Gazette: Lesser-known Nash brother Martin a star at ...

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Lesser-known Nash brother Martin a star at his own game - soccer

By BILL BEACON


MONTREAL (CP) - It is a long way from the glamour of NBA stardom his brother Steve enjoys, but Martin Nash is a star at his own level of his own sport - A-League soccer.

Nash, 27, took part in his first practice with the Montreal Impact on Friday and was an instant hit, darting in from his left midfield position to slip clever passes to his strikers during scrimmage. "He's a great passer - great vision and understanding of the game," said Impact coach Bob Lilley.

The same is often said of Steve Nash, the dynamic point guard for the Dallas Mavericks and the elder of the two brothers from Victoria.

But while Steve Nash tried soccer and did well enough to be one of British Columbia's top high school players, his true calling was basketball.

Martin Nash tried playing varsity basketball at Brandon University, but gave it up for the sport he was best at.



"It wasn't the right situation, so I went back to soccer," he said. "I hadn't played soccer for two years and two months later, I made the national under-22 team."

Martin Nash is used to being asked about Steve, who was named Canada's male athlete of the year for 2002 in the annual Canadian Press poll of newspaper and broadcast sports editors.

"It doesn't bother me," said Martin. "He's done well for himself and people acknowledge that.

"That's great. He deserves all the attention he gets."

The attention was all on Martin as the Impact held a two-hour workout on the full-size indoor pitch at their suburban training centre.

Nash spent the last three A-League seasons with the rival Rochester Raging Rhinos, who last season finished tied for first place with Montreal in the Northeast Division and then nipped the Impact 1-0 on aggregate in a two-game series in the second round of playoffs.

Vancouver was interested but Nash signed with the Impact this week after a disappointing winter with Third Division Macclesfield Town in England.

"It was a difficult situation because we were down at the bottom of the table and the team was set," he said of his stint in England, where he also played in the lower divisions from 1996 to 1998. "I only played one full game and played a bunch off the bench.

"They wanted me to come back next year but the money wasn't good enough to warrant staying. It's hard to get a wage your family can live on," added the married father of one.

Nash considered returning to Rochester, but said the "relationship had run its course and it was time to move on."

Then he signed on with the Impact, which needed a midfielder after Patrice Bernier left to play in Norway.

"Montreal is a great team," he said. "They were one of the top teams in the A-League last year.

"Bob's trying to build on that and that's probably why I'm here- to bring them some experience because there's a lot of young players here."

The Impact were not all strangers. Nash once played on Canada's under-22 team with defender Nevio Pizzolitto and on full national squads with veterans Nick DeSantis and Mauro Biello.

Lilley hopes he settles in quickly.

"He's very productive and efficient with the ball and he can also score," said Lilley. "We think he's going to help people like (strikers) Biello and (Eddy) Sebrango, so we're excited.

"He can play anywhere in the midfield. He needs the freedom to attack. He plays a lot in the wide areas, but Martin is a playmaker. He'll cut inside, get into the channels and pass from there."

Nash has played 24 international matches for Canada, the latest a 2-1 loss to Estonia on March 29. He remains in national team manager Holger Osieck's mix of players.

"There were quite a few players the coach would like to have who weren't there," said Nash of the Estonia game. "But I had a pretty good performance and I'll have to see if that's enough to put me onto the next squad."

For now, he must adjust to his new club, which lost its season opener 1-0 on a penalty in Charleston last week and does not play again until May 10 against Toronto.

Lilley said the break between games would allow time to integrate Nash. How quickly he adapts will determine whether he is in the starting 11 against the Lynx.