Two people are debating on the phone who is better at pingpong. Their parents are smiling at the familiarity of it all. The rivalry between two of America's most gifted young football players is not going to be affected by 6,000 miles. After finishing his training at FC Salzburg, the 21-year-old is home for the day. Paxten is at the Philadelphia Union. A group of people are sitting in a flat in Anif, a village on the outskirts of Salzburg, Austria. Since the boys were young, they have heard these back-and-forths. Who won at pingpong the last time?
- Brenden: No. You didn't. No chance. I won, I kicked your butt.
- Paxten: Dad, dad remember ...
- Brenden: No, it was Christmas Eve ...
- Paxten: He was beating me and then I finally got the rhythm back and I started whooping his ass.
- Brenden: OK, you got your rhythm back but then I crushed you like 10 times at night and you threw your paddle -- you kept slamming your paddle!
- Paxten: I ended up winning the series three to two because I won the last game!
- Brenden: That was after I beat you five times.
Janell said we could go on and on for hours.
Paxten says he would win if it was a cornhole. Janell can only laugh and roll her eyes.
Brothers who have grown up to be best friends have good-natured banter. Soccer is the only sport they do not argue about. There is an awkward to-and-fro between the two people when they are asked who would be the team's first-choice No.10 Time zones mean that Paxten catches up with Salzburg games after training, while Brenden checks his phone first thing to see how he has done. Two people are giving advice to one another.
It has always been like this, the two growing up three years apart, but on the same trajectory, starting their pro careers with Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, hitting their growth spurts late and causing all sorts of havoc on the field. They both scored in their first MLS starts and are part of the golden generation of U.S. men's national team talent. Paxten could yet gate-crash the tournament depending on form and injuries, while Brenden is in the mix to go to Qatar. Paxten will one day follow in his brother's footsteps and go to Europe, with several clubs already interested.
They are the best brothers to break through in U.S. men's soccer history. They are just polite, young chaps who happen to be incredibly gifted. They talk and run fast, but they walk slowly. They take everything football throws at them in stride.
The way they have been raised and the way they live their lives has led them to light up U.S. soccer in their own way.
We should meet by the big yellow house on Getreidegasse. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart grew up there. We are free to be tourists for the afternoon after the introduction of Brenden and his family.
Janell recalls the shock at seeing her boy get asked for an autograph in Florida when he was back in the USA, but he lives in Austria. A couple of his teammates are stretching their legs on a walk the day after they won at Austria Wien.
The Sound of Music, which was filmed in and around the city, instructed the Aaronsons in their knowledge of the area. Their first visit was when he arrived as a 6m signing in January of 2021. His parents traveled with him, and when they arrived in Salzburg, they doubled the number of people in their hotel. While his mom dealt with ikea, he spent time at the club getting to know his new teammates and in a time of lockdown, that was his only social interaction.
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It was hard to adjust at first. He lived with his parents in a small town in New Jersey with a population of 23,000. He and his siblings live there.
Soccer has always been in the family. Real Jersey, a high-level youth club, is coached by a man who played in college at Monmouth. The kids tried every sport, but Paxten fell in love with soccer. That is one way to go, but it is not our way or my way. It was amazing to play football in the backyard with my boys. I thought I was making a comeback.
It was a big commitment from all of us, Janell says. They sacrificed so much, they missed dances, went out with their friends. Soccer trips would be our vacations.
For their age, Paxten and Brenden were small. As his boys had to fight, kick and scratch to hold their own in matches dwarfed by other players of their age level,Rusty would watch from the sidelines. The time was hard as he was getting killed and killed.
The other coaches would grab a kid and throw him on the ground when they were bigger. They kept on going even though they were always beaten down with their size.
Janell said that there is always going to be someone better than you and that you have to do your best. When they were young, they had to be smart with their feet and soccer IQ because they weren't the strongest.
He hit a growth spurt when he was close to his 16th birthday.
Paxten had the same trajectory for his physical and footballing activities. Both coped with rejection as the age-grade U.S. sides initially overlooked them. I cried when I missed out on my first U14 camp. My parents always told me to focus on working hard and doing the things behind the scenes, even though I didn't go to the U20 World Cup.
The setbacks helped them grow, while their parents adapted to the new world.
Chris Brewer, one of our favourite coaches for Brenden from the Academy, told me that he would be a pro when he was 13 years old. At the end-of-season parents' evening, he told me: "Who cares about the national team at 15?" He shouldn't care, you shouldn't. He will be on the national team by the time he is 21.
The original plan was for him to go to college at Indiana, but he continued his education at Philadelphia's YSC, playing for their feeder club Bethlehem Steel in the USL Championship before then. There weren't many home-grown players at Philadelphia back then, but it has evolved very quickly to where it is now.
When agents came knocking, the family was always adjusting. They went with another agency because he found it too much for him.
When it comes to club decisions and the final decisions on contracts or transfers, there was strong guidance throughout, with his grandfather Jan being a avid reader on football, his father having strong business skills and his mother looking after his finances. When Salzburg made a bid for Brenden, he had other offers on the table, including one from the premier league and another from Belgium.
Janell says that they have always said that they would rather you take a baby step than go from one extreme to another.
The training ground at FC Salzburg is empty, so Brenden gives a quick tour of the club's state-of-the-art facilities. You can get to the first-team practice pitch by going to a wall of football boots by the door. The biggest cluster of shoes is next to the cubbyhole number 11. He gets along with them despite being competitive. The coaches are young.
The club has an impressive track record of developing young players and moving them on so it has been the perfect place for Brenden to learn. Their notable alumni include Sadio Mane, Naby Keita, Takumi Minamino, Enock Mwepu, and Patson Daka. In the top flight, there were players from the likes of FCB, Salzburg, and Xaver Schlager, as well as from the likes of Amadou Haidara, and Dominik Szoboszlai. Then there was Erling Haaland, who just signed for Manchester City after moving from FC Salzburg.
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The Red Bull Arena is where the Wall of Fame is located. The plaques on the West Stand highlight the club's achievements while also listing the trophies they won. It is a long list. They won their ninth straight Austria Bundesliga title in April and followed it up with the OFB-Cup, their eighth in nine years.
It is crazy to see the talent they have had and how well they are doing in other places.
Behind a small desk in his apartment is a double-decker clothes hanger. His medals are still hanging off the end. He has some of the shirts he has swapped in his young career, too, some of which are those of USMNT teammates he has played against in club matches, but pride of place is the Thomas Muller jersey he swapped after Salzburg's 1-1 draw with the Germans in the They were defeated 7-1 in the return leg after playing to a 2-2 draw in Austria.
It was a learning experience, but in years to come, I will say it was a tough match. I had to go through it.
He looks back on these matches as formative moments in his career. The first time he played in the Austrian Bundesliga, or the first time he played in the MLS, are some of the things he remembers. His parents have different recollections.
It doesn't get easier, and I haven't gotten used to it. I do not watch it with a bunch of people. There is a bit of anxiety. The kid hasn't touched the ball after four or five minutes. You are like, "Come on, let's go." Let's go. Let's go!
Janell's experience of watching their boys is different again.
It gets easier. I was a mess the entire day when Brendan made his Union debut. Atlanta is one of the biggest stadiums at the time. 70,000 fans, and they are throwing them to the wolves. I was just like, "Oh, God, I hope the kid doesn't play horrible." You know what I mean?" And then he scored.
The girls team I coach had a tournament in New England. We were going home. The girls were on the phone. They screamed "Oh my god, he scored" and I almost drove off the road. I thought they were messing with me. Then Janell sent me a text and I was like, "Holy s---."
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Paxten was sick and woke up to hear his dad screaming. I thought someone had died, but it wasn't.
Brothers check in with each other after each match. The time zones make it difficult for them to watch them live, as Paxten watches back the highlights or a recap after he has finished training. I started to get more opportunities.
"He checks up on me too, you know, and maybe after a bad game, I will get a message saying to keep your head up and work hard."
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Both of them scored on their first MLS starts, and there are many similarities between the two.
Paxten is very quiet, but if something doesn't go well, Brenden will let you know. Sometimes Paxten would be quiet and I would think "Holy s---, I've forgotten Paxten!", but he keeps himself to himself.
Two people are playing football at home. The clip ends with Paxten doing a Ronaldinho-esque "Elastico" past Brenden to score. He runs off after celebrating. The similarities in stature, stance and running style are amazing.
I think he likes the way I play. He can play the final ball really well and is a very good finisher. I have shown that I am more of a runner, getting the ball a bit deeper. We are both a little different.
Paxten was asked if he would like the old No. 22 shirt in Philadelphia or the 11 like his brother. Paxten wants to carve his own path at the same time as we help each other, but we are really invested in watching each other and helping each other as best we can.
He asked who would start at No. 10 if both were picked. Paxten waits a while and says that it depends on what formation we're playing.
If he makes the USMNT, the family will travel to Qatar to watch him play. The family doesn't want to book travel until he's on that plane and on his way to the World Cup. I want to be a big player for the country at the World Cup. I would like to be consistent.
I know there will be a lot of noise once we get to Qatar, but for me it has always been day by day. Don't focus on the outside stuff, accept praise, but don't take it too seriously. I will be ready for the World Cup if I focus on getting better.
Some of the family's fondest memories are of seeing the USMNT and the goal by Brenden against Canada in the World Cup qualification. It was a big game. The place was jumping after he scored, because he pressed the ball, drove it forward and then made a late run. I lost it when I saw him do that for the first time.
As we get to the subject of the World Cup and his own development, Brenden just finished watching clips of Luka Modric. He is one of the idols of Brenden. He has been honing his finishing and practicing with De Bruyne. The on-trend style of football is vertical, quick- moving.
His way of seeing the game is through visualization. He sets his alarm for 15 minutes before a match. For a few moments, he will imagine scenarios that he might encounter in the match. Jan mentioned it to him, and he thinks his grandfather learned about it after reading an article about Wayne Rooney. It is not like you are looking at yourself through a bird's eye view. It really gets you prepared.
Paxten had dreams of success, to win silverware and excel for their country. Janell joked that she would immediately think of her son if she saw him linked with a club, since he will one day play in the premier league. Both say they made it as professional footballers because of their amazing support system.
Paxten says that some talents are given everything when they are young.
There could be more to come from the family. Jaden is a promising footballer and is their biggest fan. Jaden has scored more goals than the two boys. She has the potential to go pro, but when asked if she would like to follow in the footsteps of her older brothers, she shook her head. She would like to carve her own path.
Paxten has to get back to training after the call between the two brothers is over. Milana is trying to get in touch with him. The top of the mountain is masked by the evening sky and they want to eat before the game. Who is better at the game? Paxten chimed in, but then came the counter from Brenden: "Oh, I've been grinding, bro." You don't know. You won 11-1 the last time we played, but I have been grinding.
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