MetroFanatic: Daniel, when you got injured last year, it seems the team's performance really dipped. You were MLS Player of the Month, then August, you get hurt, the team stops playing well.
Daniel Royer: (silence)

MF: Do you want to comment on how you influence the team?
DR: (sighs) Ah, that's really hard for me to tell you. I think that's a better question Jesse to ask.

MF: But he's not available right now, so that's why we ask you.
DR: The only thing I can say is that I always try to help the team when I'm on the field and I think in certain periods of last year that worked out pretty well. Of course, I noticed that not in every single game, but in some of the games where I was injured, the team wasn't performing as we were supposed to, or as we wanted. So the feeling from me, that I want to come back grew and grew and grew. I just wanted to be back as soon as possible to help them again, but I don't thing you can make that up on one player, so I don't know if I would have been fit or not injured if it would have been a better run. If that's the case that I can help the team, then I'm really glad, because that's my job and that's what I'm trying to do.

MF: It seems that the adjustment to the formation last summer, it suited you, it gave you more freedom and more power, and you seemed to enjoy that.
DR: Yeah, I think we all really enjoyed it, when we had this change of the system. I think it really worked for many games. You could see were more on unpredictable. We were more dangerous. We've got some more freedom on the field and it actually worked out really well. That something that we enjoyed, but you always have to work on with what are you going to have in your squad.

MF: Now Kaku is in the squad, probably you are on the field at the same time. How is this gonna play out?
DR: No, I don't know yet. We haven't seen that much from him, it was a little bit limited because it took a while to really to make the transfer done. As far as I can say, in training he was really good. He's a really good soccer player. I'm really excited to have him on the team, How will this work out on the field, system-wise, and position-wise, I can't tell you.

MF: I love your penalties, because you have no idea where they are going to go.
DR: I try to be unpredictable on the penalties, but I don't want to say too much, I don't want to talk too much about penalties.

MF: Never!
DR: So far so good, I just want to score.

MF: Why 77?
DR: My favorite number is seven. When I was a child, I had number seven on my hometown team. When I went to Denmark, I tried to get the number seven again and number seven was taken already. So I asked for number 77, they said yes. I liked it, I came here, seven was taken again by Derrick. (laughs)

MF: Sometimes in America they pay players for numbers.
DR: (laughs) No, no, not necessary. I like the number 77. I asked them if that's fine, they said yes and I really like.

MF: Great header last week, return leg this week... not playing for 0:0, right?
DR: No, I don't think we're going to play for 0:0. That's not our philosophy, that's not our mentality. But it will be a tough game. That's what we were expecting. I think we're always dangerous. I think we can score at any time, especially with Bradley on top.

MF: It was reverse, he fed you.
DR: It was obviously an amazing cross, an amazing pass. We always can be dangerous and expect us to score on Thursday and I'm really positive and looking forward to the game.

MF: You actually have now scored in league, playoffs, open cup, and international. You are only the fifth player in team history to do that, Bradley and Sacha are two, but no one has done it quicker.
DR: Oh wow, thank you, I didn't know. The club told me that I scored in all four tournaments and that only Bradley or maybe Sacha...

MF: Bradley, Sacha, and before that Adolfo Valencia and... John Wolyniec!
DR: Now I know. Nice side effect!