Goodwin tells TWG:
:: About Aussies learning Spanish and Spaniards learning English;
:: What it's like to be back home in Adelaide;
:: Why he'd pick the FIFA World Cup over any other sporting event to attend;
:: What he likes to watch and who he likes to hear;
:: Why his brother is also his best mate;
:: What he hopes to achieve in his career.
TWG: There are a lot Spaniards on the coaching staff and the playing roster at Adelaide United. How's your Spanish these days?
CG: It's improving little bit by little bit. A lot of the time the Spanish boys will be talking and I'll have no idea what they're saying, but I have recently learned a Spanish card game that we play on away trips. It's called la pocha and I play it with the Spanish boys.
TWG: So you have picked a up a few words?
CG: I've got a couple, pretty much just the basic ones, like vamos and que pasa. Vamos is, like, "come on" sort of thing, and que pasa is, like, "what's happening?" Just general stuff you can use. But when they're having a conversation I have no idea what they're saying.
TWG: When you're around a few of them and they do start talking in Spanish, do you wonder if they're talking about you sometimes?
CG: Yeah, a little bit. It pops into your head. They're speaking and laughing and you're like, "are they laughing about me?" So it's a little bit like that, but most of the time when they're speaking in Spanish you get a few of the other boys saying "hey, speak in English, come on", trying to get them to practice their English a bit.
TWG: What's their English like, probably better than they let on?
CG: Yeah, they've all improved a lot. Pablo Sanchez has improved a great deal, and even Miguel Palanca, when he first came here you would say hello but you couldn't really have a conversation with him, but I think maybe that was just him being a bit shy because now you can have a full conversation with him.
TWG: You're from Adelaide originally. Are you still living in the family home since going back there or are you out on your own?
CG: I'm living at home at the moment. It just gives me the chance to be able to save a bit of money after living away from home for the past four years. I get mum's home-cooked meals and it allows me to save a bit before I decide to move out at some stage in the future.
TWG: What do you do on your day off from training?
CG: A lot of the time just relax and hang out with friends, but I don't mind playing a bit of golf or going to the beach, although the beaches here are not nearly as good here as they were in Newcastle. We don't get too many days off, but I like to play golf. I'm not very good, but I like having a hit.
TWG: Are you a bookworm, a moviegoer, a television fanatic, a music lover, more than one of those, or none?
CG: I'm definitely not a bookworm. I don't read a lot. I don't mind my movies, but I haven't seen any recently. I like TV shows. I like Suits, that's probably my favourite one at the moment. Entourage is quite good as well. I like all kinds of music, really. Vance Joy is one of my favourites.
TWG: Did you go to see The Rolling Stones when they played at Adelaide Oval in October, or do they seem prehistoric to a 23 year-old?
CG: I didn't go, no. I know they're quite a big band, but they're not really one of the bands that I listen to, no.
TWG: Mate, they haven't had a hit since 20 years BEFORE you were born! If you had the choice to attend one of the following, what would be your pick: Super Bowl, Olympic Games, World Cup, the Royal Ascot horse-racing carnival or the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao super-fight that is coming up?
CG: The World Cup. I don't think I could pass on that. Obviously the dream is to be playing in it one day, but the chance to go to a World Cup and see the best players in the world competing would be amazing.
TWG: Do any of those other ones interest you on the side?
CG: Probably the Super Bowl. I don't know all of the players, but I know the rules of NFL and I don't mind watching it every now and again.
TWG: And who would you take to the World Cup if you had two tickets?
CG: I'd have to take my best mate, my brother Daniel. He's my big brother and he'd kill me if I didn't. We're quite close. He moved away with the army for two years and then I started moving around with football, so I hadn't seen him for more than a few days at a time for five or six years until I came back to Adelaide. He's back living here now as well.
TWG: You've got plenty of pace but your Adelaide United teammate Awer Mabil is a speedster as well. Could you beat him in a race over 20 metres, 50 metres or 100 metres?
CG: I don't know. He's probably got me in a foot-race, but if you put it with a ball it might be different. I think it would be a lot closer if we were running the ball.
TWG: Where are you heading in the off-season, if you've thought that far ahead?
CG: At the moment I'm not too sure, but I would like to go to the Gold Coast with my mates. Just have a bit of a holiday there. I've been to a few different places now with football, but I've never been to the Gold Coast.
TWG: What do you hope to have achieved in the game in 10 years' time?
CG: I've got aspirations to try and represent my country at a World Cup and to push for a career overseas, preferably in Europe. Those are my biggest goals. Whether they happen or not, time will tell, but for the time being I'm enjoying my time at Adelaide. You have to focus on your career week by week and continue to perform at a high level to get those opportunities.
