Following a day off to recover from the 3-0 win over the University of South Florida, the Fire were back on the training ground in Tampa with an intense double session Monday, setting the tone for the week to come.
It was a week in which a total of six new faces came into the fold, beginning with the U.S. Men's National Team trio of Sean Johnson, Matt Polster and Brandon Vincent, who joined the team after spending the past month alongside one another in the January training camp. Additionally, Dutch midfielder John Goossens and Canadian goalkeeper Callum Irving joined the squad as trialists, while Portuguese defender João Meira arrived into his new team after finalizing his visa process.
The Fire close out the Tampa leg of preseason by taking on the Philadelphia Union on Thursday (Feb. 11) at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater, Fla. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT and stream live on Chicago-Fire.com.
Down Time
Although the days have been filled with intensive training sessions, the team still contends with big blocks of free time off the field.
Though new to the Fire fold, Michael Harrington is no stranger to MLS preseason as 2016 marks his 10th year in the league.
“You just try to hang out with the guys,” Harrington said about how he passes time. “You interact with guys, whether you’re playing cards or video games. Especially with so many new guys, you want to integrate with the group and try to get to know everyone. If you’re not resting or taking a nap, you’re just doing what you can to get to know your new teammates.”
Training Camp Check-Ins: Igboananike | LaBrocca
Speaking of cards, Michael Stephens and Eric Gehrig have graciously opened up their (figurative) home each evening and played host to their teammates.
“Eric and I have been hosting what we like to call Card Room,” said Stephens. “We have suites with a little main room, so we’ve been having people come in and play cards mostly every night. We’ve mostly been playing Blackjack with a rotating dealer. As far as the biggest winner, I’d have to go with Vincent Keller. He doesn’t follow the proper Blackjack code in that when he wins, he isn’t shy about getting up from the table, taking everyone’s money then leaving the room. The worst player is probably myself because I’ve lost the most money.”
But Gehrig disagreed, stating that Alex Morrell deserves the tag of worst Blackjack player in camp.
“Morrell is the worst player but somehow he has not been losing the most money,” said Stephens. “He doesn’t understand the game but his lack of understanding has somehow been to his benefit up to this point.”
Other than going to training, Gehrig and Stephens haven’t spent much time outside of the hotel.
“There’s not much going on around here,” said Stephens. “We spend most of our spare time outside of the hotel at Wawa.”
“Meal time has been good,” continued Stephens. “In the past we’ve had sort of set tables but we’ve had some mixing this trip, sitting with different people each meal.”
“For being such a new group, it’s a very friendly and close group already,” said Gehrig. “Rookies are integrating themselves well, veteran guys are too. No one has isolated themselves which is a sign of a good group.”
Academic Accolades for Campbell:
Rookie defender Jonathan Campbell on Tuesday was named the ACC Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year, his fourth career All-ACC Academic Team selection during his standout career at North Carolina.
”I was a Business Administration major,” said Campbell. “If I wasn’t a soccer player, I’d probably be in investment banking or something in private equity. Soccer taught me a lot about time management, which is how I was able to balance my school work along with my soccer commitments.”
And while UNC afforded Campbell countless opportunities on and off the field, the former Tar Heel gave us his take had he made his collegiate decision based on other factors.
“If I were to attend any fictional school it would be Hogwarts,” Campbell said. “I would either be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. I’m not sure where the house would place me. If I were at Hogwarts, I would have excelled at Quidditch. I always liked watching the Beaters, that was the Weasley brothers.”
And Finally:
A quick video to sum up the hard work with a mix of fun that's defined the club's Tampa training stint:
