GOAL sat down with the Sweden international to talk about his transition to the U.S., NYRB's surprise MLS playoff push

Emil Forsberg moved to the New York Red Bulls ahead of the 2024 MLS season after spending nearly a decade in Germany with Bundesliga powerhouse RB Leipzig, and is now spearheading one of the most impressive playoff runs we have seen in recent years.

Early in the 2024 MLS season, RBNY were one of the league's hottest teams. However, they had a dip in form during the summer months, and some doubted their ability to compete in the postseason.

Those doubters have been proven wrong.

They knocked out the reigning champions and No. 2 seeded Columbus Crew in Round One of the postseason, winning two straight matches in a best-of-3 series, and followed it up with a home run of an effort at Citi Field against NYCFC, knocking out the with a 2-0 victory in the Conference Semifinals.

The Sweden international has been at the forefront of all three victories, but notably, the game two victory over the Crew in which he scored and assisted in an eventual 2-2 draw, and penalty shootout victory for the club.

Now, the Red Bulls are just two games from potentially lifting their first MLS Cup, and one game away from making an appearance the MLS Championship game for the first time since 2008. With Forsberg at the helm, they're not looking back, only forward, and they're ready to make history.

GOAL sat down with Forsberg to talk about his transition to MLS, embracing NYC culture, his first season as a Red Bull and the playoff run and more in the latest Wednesday Convo

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowON HIS FIRST YEAR IN MLS

GOAL: It’s nearly one year now since your arrival to MLS, what has that experience felt like?

FORSBERG: I mean, it feels crazy. I think the time has been going on fast. I had some tough couple of months with the injury, but now I can't say anything bad. It feels good. It feels fantastic to be where we are right now. Conference Final. It's been a long year, but it's been ups and downs, I think, for us, but this kind of shows how good we can be when we work together as a team. And, yeah, it's been a fun first year, for sure, apart from my injury, I think it's been a fun year.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportON THE MOVE TO THE U.S.

GOAL: Has anything in MLS kind of caught you off guard in terms of maybe the player ability, the physicality, maybe the distance traveling between matches and cities? What are those takeaways that you you initially didn't expect?

FORSBERG: Before I came here, everybody told me that it's a physical league. I think the players are better than a lot of people expect, and I think that's the case. I think a lot of people think every player is very good. I think the quality is good. It's better than you expect. And I think… the travel, yeah, it can be some long hours in the plane, but, I mean, it's OK. When I played in Sweden, we traveled by bus everywhere. So I mean, I'm used to long hours sitting and waiting. So apart from that. It's been good… I'll just go with the moment and go with the flow.

GOAL: How did the move actually come about? Was it the connection between the two clubs, or was MLS always a destination you had in mind?

FORSBERG: I think it just came naturally. I think it was just the right time for it, the right moment, and we just grabbed it and said, 'Let's do it.' And I think it's not just one guy who has to be on board. Everybody has to be on board. And it was a decision for everybody. So it, yeah, it just came naturally. I would say I was nine years in Leipzig. It was unbelievable. I'm so proud of it. But like I said, I think it just came naturally to this point where, like, yeah, it's time.

ON LIFE IN NEW YORK

GOAL: Leipzig to New York. It's a bit of a culture shock in terms of city life. What is life like for you now, and what parts of the city really draw you in?

FORSBERG: I'm a guy who doesn't try to make anything bigger or worse. Of course, there's differences, but I just go with the flow. I have been feeling very well. I think it's different of course – you come to New York, the biggest city in the world, haha, the city that never sleeps. But I'm here to do a job. I'm here to do my job, and that's to play soccer and try to be successful. So my mind has always been on that. So it's been an easy transition, to be honest, because I'm not that kind of guy that's trying to look for errors, I'm just like going with the flow. I'm accepting everything, and I'm a simple guy.

GOAL: A major part of living in the NYC area is exploring the food scene, what have you made of it?

FORSBERG: I love the bagels here, to be honest, I have bagel every morning here. If I go out, I'd probably be in a, like, egg and cheese. But mostly, if I do it at home, I do with, like, pepperoni and cream cheese with some chili pepper. It's insane. So good! But from that, I think there is a lot of good food here, like the pasta restaurants you can find, and sushi restaurants. I mean, you have some places to go to.

GOAL: Are there any other American activities you've become fond of, perhaps sporting events like the NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL?

FORSBERG: I have a big passion for ice hockey. I love ice hockey. I played it when I was younger, and we have a lot of fantastic Swedes in the (NHL) doing great. I have some friends in the league, so it's fun to go and watch some hockey games in the Madison Square Garden or at the NJ Devils. I have a lot of options. I'm a little bit spoiled that way. But apart from that, I'm getting to know the NFL a little bit more now. I have a fantasy team. We're doing OK, but I'm getting more into that. I think the NFL is fantastic. I love that every Sunday is fantastic to watch some NFL. Yeah, I'm learning the rules more and more.

AFPON ZLATAN'S INFLUENCE

GOAL: Was there ever a conversation with Zlatan about coming to MLS, or did you ever ask him for any suggestions about the league or anything?

FORSBERG: We spoke about MLS a couple of years ago in the national team, when he was here. And apart from that, not much more… he liked it, said it was fantastic. Too easy for him, of course (laughingly). We talked about it a little bit, and not much more.

GOAL: Sweden's atop their Nations League Group at the moment with 16 points. How exciting is that for the team?

FORSBERG: I think we are doing fantastically. I think with development now, the last year has been really good. We have a new coach, and we got young players taking responsibility more and more playing in top leagues, in top clubs. So I mean, the future of Sweden is very, very bright. And, yeah, we're all excited. We know we have a lot of potential, and we just want to get it out there on the pitch.