Cameron Carter-Vickers can't fully explain what keeps him so drawn to LEGO, but he can confirm one thing: he is, in fact, obsessed. There are worse things to be addicted to than construction with miniature bricks, for sure, but the USMNT and Celtic center-back does acknowledge that it's become something of a problem in his home life.
He's built several LEGO stadiums: Old Trafford, the Bernabeu, Camp Nou. If a Celtic Park set ever comes out, he'll be the first one in line. Hogwarts Castle has been completed, as has the Roman Coliseum. Name a big set, and he probably has it sitting somewhere in his house. His recent passion has been Lego cars, particularly the F1 sets, one of which he finished just before jetting off to Los Angeles for the recent U.S. men's national team camp.
The building of them isn't the problem anymore, though. Now, the hardest part of all of this is figuring out where to put them once they're done.
"I've had to streamline it," he tells GOAL with a laugh. "I've probably built most of the big sets. There was a period where I was just buying everything but now they're in boxes back home just sitting there. Someday, when I have a place I'm going to be living for a while, I'll build a display board or something."
That's the situation as it stands. As for the "why" - well, there are multiple reasons. He started as a kid, maybe about six or seven, he says. His mom used to buy LEGO sets for Christmas, and it would never take him particularly long to get them built. It was his hobby away from the field, one of the things he could do to refocus even as the pressures on him ramped up. The sets have gotten grander, of course, as have those on-field pressures, but, in some ways, that's made this hobby all the more important.
"I'm a chill guy" he says. "I'm quite aware that I look quite stern or angry or annoyed at something, but most of the time. I'm pretty chill. I'm just trying to enjoy life. I just find it quite relaxing. I'll throw something on the iPad and just sit there and start building. I quite like that little sense of accomplishment you get when you finish it."
There's a metaphor here, for sure. Carter-Vickers isn't just building towards having the best LEGO collection of any footballer; he's building towards more on the pitch, too - especially with the 2026 World Cup looming.
In Scotland, he's emerged as a leader and stalwart for a trophy-winning Celtic team, one that recently stared down Bayern Munich in the Champions League and didn't blink before falling valiantly against one of the world's elite. At Celtic, though, falling valiantly is never really good enough. Winning is the expectation in Glasgow, and Carter-Vickers has done plenty of it during his time in green.
As for the USMNT, Carter-Vickers has his sights set on a second World Cup run. After missing the start of this new era with injury issues, he returned for his first camp since the Copa America, reuniting him with a familiar face in Mauricio Pochettino. It was the Argentine who gave the defender his professional debut many years ago at Tottenham. The recent Nations League run didn't go to plan for anyone on the USMNT side, Carter-Vickers included, but, again, there's something to be said about building from it.
Now, it's Pochettino who will be the one to determine whether Carter-Vickers is one of the lucky few who will represent the U.S. next summer in a home World Cup - and it's Carter-Vickers' job to keep putting together the pieces in a crowded center-back race.
