MetroFanatic: Damien, every year your contract runs out, or they drop you, but then you come back. What's going on?
Damien Perrinelle: I think you need to ask this question to somebody else.

MF: He is gone!
DP: Who are you talking about?

MF: Ali.
DP: Maybe, I don't know. Since I started to play, as a professional soccer player, it was always like that. Nobody expect me, and then I had my response on the field. I'm glad to be back for one more year... maybe another year after this one, I hope, we'll see. That's part of this business, we need to play with that. The sure thing is that I'm glad to be back with this organization.

MF: Your first year, you come in midseason, play a little. Next year, people were pleasantly surprised to see such high quality from you.
DP: I can understand, because I came from nowhere. This time, nobody know me in the United States. That's also what I want, when I came here, I want to start from scratch, my new career in the United States, with no picture on my back, as I could get when I was in France. I start from scratch, and Jesse helped me a lot to improve myself in this team, in this league. That was my goal, to prove that I can play in this league.

MF: Our defense is very French. You, Collin, Zubar last year.
DP: Yeah.

MF: Do you speak French on the field?
DP: With Zubar and Collin, yeah, we talk French when we have to communicate with each other. But you know what, I'm gonna be honest with you, we don't talk a lot, because we have the same pedigrees, the French formation.

MF: Does that help?
DP: Yeah, that helps a lot, because we're on the same page when we are on the field.

MF: You did some modelling this offseason? Our female readers might want to know more!
DP: (laughs) Yeah, that was more to help a friend who started his brand, and I did another thing for French TV. That was a good thing for me, to stay in French football. It was a good opportunity for me to do something else but soccer, but to stay in the soccer world in France. Maybe to see what's gonna happen when I'm gonna be retired.

MF: Was there any thought of going back to France to play?
DP: My first choice was to stay here, but I had few things in France, to come back in France with a long-term contract. I had a choice to make. I think for me, the best thing was to be back here.

MF: Very important question. Some people on TV don't pronounce your name correctly. "Perry Nelly", they say.
DP: Let's say Perri-nelle. Perri-nelle is good.