Monday’s OneSoccer Player & Pundit Hangout session saw Pacific FC newcomer Marco Bustos join the show to talk about a variety of hot topics.
Bustos chatted with OneSoccer hosts Adam Jenkins, Kurt Larson, and Oliver Platt, who grilled him about his decision to leave Valour FC this off-season as a free agent and sign with Pacific FC.
“It was nothing against Valour; I enjoyed my time there… I didn’t feel like being in Winnipeg was going to push me to my limit. I needed to be in a place that was going to push me to try and ultimately win something in the (CPL) and then get out of the league,” Bustos said.
Bustos explained that being reunited with Pacific FC coach Pa-Modou Kah – they were once teammates at Whitecaps FC 2 – played a part in his decision to head to the West Coast.
“Our time together (in Vancouver), a lot of people didn’t know about our history. We played together and he was a big, big mentor of mine; probably one the biggest in my career thus far,” the 23-year-old native of Winnipeg said.
To watch the OneSoccer’s Player & Pundit Hangout with Marco Bustos in full, click here.
Bustos also revealed that several other teams reached out to him this off-season, including reigning CPL champions Forge FC. The attacking midfielder considered Forge’s offer, but he turned them down because he felt that he might not get the amount of playing time he wanted at the Hamilton-based club.
“They were interested. We got on the phone and they sent a proposal. But at the end of the day, I didn’t feel like that was the place for me. … I felt if I would have went that way, it wouldn’t have suited me personally,” Bustos offered.
“(Forge is) a team with a lot of good players, and never will I doubt my quality, but I didn’t want to put myself in a situation where a lot of the squad is rotational.”
Bustos and the OneSoccer pundits went on to discuss a number of other subjects, including how he’s been dealing with the period of self-isolation and what TV series he’s been binge-watching, his memories of playing for Oklahoma City in the USL, why he thinks it didn’t work out for him with the Whitecaps senior team, and much more.