The Boy Done Good (Part Three)

In Part Two of our feature on Brian McBride, we finished with Brian having resigned himself to the fact that life at VIF Wolfsburg wasn`t to his liking and how he`d decided to return to America to play for The Columbus Crew.

Deep down though, Brian still harboured a dream of making it big-time in the professional game and moving back to America was, in the end, to prove to be an inspirational decision.

In his first season with Columbus Crew, McBride hit 17 goals in 28 games making a name for himself. McBride stayed eight seasons with Columbus and was a leading light in the American team that made the 1998 World Cup.

Slowly but surely the dream a young McBride had of making it as a seasoned professional was starting to take shape and it was Preston North End who made first contact with his agent, his older brother Matt.

Recalling the moment, the now more mature McBride had this to say,

"I was interested."

"The pay was more and I felt I was ready. I had changed as a player, I was much more confident. Playing internationally made me think I could handle it."

McBride moved to Preston on a loan deal. At the time Preston North End were managed by a young David Moyes, a man who was starting out in the managerial game and a man who, in later years, was to make quite an impact.

Brian has fond memories of his time at Deepdale and with Moyes describing Moyes as,

"If you had to describe him in one word it`d be intense, and it`s the kind of intensity that transfers to you as a player."

Unfortunately, in his first game playing for Preston, McBride suffered a knock picking up a serious injury, an injury that was to sideline him for a long time, recalling it McBride remarked,

"I wanted to show them I wasn`t afraid of taking a tackle. I took a shot in the arm, no big deal. But a few days later, one of the guys noticed that my arm was swollen to twice its normal size."

McBride had a blood clot and facing six months out of action he returned to America, once again.

Was the McBride dream ever going to happen, return for Part Four tomorrow.

The Boy Done Good - Part One, Click Here

The Boy Done Good - Part Two, Click Here

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