It’s not often you see professional athletes departing a training camp, especially this close to a FIFA World Cup, but Brenden Aaronson had a good reason to do so.
Aaronson married his childhood sweetheart Milana D’Ambra on Friday night before flying back to the U.S. men’s national team ahead of Sunday’s eventual 3-2 friendly win over Senegal. It capped off a busy seven-day period for Aaronson which featured a season-finale match with Leeds United on May 24 before taking part in U.S. Soccer’s World Cup roster reveal in Manhattan, New York two days later.
Once Aaronson got the official word from Mauricio Pochettino that he was in the USMNT squad though, he was able to relax and prepare for one of the exciting moments of his life.
“On that day where you’re waiting for the text message – we didn’t know what we were getting at that time, but the email and text message,” Aaronson said in an interview with reporters on Monday. “That was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life, so to finally get that text and then the first thing you think about is, ‘Okay, now I got to fly in.’
“You’re trying to do it all in your brain, what’s going to happen, this, that, so you’re a little bit nervous about all those things and all the logistics of it all but, like I said, I think the first thing I came to my mind was just how proud I was to be on this roster and then, I think as time goes on, the next two, three days went on, then I was able to focus on the wedding a little bit more and think about how amazing that day is going to be,” he added.
Following the roster reveal in New York, Aaronson was able to take part in a few days of USMNT training in Georgia before traveling back up to New Jersey’s Long Beach Island for his wedding ceremony. Despite showing up late to his rehearsal dinner, Aaronson was able to enjoy his wedding day before grabbing a few hours of rest ahead of a return flight to Atlanta.
Although Aaronson and D’Ambra had planned their wedding close to two years in advance, they didn’t know that the Senegal pre-World Cup tuneup would fall on the same weekend as their ceremony.
“I think I got to the rehearsal dinner at 7.30 [p.m.] – which, I was an hour and a half late – and then I woke up the next day, had my wedding day,” Aaronson said. “Then I got up at 2:30 in the morning to then go to Philly because then I wanted to get back for training, you know what I mean? I got up really early that day, probably three hours of sleep but then came in and did a little training.
“It’s funny because my brother actually did a speech at our wedding, of course, because he was my best man and he was so funny,” Aaronson added when referencing his brother Paxten, a former Union homegrown and current Colorado Rapids midfielder. “He was there when they changed the schedule to having a game on the 31st [against Senegal]. I think it was around December time, like probably around Christmas time when we got those friendly schedules and when she learned we were gonna be reporting at that time; I mean, we saw her reaction. Her face flushed, my face flushed. We were kind of like freaking out, you know what I mean? Because you put so much time and effort into having the event, she put so much time and effort. She was doing the wedding and it was just really scary.”
Aaronson returned to training on Saturday with a wedding band on his finger and one day in to a new chapter of his life off the field. USMNT teammates and coaches congratulated the 25-year-old, who is well into his sixth year as a senior international player with the program.
As Aaronson now prepares to hopefully play a part in Saturday’s final friendly against Germany in Chicago, Illinois, he credited Milana and his teammates for all of their support in making a hectic period special.
“I got congratulated from everybody,” Aaronson said. “They were very, very happy. I think they know me and Milana’s story. They know we’ve been together since we were 16 years old, so for us to have our day and for them to support it like they always have, it’s really special and I think the guys are – it’s a great bunch.
“They’ve known Milana for so long now; it’s the craziest thing, so I think to be able to spend it in the way but I think also mentally for myself, it was a great couple of days and I still think about it when I’m off the pitch but I’m ready to get back on it and and work and get ready for the World Cup,” he added.