After Thursday’s practice, ASN spoke with Revs defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph about the upcoming home match with the Chicago Fire, his role in the squad and his choice to play for the Grenada national team.

Joseph is a four-time selection to the MLS All-Star Team and was twice voted into the MLS Best XI.

ASN: How did practice go today (Thursday, May 1)?
Shalrie: It went good. It’s good to see a lot of guys who’ve been hurt, banged up, come back today. We’re looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully they’ll be ready to play, but if not, I’m looking forward to playing with the same guys I’ve been playing with for the last couple of weeks.

ASN: What are you expecting from the game this weekend?
Shalrie: The Chicago Fire gave us a spanking at their place. We’ve got to return that. We know it’s going to be a tough battle. They’ve got a lot of creative offensive guys up front, and we’ve got to neutralize them and just play our kind of game Saturday.

ASN: You stepped up big time in last week’s FC Dallas game. What do you attribute to that performance?
Shalrie: I just tried to do my normal duties. We’re missing a lot of guys now, and a lot of the new guys are trying to put in extra until the injured guys come back. With me, I just try to do my normal stuff. Get in the tackles, play the balls, distribute them, whatever the team needs.

ASN: Your team mates needed you a lot in the last game.
Shalrie: Yeah, it was a hard game. At Dallas, it was kind of a crazy environment, being away from home and missing a lot of guys. But, we got three points and a big goal by Khano Smith. We just try to move forward from that.

ASN: Sometimes it gets real hot out there with a lot of guys - altercations, whatever. When players have issues and the referee steps in, you always seem to keep a cool head, stay aware. How you find your center in all that heat?
Shalrie: It’s difficult because I’m a guy who loves a confrontation, so I just try to be a leader out there, try to lead the guys, calm them down. We’ve got a job at hand. We know it’s going to be a scrappy game, it’s going to be a war, it’s going to be a battle out there, but you try to keep your cool and keep your composure. With the young guys, we get a lot of fights on this team. I try to be calm all the time.

ASN: Okay, so how do you keep your composure in those situations?
Shalrie: You just try. We talk about it before games. We know what kind of game it’s going to be. We know how physical the game is. We just got to be calm, be ready for whatever comes.

ASN: How do you help these new guys get ready, prepare them to go on the field?
Shalrie: We got a loose bunch in the locker room so it’s always fun before the game. We relax and enjoy the moment . . . When a young guy steps in at this time of the season, we just try to tell him what his job is, what we need from him, just go and have fun, enjoy the moment.

ASN: Are you looking forward to the Brazil game?
Shalrie: Yeah, Brazil came here last year and the atmosphere was crazy. Having them come back again will be a joy and it will be a pleasure to watch them again.

ASN: You play for the national team of Grenada. You moved here when you were ten and you’re twenty-nine now, so most of your life has been here.
Shalrie: Yeah, New York and Boston.

ASN: A lot of people have said, “wouldn’t it be great to have Shalrie Joseph play central midfield for the U.S. national team.” Have you pondered an alternative fate?

Shalrie: Yeah, when I was 21 or 22, I played for the U.S. . . . But then I got the opportunity to play for Grenada and I took that opportunity. I wasn’t thinking about the future, I was just thinking, “right now is a great opportunity to represent my country.” Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way I wanted . I regret it sometimes and sometimes I just kind of look at it as a mistake. But you move on, and try to make your life better right now.

I bring a professional environment, what I’m accustomed to up here - the training - Grenada is not one of the biggest countries. We don’t have a lot, but I just try to show them where I come from.

ASN: So when you come back here from Grenada, what do you bring with you?
Shalrie: Music. And I tell the guys how the trip was. These guys are fun, they’re great to be around. We have a lot of fun in the locker room.