(See previous LouCity Q&As with striker Chandler Hoffman, midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye, forward Kenny Doublette and defender Ben Newnam.)
What’s your favorite thing to do off the field?
Skateboarding and golfing.
Are you a big golfer?
I want to be. I go a lot, but I’m still terrible. Same with skateboarding — I go a lot, but I’m still terrible.
Do you skateboard around Louisville?
Yeah! Especially when I was in college, I did it more. Now, I have to be a little more careful with it, but I like cruising around on a skateboard.
What do you usually do to prepare for a game?
Sleep in and then take a nap. I sleep a lot on game days.
Do you have any good luck charms or rituals?
No, I don’t believe in superstition or anything like that.
How do you usually approach training or know when you’ve had a good day at training?
If you win, so that’s how you approach it. Just try to win, and if you do then it was a pretty good day.
How did you end up in Louisville?
By way of six different teams. I was at Charlotte last year — we played (LouCity) twice — and they were such a good team and I thought they were the best team we played and something I wanted to be part of. James (O’Connor) is a great coach, and I have some ties to the city because I went to college here and my girlfriend lives here. Everything made sense for me to come and play here, and it’s been great.
Did you like coming back after having left after college?
Yeah, it’s awesome. I spent so much time here. I’ve lived here for now five years and I know the city well and it’s fun.
Do you get to take everyone else out who doesn’t know the city and show them the sights?
Sometimes. At the beginning I was telling them different ways to go, but they’ve been here a year or two and everyone has kind of discovered everything that they want to find.
Do you have a favorite soccer memory?
I’ve had a lot of great memories — probably going to the College Cup finals.
If you had to play another position, which would it be and why?
Goalkeeper of course! It’s so easy, you just stand there. All practice, all game — you don’t have to do anything. Us field players are bombing around the field the whole time and the goalkeepers just stand there and make a save.
Are you going to give Greg Ranjitsingh a run for his money?
Yeah, what an easy job, you know what I mean? I think I could do it.
If you weren’t a pro soccer player, what would you be doing?
I don’t know. Like, what would I do if I could do anything? Or what would I be doing? Because I would probably just be doing something selling insurance somewhere. But if could be anything, I’d be a pro skateboarder.
Do you have a favorite sport other than soccer?
Skateboarding. Hockey — I play a lot of hockey in the winter. When my grandfather’s pond freezes, we play pond hockey. That’s a good sport, but still probably skating. I go home and watch skate videos a lot.
Do you have a gameday playlist?
No, not really. Well, I listen to the same songs on gameday, so I guess I do. It’s all just 90s and early 2000s rap music.
If you could eat dinner with anyone, who would it be?
Barack Obama, for sure. What an awesome guy. I want to listen to him talk a lot.
Any particular reason?
I just think he’s great. He’s so smart, and I just feel like I’d be awed at everything he’d say.
Do you prefer to cook for others or have others cook for you?
Oh, I like doing the cooking. I love cooking. Every once in a while at the house, my girlfriend will cook for me, but mostly I’ll make her dinner.
Do you have a favorite meal you like to make?
Probably shrimp risotto. It’s nice and easy. It’s delicious. It’s quick.
Where is some place you’d like to travel?
That I’ve never been before? Probably Ibiza.
Where else have you been? Have you done a lot of travelling?
I’ve been everywhere. I’ve been to Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland — no, not Iceland — I’ve been to Finland.
What are you hoping to do this offseason?
My parents live in Colorado, and all three of my siblings live in San Diego, so as soon as the season’s over I’ll probably head out to San Diego and go hang out with them and then go to Colorado to go hang out with my parents.
What’s one thing on your bucket list?
Me and my brother — we’ve been talking for a long time — we really want to go see the Northern Lights. We’ve been trying to find a good time to plan a trip to go see them. I think that’d be awesome to see in person.
Do you have a favorite TV show?
Archer. It’s a great show, but second to that is definitely New Girl.
Are you a big fan of the comedy TV shows?
Yeah, I’ll do the dramas. Entourage is my favorite show, but for shows that are still going on it’s for sure Archer and New Girl. They’re funny to me and easy to watch.
Do you have a favorite film?
That’s tough. Maybe Fight Club. What a great movie.
Do you have a favorite book?
Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever read one of those. No, if I had to pick one…Harry Potter, is that…? The movies are better. I’ve seen the movies, so I’d assume the books are good as well.
What is something that you completely geek out over?
Probably just the stuff I’m interested in. I’ve not talked to anybody about that stuff, to be quite honest. But maybe if I hear someone talking about soccer or skateboarding or Chipotle, I’ll just go jump in the convo and give them my two cents.
So is Chipotle your favorite restaurant?
Oh yeah! Head and shoulders. It’s so great. The workers at the one over by the apartments, they’re really nice to us, they take care of us, they know all of us by name, we know all of them by name, and we go in there so much. It’s great.
What is something your teammates don’t know about you?
A lot of them don’t know that I had a buzzed head for the first 24 years of my life, and just this year I’ve grown my hair out. I think they only know me as long-hair Paolo. And they also don’t know that the hair that gets stuck in the shower is not mine. It’s mostly Greg’s, but for some reason I’m forced to clean it. So, I’d just wish that they’d all know that it’s Greg’s hair that’s getting stuck and they’d make him clean it once and a while.
