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Issue 036: Issa Tall of Columbus Crew

IN THIS ISSUE

  • 🤝 Introduction: We’re back!

  • 👨‍🎓 Soccer Thought Leader: Issa Tall, Columbus Crew

  • 📖 Recommended Resources: Issa’s favorites

  • ⚽️ Soccer Jobs: New jobs in soccer

  • 👀 ICYMI: Must-read articles

INTRODUCTION

Greetings, Pathwayers! 👋!

January is often a time for reflection and change, and that’s been no different for our team as we took a short break at the end of the year from writing this here little newsletter.

Based on feedback from many of you, we’re shifting our focus in 2025 to bring readers more deeply into - and behind the scenes - of the American soccer industry.

In every issue, you’ll still find links to the best new jobs in soccer, but you’ll see an increased emphasis on providing insights and information based on our decades of experience and knowledge from being inside the industry.

We hope you’ll find it helpful. We are entering the most exciting (and jam-packed!) 2-year period in the history of American soccer - and we’re excited to be your tour guides the whole way through.

Let’s go!

-Kyle Sheldon, Co-Founder & CEO

SOCCER THOUGHT LEADER: ISSA TALL, COLUMBUS CREW

“Be true to yourself because there is no one pathway… we all come from different backgrounds”

For all those soon-to-be college graduates and early-career professionals, let Issa Tall be an inspiration to you.

He started his career as an intern in the MLS league office and is now a General Manager of an MLS team. Let that sink in for a moment. That’s pretty cool and really impressive.

Issa credits his parents, his upbringing in France, and his ambition at a young age as the things that shaped him into the man and leader he is today. He maintains that it was in his early years that he developed a strong work ethic, passion for the game, and an understanding that it is people, relationships, and integrity that fuels success - both on and off the field.

One of his best responses was to a question I didn’t even ask, but wish I had - Issa offered up what he would do differently if he could rewind to day one as General Manager of Columbus Crew. This awareness and openness is an awesome example of who Issa Tall is - humble, inquisitive, introspective, and always looking for opportunities to grow.

I’m confident you’ll enjoy our conversation.

-Nolan Sheldon, Co-Founder and CXO

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity (and any emphasis below is ours, fyi!)

PATHWAY: To begin, how did you get started in soccer? What ultimately made you decide to really pursue a serious career in the sport? 

ISSA: I'm from France and my parents are from Senegal and it's the number one sport in both countries. That's all I've known since I was born, essentially. My dad was watching games on TV all the time. My cousins were playing. Then, I picked up the sport when I was very young, four and a half, and that was it. It was soccer and nothing else. I played throughout my life and then it got serious when I was 13, 14 when I was recruited by professional academies. So, at age 14, I left my parents' house and lived in at a boarding academy. 

PATHWAY: What was that experience like leaving at 14? Are you glad you did it? 

ISSA: It's funny because now in my seat I would probably not do it. We had the thought of maybe building an academy here [in Columbus] with dorms and stuff, but then I prefer the system we have with host families. The kids still have that balance of being in a family, being at a normal school. But it's funny, what I'm going to say is that if I had to do it again, I would love to do it again because since I've had so many crazy experiences in my different jobs, some things that were unbelievable, but if you were to ask me what's your best experience so far, I would have to answer my time at the academy. 

Being there at 14, you lived with guys who are 19, 20, you're all in the same building and you all have the same goal and you grow so fast. I was young in retrospect, but I learned so much and I think it shaped my soccer brain and world and probably in my life, too.

PATHWAY: What impact did moving away from home at a young age and taking on that responsibility have on you in terms of building the foundation of your career early on? Before you go off your origin story, what made you decide to attend university? 

ISSA: A long story short, I was at the academy with the goal of being a pro, and at age 19, the sentence to me was, “the adventure ends here,” meaning this is it. You're not going to be a pro. I wanted to show that's not true and I'm going to do it. I chased it for a good two years of going on trial with my backpack and sleeping in places that you don't want to know, just being dedicated to that goal and it didn't happen.

I could have been comfortable just being semi-pro and tried it again, but I just wanted to do something drastic. I've always liked the U.S. from afar, the culture and stuff, and when I heard there was an opportunity to get a full scholarship and live a different experience, I just went for it. The irony was that when I came here, I was offered to become a pro, but my mind was already made up. I switched. I went to the U.S. for an education using soccer as a means for that. 

PATHWAY: From 13 and 14 on up to where you are right now, what are the qualities that you have that have allowed you to build a career and achieve a level where you're in a leadership position making big impactful decisions? 

ISSA: It started with my parents from a younger age and the value that they instilled in me in terms of self-respect, respecting others’ pride as well; and the work ethic and doing the things right and by carrying this all along. I think that's how I got here, through what my parents instilled in me. Being very ethical, that's very important, and not to disappoint people at the end of the day. I've carried that obviously in different ways throughout, and that's I think what got me here in a way. 

PATHWAY: Within your role as General Manager, you have to make big decisions, important decisions, impactful decisions. Do you have a defined decision-making process in order to arrive at the best outcome?    

ISSA: To be honest, having worked with Tim Bezbatchenko in the past - and others, too - has shown me that you're not making a decision on your own. It's always a collective decision and you put a lot of thought into those decisions as big and as little as they can be. Once you're comfortable with it, so long that you've shown respect throughout your relationship with an individual or a situation, it makes it easier. 

PATHWAY: How big is your inner-circle? And I'm sure every decision is different in this way, but if you have to take on a big decision, how many people will you bring into the dialogue? 

ISSA: It depends what decision, but if we were talking about players, the main circle is ownership and head coach and our technical director. However, I don't want to limit just to these people because it'd be so wrong to think it's just us three plus ownership to make a decision. I don't mind asking one of our managers of the scouting operation what they think.

Even on big decisions, that person may think their voice doesn't matter, but they may say something that would sway everything around. I like to hear everybody's thoughts. Obviously, when everybody confirms what you're doing is right, then be more comfortable, but I love to get people's opinions.

PATHWAY: Let's talk about Wilfred Nancy. He's been really successful as a coach. First in MontrĂŠal and now in Columbus. As you think about him as a leader, as a coach, as a teacher, what would you pinpoint as his very best quality that directly contributes to individual and collective performance? 

ISSA: I think he's very convincing in making you believe in yourself. He has this thing where he says, “respect everyone, but don't be afraid of anyone.” From day one, if he tells you that if you were to play a friendly game against a college team, you play this way; if you were to play against Real Madrid, you play the same way, meaning we are true to ourselves; and believe in yourself because you're as good as anyone if you put the work in.

I think if you see the way we play, it's very courageous, bold, and it speaks to the way he makes you feel. I think not only do the players feel that way, but also the staff. I think him being convincing and making you believe in yourself is a key part of him.

PATHWAY: Issa, think about a leader inside or outside the sport who you look towards and you want to emulate. Who would that be? 

ISSA: So obviously because I'm in sports, you look at athletes and leaders of their team, like the Tom Brady and the Ray Lewis guys, but it's not always sports, not always soccer. Personally, I like Malcolm X a lot. When you read about his story and his evolution as well, and he was seeking knowledge. When you get a chance to look at his interviews or when he was on TV, his demeanor was very calm, very composed, thoughtful. He knew what he wanted, but said it in a calm way. That amazes me how he was challenged and pushed, but he was calm and didn't care because he knew what his end goal was. He's someone I admire for sure. 

PATHWAY: Let’s get tactical. Do you do goal setting for yourself, either on a personal or professional level? If so, what is your process? 

ISSA: I think it's tied in together. I don't have a specific date to be honest with you. It tends to be ahead of the new year because it also falls perfectly with the start of a new season. Our first week started in January, but it’s how you reflect on the year, assess, and then ask what you can improve because you always seek for improvement. Even if you were successful, there's always a way to improve on things. 

What I like to do is to link a theme and I usually do three or four themes that are both tied into my personal life and my professional life. For example, this year, a big thing for me is the word “presence”. So, when I'm home, I want to be present with my family, my wife, and my kids. It's the same thing when I have a conversation with someone at work, my phone and my computer are away and I'm locked in and I'm present with that person. I'm trying to tie the two together. 

PATHWAY: Give us an inside look at your job. What is it that you say every single day, every single week, I have to spend dedicated time on this because it's that important?

ISSA: It's the people in our building. I have an open door policy where anyone can just walk past and have a conversation. It is what you get the most out of it, the most out of everything. How everything works through conversation. I’m not going to lie, it does take a lot of time, but having those one-on-one conversations face-to-face is what I spend the most time on and that's where you get the most out of people and even out of yourself. 

PATHWAY: A few quick hitters here. What is the one position within a sporting or technical staff that is undervalued that has a massive impact?

ISSA: I want to say it's more of a department - the Operations Department. When I think of our Team Manager or Player Care and our Equipment Manager or Equipment Department, without them there's nothing because things go so smoothly. You're trying to invest in those departments so that there are no hiccups because the second there's one little tiny thing, you forget about everything else. They work more than anyone here on holidays and evenings, and on weekends. When a player of ours had a baby and the player and his wife couldn't speak English, we had someone from Player Care being there for the delivery. Those things may be overlooked, but they're so, so important and that's why players and staff appreciate them at our club. 

PATHWAY: Issa, if you were to give one piece of advice for somebody who wants to start or build their career in soccer, what would that be?

ISSA: Be true to yourself because there's no one pathway. If you look at just an example, the CSOs, the GMs in MLS, we all come from different backgrounds. So, be true to yourself and be passionate about what you do. There's no one way to get into sports. 

PATHWAY: If you were to rewind to day one, year one, the first time you ever walked through the door to begin your career, what would you tell yourself then with what you know now, with all of your experience?

ISSA: I don't know if I can think that far back, but I can tell you what I would do in this new role as GM. One thing I would do that I’m trying to do now is to block time for myself in the day. When I started, it was like meeting after meeting and this and that and trying to do everything and you're being pulled everywhere. I think it's important to block off 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour [for yourself]. You find time in your calendar that you cannot talk to anyone, not look at your phone, not look at your computer, and really reflect and think big picture.  I do it every day, in the afternoon, and either it's in my office or I go on a walk, but most of the time it's in my office. I have a table where I don't have a screen, so I leave everything there except for a piece of paper to jot my thoughts on.  

A huge "thank you” to Issa for his time and insight - we really enjoyed our chat. Before you go, be sure to check out a few of the resources Issa referenced during our conversation.

Issa Tall, Wilfried Nancy and Tim Bezbatchenko

NEW SOCCER JOBS

In every issue of Pathway, we go digging for the best, most interesting new jobs in soccer. And there are several interesting ones this week.

If you decide to throw your hat into the ring, good luck!

ICYMI: MUST-READ ARTICLES

📰 Extra! Extra! 

In case you missed it, here are five articles you may have missed throughout the start of the year to help you keep up with the latest news and headlines around the soccer industry.

ALSO…

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SEE YOU SOON, SOCCER FRIENDS