So who are YOU and how did you get involved with the club?
I became involved with Manhattan Celtic FC after moving to the Hudson Valley midway through the 2015-16 season after a friend, Fritz Ettl, introduced me to founder and president of the club, Ian Woodcock.

What's the history of Manhattan Celtic?
Ian Woodcock, Celtic's Founder, first put a team together for the CSL 1998-99 season. Since then, the club has steadily grown to add a reserve team, two o-30 squads, a o-40 team, and a women's team. Manhattan Celtic FC has three, explicit pillars which have guided the club for many years. On-field performance and winning are the top priority for every team, manager and member of the club. Our other two pillars, off-field social and philanthropic endeavors, fill out the trio. One of the club's longest and most legendary members is Dave Linn, cofounder of Cycle 4 Survival. The MCFC C4S team is a perfect example of how our social scene and charity work blend together, which has kept the club strong and active for it's 20+ years.

The club had a successful run last season, how do you build for the next year?
Our success has been built off a large organization of players and managers who have been part of the club for 3-15+ years. Since I have been part of the club, our year over year player turnover has decreased every season. So far as for the upcoming '20-'21 season, we have been able to be very selective with who we trial, since 25+ core first and reserve players are returning from the '19-'20 season.

Obviously COVID has wrecked everything, so how has the club handled it? Are you staying in contact with players? Any chance to practice or kick around?
There has been no chance to kick it around as a team since the lockdown began in March. Our 6 teams have a robust network of Whatsapp groups which are active and keep things lively. Management has been very clear over the past few months about expectations for the First team in the upcoming season. Since training resumed on Sept 1, we have been focused purely on on-field performance and winning the 1st division.

Can you tell us about a couple of your players?
Sean Dorian (Dublin, Ireland) is our 6'6'' center back who keeps things in order throughout the defense. Marco Charnas (Buenos Aires, Argentina) is our center forward who in the CSL D2 '19-'20 season was t-1st in scoring (12), and 3rd in assists (4). The rest of the team is a blend of speed, strength, and South American finesse, rooted in the midfield by Dan Arvidson (Brazil) who last season was 1st in assists (7), Cesar Serna (Paraguay), Dan Korman (Belgium), Sala Campos (Chile), and Felipe Francato (Brazil, recruited from NYAC). Over the past 5 years, we've rostered players from over 5 continents and 30+ countries on the First and Reserve team alone, which is a testament to our city and our club culture.

The club gets involved in charitable efforts in their community.

From the outside looking in, it seems like Cosmo League is very competitive. Can you talk about the league and the level of play?
You are spot on. I played in the Bay State League while going to school in Massachusetts prior to moving to the Hudson Valley, and was extremely impressed with the jump in competition once in the CSL. Honestly, it all makes sense if you consider NYC and the history of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, which started in 1923 as an immigrant league and has not missed a season of play throughout it's 97-years, which include The Great Depression and WW2. The dominant clubs in the CSL all have a rich history of 20-30+ years in the tri-state area, and the level of talent is only rising as clubs such as KidSuper Samba AC and Cedar Stars Academy burst onto the scene and make noise. The CSL Executive Board from the President and General Secretary down is committed to facilitating the highest level of play amongst it's 112 teams, which has led to a rich proving ground for young players to develop skills amongst experienced athletes who are transitioning out of international competition and into post-pro life in New York City.

A lot of clubs in the league have names that reference cultural keywords, this seems to be a very traditional naming convention, so can you talk about your club's ethos and why it chose the name it did?
The Celtic Football Club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigrant Irish in the East End of Glasgow, and has gone on to win over 100 trophies in the Scottish Premier League and European Football. For Manhattan Celtic FC, we represent a vast group of Internationals and Americans who choose to live in New York City for its culture. Members of our club embody work ethic, respect for teammates, and respect for the club, which breeds an ethos of healthy competition and camaraderie within club activities, as well as in career and professional endeavors. It is the hyper-competitive culture and no-bullshit style which is part of both names, "Manhattan" and "Celtic", which defines our club and its members.