Den amerikanske keeperkjempen ankommer ikke Sarpsborg før i januar, men Ingeniören tok en liten prat med han allerede nå!

Navn: Colin William Burns
Født: 30.06.82 Newark, Delaware i USA.
Bosted: I Sarpsborg så fort han får tak i en leilighet.
Moderklubb: Kirkwood soccer club

Tidligere klubber: kirkwood sc, Olympic development program i Delaware, Olimpia Balti, Sepsi-78, Kokkolan Palloveikot, sk Ljungkile.

Ingeniören: Welcome to Sarpsborg, What is youre first impression of the city?

Colin W. Burns: Sarpsborg seems to be a very nice city. It looks like an emerging city with all of the new construction going on around town, but it has a good mix of old and new architecture. I really like the downtown area and the close proximity to wildlife makes it an ideal place for me. (I like to go hiking a lot out in the woods in my time off.)

Ingeniören: You played for Ljungkile when they played in Allsvenskan, What are youre expectations about Sarpsborg 08 and Norwegean first division?

Colin W. Burns: After playing a year in the Allsvenskan, I've been determined to get back to playing at a high level and I feel that playing with Sarpsborg will provide me with that opportunity again. From what I have seen and been told, the Addecoleagean is a good standard of play with many good players and teams so I think it will be another good challenge for me.

Ingeniören.: What are youre ambitions as a player, are you reaching for a higher level?

Colin W Burns: I think as with any player, I hope to play at a higher level. I have gone up a level in about every year I have been a professional and I hope to continue that. My current goal is to get back into the goalkeeping picture with the US national team.

Ingeniören: You grew up in the us. where soccer arent the biggest sport, Why did you choose soccer?

Colin W Burns: Soccer isn't the biggest sport in the US but it is the biggest youth sport in the US, so just about everyone plays at some point when they are younger. I played all the other sports in the US growing up, Baseball, Basketball, American Football, Ice Hockey(I was a goalie too) and track and field. Soccer just seemed to stick for me. It was right around World Cup 94 when I really fell in love with soccer. We played everyday all day long growing up, trying to emulate what we saw on TV. We didn't even have a professional league in America at that time, so the World Cup was a big deal for all of us young soccer kids.

Ingeniören: What was youre boyhood dream?

Colin W. Burns: My boyhood dream was to play soccer in Europe. So basically I'm living it! There wasn't a whole lot of soccer on TV when I was growing up but we had this one magazine, Soccer America, that did a lot of stories on Americans playing in Europe. One of the first stories I read, was about Kasey Keller starting his career and playing a few years at Millwall. He talked about how great it was and how very few Americans were doing it. I read the story and said, I want to do that too!

Ingeniören: Who was youre rolemodell as a little goalkeeper? (Kasey Keller? :-)

Colin W. Burns: Role model as a kid = Kasey Keller. The guy basically blazed the trail for every future American goalkeeper. He set the standard and made American keepers fashionable in Europe.

Ingeniören: What did you know about Norway before you came here, And was it like you thought?

Colin W. Burns: I have to admit that I did not know much about Norway before I signed. I have been there a few times but mostly for preseason matches against Sarpsborg and Stromgodset so I didn't get to see much. I know of the other Americans playing in the Addecoleagean and Tippeleagean in terms of Norwegian football. A lot of my friends in the US are of Norwegian decent so they are very anxious to come visit me in their mother land. I really want to see the fjords, I hear they are beautiful.

Ingeniören: Its in the news that youre ambitions is to play for youre national team. Do you think thats posible in Sarpsborg 08?

Colin W. Burns: Playing for the US national team is one of my career goals. I believe it is absolutely possible to achieve that playing for Sarpsborg. I was on the radar of the national team after my year in the Allsvenskan, so I know that I'm close. With a new world cup cycle coming up after the 2010 world cup, there will be a lot of new players trying to get a look for the 2014 cup. I think if I have a good enough year and the team has a good year, its possible in the near future. Clarence Goodson was called in while playing for Start in the Addecoleagean two years ago so anything is possible.

Ingeniören: You saw the match between Sarpsborg and Hønefoss. What do you think of how Sarpsborg 08 is playing?

Colin W.Burns: I said it then, and I'll say it again, Sarpsborg plays very attractive football. They played incredibly well against the top team in the league and made them look like they didn't even have a chance of winning the game. They play as a team and everyone seems to work hard for each other and I really like that.

Ingeniören: What do you think of good old Sarpsborg stadium?

Colin W. Burns: I like Sarpsborg Stadium. It has a lot of character! The location in great being right downtown and easy to walk to for everyone. It looks like it has been updated recently with the new field so that is a big advantage for the players. The terracing on the far side is great for you guys in the supporters section, seems pretty loud over there!!

Ingeniören: Our supporterclub is called Fossefallet (The waterfall). How important is a good supporterclub for you?

Colin W. Burns: I think it is very important to have a good supporters club. It's good to know that you have supporters there with the team through the good times and the bad, through the rain, snow, sleet, hail and sunny skies. Its always a good feeling to have people that expect so much of you and support the club 100 %.