of myself, so I don’t really like talking about the good stuff I do because I mean it’s not me.

Q: Your thoughts on your opponents that you have faced already in the Bundesliga?

A: Yeah, there’s a lot of talent. That’s what I’ve seen. There’s so much talent here. Very skillful players and I’ve been learning obviously, whether it may be coming on or just watching the game from the bench. Keep watching how people play, how matchups may be, like watching the wingers and how they position themselves, how they want to play, and really it’s all about just looking at your next opponent and just studying like who you would face off against. I haven’t been here too for too long but yes, very skillful players, and that I feel like is going keep improving me as a player, just going up against quality like that. So I’m happy and excited to see what comes.

Q: Is there a player that you’ve thought about like looking you’re looking forward to facing?

A: Personally, I’ve been looking forward to this be playing like my brother’s like Gio (Reyna), Joe (Scally), (Ricardo) Pepi, (Chris) Richards, all of them. And then, yeah, there’s obviously people like (Erling) Haaland that I saw. I was kind of star-struck obviously.

Q: You mentioned a bunch of the other young Americans that are there. I’m curious how much contact you’ve had with them off the field?

A: Yeah, we keep in touch quite often. It’s not like every day. It’s like every other week or every week. So we keep in contact because I mean I feel like that’s really important. Especially like me, Gio, Joe, we basically grew up together. We were with each other because we’re young and like our families are close to us. So just keeping in contact with them is really important. And then there’s obviously other Americans here that I can keep in touch with, which is really cool to me to seeing how how big Americans have come, how far Americans have come and being in this top league is really cool to see.

Q: What are your sort of expectations for yourself with the national team going forward, and what are some of the things that you kind of want to accomplish at that level?

A: It’s a big year for everyone, especially for the U.S. But I would say my goal is to just keep improving myself and just trying to be consistent here. And if I do that everything will work out the way it’s going to work out. So I feel like the most important thing is to make sure that I’m fit -- God forbid any injury -- stay healthy, and we’ll see where it goes. But like I said, nothing is given to you, nothing is handed to you. You have to work hard to get that spot on a World Cup roster, and so is everyone else. So it’s going to be fun to see. It’s gonna be a fun year.

Q: Is there anything that you miss about Atlanta, miss about home? And also what’s the best part about living in Germany? That’s not you know, soccer-related?

A: I miss my family, my friends. I didn’t really get to say goodbye because everything happened really quick. We’ll be able to see them soon over the offseason.

I’m a guy that likes to chill, so I don’t really like doing too much. I’m fine with just chilling and watching Netflix all day, playing PlayStation all day. I definitely need to start exploring more and seeing what really the city holds and finding some some some nice spots to eat.

Q: Have you been able to watch Atlanta United games?

A: I’ve actually watched every single game so far. I’m going to show support to my boys in my hometown. That’s a pretty good start for them. So I’m happy for them.