Veteran defender Ryan Adeleye has been around the professional soccer block long enough to understand that his role can change in an instant.

 

Sometimes he has been a starter, other times a substitute.

 

Since joining New York Cosmos B in June, the 31-year-old Adeleye has been a reserve.

 

He made his Cosmos B debut in the team’s 4-2 victory over the Seacoast United Mariners on June 16, playing the opening 45 minutes before he was replaced by Alejandro Penzini.

 

Adeleye, who has been battling hamstring issues, doesn't know how much, if any, playing time he will receive in the team's final regular-season game against Kingston Stockade FC at Commisso Stadium Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

 

Regardless, he must show persistence in training, but patience as well as he tries to find more playing time.

 

"The only other position that's a little bit more difficult is goalkeeper,"" he said. "There's only one person for that job. But this my 10th year as a professional player, so I understand. Sometimes you never know what's going to happen. You always have to be ready. Everything can change in one moment or the next. Today you can be training, out of the 18, next game you could be starting. So, you always have to be prepared. If you stop and you're called on and you're not ready, that can be the worst thing that can happen. So, it's always important to focus on what you can do that day to get better to contribute to the team.

 

"As long as you're here and you're working hard and you're giving everything you have, you're giving your best every single day, anything else ultimately doesn't matter. Sometimes you're going to get chosen, sometimes you're not. I love playing the game. Otherwise I'd stop. There's plenty of people I grew up with or played with last season decided it wasn't for them anymore. I have a family to support and I love the game so much that if it's going to be 30 minutes, 90 minutes, 45 minutes, one minute I'm going to give it my all."

 

Since graduating the University of North Carolina in 2009, Adeleye has played in several leagues, including the United Soccer League (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), North American Soccer League (Fort Lauderdale Strikers), NPSL, and the Israeli Premier League (Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Hapoel Ashkelon, Hapoel Jerusalem). He also has performed in the Premier Development League (Carolina Dynamo, Newark Ironbound Express).

 

Adeleye started this season in a new league (NPSL) with the expansion Atlantic City FC. Things did not work out, so he wound up looking for a new team. He reached out to lifelong friends from Clifton, N.J., Cosmos B captain Danny Szetela and defender Johnny Borrajo about the team.

 

"They told me what a good group it is and how obviously professional the organization is," he said. "As soon as the Cosmos came back it was always kind of a dream of mine being not too far away. Edson Arantes do Nascimento -- aka Pele -- is my favorite player. I remember doing reports on him when I was young, and it was weird because at the time no one really liked soccer."

 

Adeleye lettered in six sports at Newark Academy, but decided to pursue soccer. He wasn't selected in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, so the 6-1, 180-lb. defender played for the United States at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.

 

He didn't go over to pursue a soccer career but played a friendly against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, which had been promoted to the Premier League.

 

"I didn't go with the immediate goal of trying to find a team," said Adeleye, who added that his top priority "was first and foremost to compete and to represent the United States. They asked me if I wanted to come for a tryout once the competition was over. I ended up signing. It was cool."

 

Adeleye played for the club through the 2012-13 season before joining Hapoel Ashkelon in 2013-14.

 

It didn't hurt that Adeleye was Jewish, so it helped him assimilate better. He has since secured Israeli citizenship, can speak fluent Hebrew, and his wife is Israeli

 

"So, my connection and my experience is maybe a little bit different," he said. "I was assimilated essentially into the culture and accepted it and loved it and I love it today. Any time you go to a foreign country, when you go and try to speak the language, that's a big help because it shows that you are respecting them and that you're trying.

 

"My experience was a little bit different. By the time I left after the first year, I could speak Hebrew. So I also gained friends who are outside of football, which is a big thing because sometimes a foreign player goes to another country and they have training and they're thinking about training the whole day. That's your whole day. That's not life. Life needs to be full with relationships and friends and experiencing the culture, which I was able to do. With me being Jewish obviously helped a ton because I knew some of the customs."

 

 

While Adeleye has settled into the squad for Cosmos, time on the playing field has been limited. Head coach Carlos Mendes, though, has liked the professionalism the defender has brought to the team.

 

"He's a guy that's played at the pro level and has gotten some experience so we felt he was a guy who could bring that experience and also push the overall level," he said. "We feel like we have very good defenders. Having them compete and push each other is going to help us down the line, obviously important for the [playoff] run. Unfortunately, he has a little bit of a hamstring [problem] and he hasn't gotten into full rhythm or has played as much as he would like to. We'll have him and have him available soon. Just love his mentality, his attitude, and work rate. He's a solid defender who leaves everything out there."

 

Cosmos B, which has clinched the North Atlantic title, has an opportunity to finish the regular season at a perfect 10-0-0.

 

"We're here to win as many games as possible," Adeleye said. "So any time you win, you feel good, whether its physically, psychologically. You know all the work that you put in as a team is working. Everything is working. This is another opportunity to help us prepare for the playoffs and we intend to do that and finish with a win."