MIAMI — On fire striker Brian Brown concedes that Major League Soccer (MLS) is a mouthwatering prospect, for not only himself, but other Jamaican players looking to land professional contracts abroad.
The Harbour View FC top gun said the league’s raised profile and improved quality of play makes it a place where he would not be opposed to taking his game.
“I would be comfortable playing there (in the United States) as players from all over the world are playing there, or who have played there, like Thierry Henry and David Beckham,” said the 21-year-old Jamaican international. “The league is getting better and stronger. It’s like the first place for a lot of Jamaican players to stop before they move on to Europe.”
While the sky is the limit for the former Montego Bay United front man, his attention and commitment are firmly grounded with Harbour View FC, which leads the Jamaican Premier League with 37 points.
“My focus right now is with Harbour View and helping them to defend their title,” said Brown, who is the league’s leading scorer with 10 goals.
Since joining the club, situated in the east of the Jamaican capital Kingston, Brown noted that he has made quantum leaps in his game.
“Harbour View is most definitely helping me to become a better player,” he reasoned. “As far as I am concerned, any player that comes to Harbour View becomes a better player, and I must say since I have been here my game has just been going up and up.”
“My immediate goal right now is to score at least 10 more goals for the season, and I think if I can do that, which will put me on the map.”
Brown’s superb campaign, according to him, is a dividend on “hard work”.
“The hard work that I have been putting in is paying off,” said the 21-year-old. “The team has been good to me and I just want to just to help it lift the championship this season.”
With two caps for Jamaica under his belt, Brown says the competitive culture within the Harbour View squad helps to keep him on his toes.
“Sure, I have to work hard to keep my place as there are other good strikers here working hard too, and if you slip up, you are going to lose your spot,” he expressed. “So you have to keep training hard and keep scoring goals.”
The former student and player at school football power Rusea High is known for scoring wonder goals.
In a Premier League match against visiting Arnett Gardens on January 5, Brown both shocked and delighted local fans with a brilliant overhead goal in what turned out to be a 1-0 win.
And he recalls it like it happened just moments ago.
“My first intention was to get the ball under control, but when I saw the height on the ball and realizing I had shaken my marker, I then decided to go for the overhead kick,” Brown recalled. “In the end. I think it was a brilliant goal for me and ranks among the best goals I have scored, but I know that there are better goals still to come from me.”
NOTES: Harbour View will attempt to qualify for the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League, when it participates in the 2014 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship. It will host a first-round group (March 21-25, 2014) that also consists of Alpha United (Guyana), Defence Force (Trinidad & Tobago) and Notch (Suriname).