Lima Impressed By Bajraktarevic's Willingness To Learn

Lima: “There’s a level of respect given from him, which you don’t see from a lot of young kids these days."

Photo Courtesy of J. Alexander Dolan

Esmir Bajraktarevic is always looking to learn, according to teammate Nick Lima.

Bajraktarevic has a knack for producing highlight reel moments, as seen in his debut for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

While Lima recognizes the 19-year-old’s talent, he’s perhaps more impressed by his willingness to accept feedback.

“[Bajraktarević] is an exciting young player,” Lima said. “He’s a smart kid and he has a really good head on his shoulders. He wants to learn, he wants to improve.

“He’s out there doing his thing after practice, before practice, and then taking information on the practice field just from coaching staff but players, older guys.

“There’s a level of respect given from him, which you don’t see from a lot of young kids these days. They kind of expect to hear it from a lot of different angles and just take things and their talent for granted, which a lot of times only takes you so far. But he’s not like that at all.

“He’s a good kid, he works hard, he learns every day. I think when you see someone, not just him, learning every day, you know that’s special.”

Bajraktervic has started on the same side as Lima at various points during the season, including the last two games the midfielder was available for. As such, Lima has gotten an up-close look at the Homegrown player’s development.

Bajraktervic recently turned heads with his right-footed strike against Nashville SC and his game-winning bid against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Of course, Lima is impressed by the goals, especially the one scored with his non-dominant foot, but he also applauds Bajratervic’s defensive contributions.

“On and off the ball, he’s starting to become a full-field player,” Lima said. “It’s awesome to play behind him and see what he does. I just have to try to keep up with him [laughter]. But yeah, he’s a good player. He’s going to go far.”

Head coach Caleb Porter also recognizes the abilities of Bajraktervic and hopes that he continues to find the back of the net.

“I think he’s played really well,” Porter said. “He’s 19 years old, so it’s really promising to see a kid of that age start to mature and blossom, and become more goal dangerous.

“That’s the one thing I’ve said all year, he needs to make sure he contributes goals. It’s great to see the last two games he’s done that, and that he’s making good decisions in the final third, that he’s being aggressive when he needs to be but also finding the right pass as well when that’s a better decision.

“I want him to continue, I told him right after the last game, ‘I need another goal the next game.’ He can’t relax and think he’s arrived and think he is – like you guys are all saying, ‘the next coming’.

“He needs to just stay locked in and keep working hard and keep grinding and keep improving. If he does that, then maybe he’ll have a career for the next 15 years, but if he wants to be really good, he’s going to have to grind for the next 15 years.”