1-on-1 with TFC II Captain Chris Mannella

Chris Mannella curently the TFC II captain as been a part of Toronto FC's setup for a while now. Being part of the Academy team since he was 15, he has risen through the ranks to make appearances for the first team. He signed his first professional contract last year and was the team's 10th homegrown player.

He even represented the national team at senior level three times, being part of the squad that faced Iceland, Guatemala and Puerto Rico at the beginning of the year. Now Mannella will take part in the 2015 Pan Am games in Toronto, representing the U-23 squad as they take on Peru, Panama and Brazil in group play.

Mannella, the captain of the Academy team that played in League 1 Ontario last year, was named as TFC II's first captain this season, and has showed a great amount of leadership and poise to help the young Reds succeed. I was able to sit down and chat with Mannella and here is what he had to say.

Favourite experience in a Toronto FC kit?

There's been a lot. I've been here for some time. Playing in the Dallas Cup was a huge won for me, but I think to date it would have to be playing against Man City.

I am a Roma fan. The Roma jersey from this past year I really like.

Favourite soccer club?

Roma is my favourite club outside from TFC. [Francesco] Totti is definitely the player I look up to and especially aspire to be.

Favourite player (minus Messi and Ronaldo)

I kind of idolized two people. Like I said, Francesco Totti is a huge one and also Andrea Pirlo is a massive one. Especially playing in my position, I look up to him so much.

Favourite boot?

I've always worn adidas adiPure when they were around.  Now they've kind of moved to the 11Pro's. I haven't tried the aces yet, but hopefully soon."

People say that you're the best FIFA (video game) player on the team, how do you feel about that honour?

Yeah I've played quite a bit. Growing up it's a fun game playing with your friends and once your having a good time playing it, there's obviously rivalries within your friends. I've been playing it for such a long time, I kind of just got the rhythm down and I guess I'm pretty good know.

Which team to you usually play with on FIFA?

I used to use Real Madrid, but now I'm into Barcelona. I kind of use the big name teams, so it's kind of unfair. I used TFC a few times.

Mannella even poked fun at the fact that he is a left back in the game and said, "EA Sports is going to have to listen to this and kind of figure it out."

Do you try to emulate your playing style after Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley?

Yeah of course. You want to try emulate him as much as possible. He is a hard working guy for ninety minutes. The stat of him from the World Cup running the most out of every single person in the entire World Cup says it all. He is someone I obviously want to aspire to be like and try to emulate him as much as possible.