Q&A With FC St. Pauli Striker Fafa Picault

Photo credit: FC St. Pauli

FC St. Pauli striker Fafa Picault made his United States men's national team debut in a 3-1 win over Puerto Rico on Sunday. Before his return to Europe and recent success in the 2. Bundesliga, Picault featured for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

He spoke with Matthew Levine of NASL.com about his success at the German side, his time in the NASL, and more.

Levine: You started to find the back of the net toward the end of the season, did something click for you?

Picault: Not really. I felt like I was capable of doing it throughout the year. I was playing more on the wing, and our style of play isn’t super offensive. When I was playing off the wing it was more difficult to show my qualities as an offensive threat.

When the opportunity came, it was my first time playing striker against Paderborn for the last 10 minutes, we were losing, 4-1, and I got a goal and an assist in that game. The game against Bochum I got two goals and the game against Fortuna [Düsseldorf] I got a goal. Also the Hanover friendly I scored during the international break.

Levine: You recently signed an extension with the club, so have you gotten any indication that you will be playing more in the striker’s role after your recent success?

Picault: Practice I’ve been playing more of the striker role, so I don’t think it will change unless our system changes. If our system stays the same I think I’m best playing as a top striker.

Levine: With St. Pauli, there always seem to be incredible fan support and passion. What’s it been like playing in front of those supporters?

Picault: It’s awesome. It’s really encouraging and motivating. The fans are truly amazing, always positive. It’s a beautiful crowd to play in front of and it always urges you to do your best – as a professional you give your best no matter what. Having those fans – every home game is sold out, when we play away we have 4,000 fans travel five or six hours on the train – it’s definitely something special. It’s always a blast playing with the chants and the songs.

Levine: The club finished fourth in the 2. Bundesliga, just short of promotion, but do you view it as a successful season?

Picault: Definitely. When you look at last year, FC St. Pauli has a great name, but the club was fighting relegation. When you look at the success this year compared to last year it was definitely a big turnaround. I think overall in the big picture we finished well this year. We could have finished a little better maybe, a few points we gave away early and toward the middle of the year. At the end of the day, the big picture of it we had a pretty good season.

Levine: Next season the club’s goal, I’m sure, will be to win promotion, so how do you build off your season to help St. Pauli achieve that?

Picault: I have different roles. In this club, I think I can be a goalscorer. It’s something I’m used to doing, I’m comfortable near the goal. I think that’s what I can bring to the club next year and maybe I could have brought that a little bit earlier this year.

I put the pressure on myself to score and also to create goals for others, so that’s something I’m looking forward to doing.

Picault signed a contract extension through 2018 with the 2. Bundesliga side. Photo credit: FC St. Pauli

Levine: Before going to Germany, you spent a season with Sparta Prague. You had some injuries there, but do you view your time there as a learning experience?

Picault: It was a welcome back to Europe. With the injury at the end of the winter training camp, it slowed my success. When summer came we had a new coach and it wouldn’t be the same plans, so I thought it was time to go somewhere else.

I take everything as a learning experience. It was a tough time because you’re out for two to three months and you have to wait and hope you get your chance when you come back. I played one game and then the coach was switched two to three weeks before the season ended and I didn’t get another chance. It’s definitely something I’ve learned from.

I also try to leave it behind me because I didn’t get too many positives out of it in terms of playing time. That could have happened this year at St. Pauli, but I got my chance and started to get more minutes, made the most of it, and showed what I was worth.

READ | Call-Up To USMNT Is ‘Dream Come True’ For Fafa Picault

Levine: I saw some comments about your first stint in Italy with Cagliari and some of the difficulties you had. Did that have an impact on your decision to go back to Europe and did you have reservations about going to Sparta Prague and now St. Pauli?

Picault: With Cagliari I want to clear it up because it was a club I really had a good time there and in the city. The fans were great and I was very close to the president. Everything was OK, but I had a few issues with the reserve coach that was there a few years back, but he’s no longer at the club.

We had quite a few issues with his mentality and a few bad run-ins. It discouraged me from wanting to stay at the time, but I wanted to be back in Europe. I said I’d go back to Italy or somewhere else, maybe France. Sparta was presented by Kamil ÄŒontofalský, who I played with at the Strikers.

I jumped at the opportunity to come back to Europe because it’s like my home away from home. I feel like I can do a lot more being an American away than at home in my case. It’s been a dream of mine to come back and I’m glad I had the opportunity to do it.

Levine: In 2014, as a member of the Strikers, the team reached the final. For you, was there a thought of going back to Fort Lauderdale to take care of some unfinished business?

Picault: My thought was to go to Europe, especially knowing a few of the guys on the team were separating to go to other clubs. At the same time, that was a season and a team that stays in my mind and heart forever. It was truly one of the best group of guys I’ve ever gotten to play with. Still we have the same group chat. There’s maybe seven or eight of us and for those that aren’t we stay in touch. I still talk to Günter Kronsteiner all the time, Tom Mulroy.

We just had a really good group of guys and there was a special camaraderie that is difficult to match. I’ll be back in Miami this summer and I’m pretty sure I’ll float around Miami and the U.S. to catch NASL games to see my old buddies and see how they are doing at their new clubs. It was really a special year I will never forget and I’m thankful to have taken part in that team and to have had such a successful year when we came in as underdogs to get to the final. Unfortunately we lost, but to get there coming from the stretch of season we had was beautiful.

Picault played one season with the Strikers, scoring 12 goals to help the club to The Championship Final. Photo credit: Jon van Woerden

Levine: What’s been your impression of the league now that you’re watching from afar?

Picault: I don’t get to catch too many games, but I keep up with it. I try to watch videos or Instagram, or look at the results of the games and see how my buddies did. It has grown a lot since I left, but I think it was already growing when I was there with attendances, support, and professionalism.

It’s gotten great and I think it will only get better. It’s a great opportunity to play professionally in the U.S. and for players to get a chance to showcase themselves. Now they are getting attention from the national team staff. I think the league has grown tremendously and I can only hope, and I truly think, it will continue to grow.

When you look at the new teams with the attendances and the names they’ve brought in have been great. It’s a new destination for a lot of people from Europe who want to go the U.S. Because it’s our domestic league it’s very important that it’s a good destination for young players and middle-aged players to go to the NASL and test their abilities and show what they are worth. I’ve seen some great players in the league and I think over the years we’ll keep seeing them. It’s a league that has done a lot for me and will do a lot of others as well.

Levine: When you came back to the U.S. you played for the Rowdies and then later moved to the Strikers. What was it like crossing that divide between rivals?

Picault: Tampa Bay we won that year. It was a good season for us, but it was a bit more difficult for me at the time with the style of play and the fit for me. So the jump to the Strikers was definitely a 180-degree turn.It was two different experiences, but every experience you learn something from.

With Tampa Bay it was something to get my feet wet and get me back home and back into a professional atmosphere as well as allowing me to get some growth and games. By the time I got to the Strikers it was a perfect club at the perfect time for me.

It was two different experiences so I appreciate them in a different way, definitely the Strikers a lot more in another way, but both were good experiences to learn from.

Levine: How did the NASL help you develop as a player and help set you up for your return to Europe?

Picault: It was great because in practice and in games, I was playing with guys you could definitely learn from, guys that will pull you aside and talk to you like Ívan Guerrero. He would say “That’s very good, try this next time, this is more difficult for the defender.” Guys like Oka Nikolov, Kamil ÄŒontofalský, Marius Ebbers, it was a good opportunity to play with guys like that who had really good careers. There were middle-aged guys and young guys so there was a good balance of different styles and experiences from guys that can give input. As a young player it’s great. It definitely brought me a lot of good and I’m always going to be thankful for it.

I would warn guys to not look past it at all, it’s not an easy league. It’s a league that takes a lot of work. It builds your professionalism and makes you a stronger player.

Picault credits the NASL for helping make him a stronger player before returning to Europe. Photo credit: Trevor Ruszkowski