Sean Doherty

“I didn’t know what the sacrifice was until I moved over here. I don't have a family to go home to every night, or I can't have my family fly on the weekend to watch my games.” USMNT midfielder Aidan Morris spoke about the hard part of playing in England. For Middlesbrough, he’s doing well on the pitch. But off the pitch, he has his struggles. Morris spoke to Men in Blazers along with Boro’s other Americans like Sebastian Berhalter, Max Arfsten, and Rokas Pukstas. “I didn’t know what the sacrifice was until I moved over here in terms of being so far away from family,” the 24-year-old said. “The time zone obviously makes things difficult. “So I was on this journey by myself and like I tell them all the time, we went through some tough times, you know, feeling alone and feeling so far away from my people. “But I think it's shaped me into who I am today. So I wouldn't trade it for anything. “And the football is special, but I think as a person and the human being side of things, I think I've grown a lot because of it. “And I love this place. I call it one of my homes now. I've met a lot of amazing people here, a lot of amazing teammates. “So yeah, it's a very special place and I love being here. “What is the hardest aspect? I don't have a family to go home to every night, or I can't have my family fly on the weekend and watch my games. “I can’t have friends I went to high school with come and watch a game. “I think every game on the weekend, I didn't have anybody in the stands. At night, I'm going to call family and it's 11 o'clock my time, and I have to go to bed so I can't really talk for long. “And just being out of touch with things back home.” Morris scored on Friday night to help his team beat Bolton. Middlesbrough currently sit on top of the Championship table, and look like the favorites to earn promotion to the Premier League.