While the debut of the Chicago Fire’s newest Designated Player -- former German National Team captain Bastian Schweinsteiger -- stole the headlines from Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the Montreal Impact, there was a noteworthy first for another member of the Men In Red as well.
Midfielder Daniel Johnson, the Fire’s first selection in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft (11th overall), came on late in the second half to earn his first appearance as a professional.
“It was surreal,” Johnson said. “It felt amazing. It was incredible.”
The 21-year-old entered the match to replace an injured Michael de Leeuw in the 79th minute. He noted that getting his first few touches helped him find his way into the game.
“That first pass is so important in any game,” he said. “In college I would always come in with the mentality that you complete your first pass and build from there. Then you can start trying to penetrate a little bit more, maybe try some more creative plays. But connect your first few passes and build your way into the game. That’s really what I tried to do today.”
While his time on the field was limited, Johnson was noticeably active in the Fire attack and received favorable reviews for his link play in the Montreal half.
“I was just trying to combine, link up, make a couple things happen,” he said. “I think the first play I got the ball I found Basti in space and he was able to play Lucho (forward Luis Solignac) through. I just wanted to operate in those pockets and try and get some things moving going forward. I think I had a couple good plays, created a couple things. It was really positive for me personally, but I’m disappointed to come out of here with a draw. We definitely felt like we deserved three points today.”
While Saturday’s result was less-than-ideal, that his debut coincided with a player of Schweinsteiger’s notoriety was an element not lost on the Louisville product.
“It was incredible,” he said. “Training with him this week was like a dream. Even today we combined two or three times together really well. I think that’s just me looking for him and knowing that if I get him the ball he can do the right things and a couple times he gave it back to me. There’s some good combination play between him and I and then him and the rest of the team. It felt really good. It put me at ease to know that he was next to me in the midfield.”
Johnson and the Fire now pivot into a home contest next weekend against Eastern Conference rival Columbus Crew SC. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT on CSN Chicago Plus.
