MetroFanatic: Aaron, are you officially signed to the first team?
Aaron Long: Yes, I am!

MF: Because they never announced it... upper management is not really on top of stuff.
AL: That's not my department, so... (laughs)

MF: You were never a defender before last year, correct?
AL: Yeah.

MF: And now you're USL Defender of the Year, and a place with the first team. How did that transition work out?
AL: Jesse saw qualities in me that he thought would be good as a defender, and he wanted to play me there for one year with the Red Bulls II team and see how it all pans out. It worked very well, and he's very happy with me.

MF: So what are some of these qualities?
AL: I'm not sure. I think I fit this system very well. I'm good at the press, I'm good with my feet, fast player. We need speed in the back, so a lot of qualities that Jesse likes.

MF: You played some Champions League, are you expecting to start in a couple of days?
AL: I'm not sure, that's Jesse's call. I hope I do, and if I do, I hope I show well.

MF: You were all over the place, Portland, Seattle, and you never latched on. Now does it feel that this is the place for you?
AL: It does. I feel comfortable. I'm hoping to plant my roots in New York, and with this team. I'm very comfortable here.

MF: The USL season was very special...
AL: Yeah, definitely. The team last year was very special, we had a really good bond, and I think it showed on the field. We broke a lot of records and it was good to hold a championship trophy at the end of it. Transitioning to the first team hasn't been to hard, since I trained with the first team a lot last year. It's been a very easy transition, the teammates have made that easy, and so have the coaches.