Holden gets personal with England rivalry
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For the United States, the chance to make a dream start to the World Cup will be motivation enough when it lines up Saturday at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg to take on England, one of the world's top teams.
For Stuart Holden, his reasons are more personal.
Holden spent the first 10 years of his life in Scotland, where the anti-English feeling is so strong that one of the best selling shirts in the clothing shops of Edinburgh and Glasgow this week simply reads: "A.B.E." – "Anyone But England."
Since Scotland failed to qualify for the tournament, most Scots don't care who wins as long as it's not the hated neighbors from south of the border. So Holden has even more reason than his U.S. teammates to want to inflict an embarrassing defeat on the English.
"In a sense, I feel as if I am representing two nations, the United States and Scotland," Holden said. "I can fly an American flag on my back, and still have that loyalty towards Scotland.
"I am proud to have lived in the States for 14 years. My family is also proud of our Scottish heritage, but when it came down to a soccer choice, I felt loyalty to the USA."
Holden moved with his family from Aberdeen to Texas as a youngster and his soccer career flourished in the American system. He spent two years at Clemson before joining Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo and forcing his way into Bob Bradley's U.S. side.
He now plies his trade with Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League and is a regular with the national team, having committed himself to his adopted homeland even when former Scotland boss George Burley expressed interest a couple of years ago.
When the 24-year-old walks out to take on England at Rustenburg, it will be a proud moment for the Holden family but one tinged with sadness. Last year, the midfielder's father Brian finally lost his six-year battle with cancer and passed away.
"It would have meant everything for him to see me play England at the World Cup," Holden said. "It will be extra special on the day because I will think of him and how this is something we achieved together.
"There is not an hour that goes by that I don't think of him and I know he's proud of me just as I'm proud of him for the way he fought his illness. I wish he could be here to see it and I'll be doing it for him and thinking of him."
