Interview from Soccer Long Island Magazine http://www.soccerlimagazine.com/content/pro-soccer-monthly-david-harris-interview-nicholas-gaitan
Nice straight to the point questions and answers. Very informative. There was an interview a while back where it mentioned his Father and family were crazy, diehard River Plate fans but Nick grew up loving, adoring, and now playing for the "other" team much to the chagrin of his Papa. I hope he turns out to be as successful as the other Nicolás Gaitán who once plied his trade at Boca.
We should see less of that in Brazil going forward because the money is starting to come into the league. At least for the bigger clubs.
Confirmed: Gaitan currently on trial in Greece. https://twitter.com/ngaitan5/status/361535733904850944
Per Ted Philapakos (Gaitan's agent) via Twitter, Nicolas will join OFI Crete pending the reicept of his ITC. It was not mentioned if this is a loan or purchase. Nonetheless, good to see Gaitan land somewhere and not stuck in the reserves in Argentina. He was on trial earlier in the summer with Crete so I take it he impressed. Gaitan will join fellow YA Michael Hoyos at the club.
Thanks as always FA, a lengthy illness has had me out of commission for a while but it's great to be back!
Nicholas Gaitan: A U-20 Star Emerging in Greece Brian Sciaretta talks to the Long Island-born, South American-bred potential star who hopes to break into the OFI Crete first team soon and has his sights set on joining the United States at the World Cup. "...Nicholas Gaitan ... recently signed with Greek Super League club OFI Crete and is already closing in on the first team. He has featured prominently in friendlies and once his residency permit is filed by OFI, he will be cleared to play in official OFI games with both the first team and the U-20 squad.... When he first arrived, Gaitan was shuffling between the training with the club’s U-20 team and the first team but recently he has gravitated to the first team. As a natural box-to-box midfielder, Gaitain has also been used by the OFI staff as a “number 10” playmaking role as well. During the September international window, Gaitan started for OFI’s first team in a friendly and earned rave reviews from the press. A reporter from Crete Sports attended the game. "Good impressions were left in the first half when [manager] Pavlos Dermitzakis used 18-year-old American midfielder of the U20 team Nicholas Gaitan," the site reported. "He played as a defensive midfielder, he was disciplined, simple, marked his position, and responded successfully to the job” Someone from Crete Plus came away impressed as well: “The two defensive midfielders were Zeljko Kalajdzic and newly acquired American Gaitan who plays with the U20 team but made his debut with the first team and left very good impressions despite his young age....” “It’s looking good,” Gaitan said of potentially making his first team debut soon. “There are a lot of games with the Super League and the Greek Cup. You know how things go. There are injuries. There are only two guys in my position on the first team. Towards the end of the season, I really do think so. The first team coach likes me and I fit in really well.... The U20s are really good. I came in as a starter for them and I’ve gone a full 90 each time [in friendlies]. The coaches like what I’m doing.... There hasn’t been much talk about it but I do want to represent the United States and go to the U-20 World Cup,” Gaitan said. “That’s one of my main goals.” http://americansoccernow.com/articles/nicholas-gaitan-a-u-20-star-emerging-in-greece