Second-year goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland earned his first two professional starts in August, and capped a memorable month with a 45-minute stint against Bayern Munich last week in Bastian Schweinsteiger's testimonial match at Allianz Arena.
Now, after a few days off, Cleveland and the Fire are back in training to prepare for an Eastern Conference visit from Orlando City SC on Sunday, Sept. 16 (4 p.m. CT, FS1 | TICKETS).
Chicago-Fire.com caught up with the 24-year-old on Wednesday afternoon post-practice to discuss his milestone month and his growth as a goalkeeper since entering the league last season:
C-F.com: First off, how was your time away and how are you approaching the rest of the regular season now that you’re back in training?
"It was good. A break in the middle of the season is always really nice. From preseason until this time, you’re going nonstop. It’s good for the body and really good for the mind as well, which is just as important as the body aspect of it."
C-F.com: How was your experience in Munich and what were your takeaways?
“It was incredible. It is just a completely different world over there in terms of soccer. Munich was awesome. I’ve never been to Germany. It was a great experience. I think Basti showed us a great time. There are so many different aspects of the city that you can see with the right people. Then obviously Munich is just a different culture than it is here, and it was just great to experience that. Playing Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena was unbelievable. Just a completely unforgettable experience. The crowd was phenomenal. It’s just nothing like you can ever imagine. Then, obviously, the players are top quality. At the same time, when the whistle blew -- I played 45 minutes -- it was the game. The players were incredible, but it was just another game where we were out there trying to win it."
C-F.com: Did you have any particular moments that stuck out to you?
“The day before when we walked into their stadium and you see all three levels, all 360 degrees, the stands. And then when you walk out there an hour-and-a-half before the game and the stands are already starting to fill up, you see a mile-long strip of people just steadily going into the stadium. That was the biggest thing. Then I guess 5-10 minutes into the game, it’s like, ‘Wow, these guys are the real deal,’ and they weren’t even playing their top players that first half.”
C-F.com: You got your professional debut back on Aug. 4 and made eight saves in a Krakus Man of the Match performance against Real Salt Lake. When you got the nod, were you expecting it and what was going through your head?
“I don’t want to say I was expecting it, but I was definitely ready for it. I think you should always try to stay as ready as you can. For that game, for whatever reason, I felt especially ready. I went out there and just said, ‘I don’t have anything to lose. I’m just going to make the best of this opportunity and see what happens.’ Then I kind of blacked out for a lot of the game (laughs) and 90 minutes were up. Unfortunately we lost, but I was happy with my first performance that’s for sure.”
C-F.com: So much of goalkeeping is remaining steady and collected during the hectic moments of a match. Going into your debut, what was your mental process for fighting off any nerves?
“I was just trying to stay calm. For me, it’s just keeping my feet on the ground. This is reality. This is the real world. Nothing spectacular is happening. Hopefully that’s what I’m doing every weekend for however many years. So I was trying to stay calm, really take in the moment, let the adrenaline take over when it needs to, and leave it all out on the field. That was my goal, and I felt like I did that for the most part.”
C-F.com: You started the club’s last regular season match against Crew SC back on Aug. 23. How helpful was it having a game under your belt for that one and was there anything different for you going into game two from game one?
“I think so. It helped having a game under my belt coming back here and playing my first (official) game here. My first game here was a preseason game and I don’t feel like I played very well that game, so getting a solid MLS performance under my belt made me much more confident to come back here and play in front of our fans and show them what I could do against a very good Columbus Crew team. It just gave me a little bit more confidence in what I could do, and help me become a little steadier during the game and calm in hectic situations. And again, just taking in the moment was the biggest thing for me.”
C-F.com: Now with a couple big personal milestones under your belt, how do you feel about your development as a professional over the last 18 months or so?
“I think it’s been huge. I came in confident as a college goalkeeper and kind of got a reality check when I saw somebody like Niko and how well he can finish the ball, how calmly. The biggest thing for me was the decision-making, because it has to be much faster and much better than in college, the pace of play, reading players. Not only does your decision have to be faster, but you have to understand the game and see the next couple plays way faster so you can give yourself the best opportunity to make a save or make a play or tell a defender ahead of time. I think those are the two biggest parts I’ve grown in.
Shots come in hard in college. They come in harder here and with more precision, so reactions and things like that all get a little bit better, but I think the mental aspects of reading the game have been my biggest strides -- and still need to be some huge strides. I’ve been very happy with my progression, but obviously still a long ways to go. The guys in front of me and the guys around me have definitely helped me a lot.”
C-F.com: You’ve got seven regular season matches left on the calendar. What are you expecting from yourself and what do you want to accomplish over this stretch?
"For the team, I think we all want to get seven wins. I think that would be a great cap off for the season and put us in a more confident spot leading into next year. Even seven wins could put us in the playoffs, you never know. For myself, just getting more games under my belt, building my confidence and getting some shutouts. I think that’s what the team needs. We haven’t had many of those this year, and it definitely helps put confidence in the forwards so that we can press better and then we can play better as a whole team when everybody has confidence in each other and we’re getting results.
Starting with Orlando, I think that’s big opportunity to get on the right foot, especially after a long break. We went into the break with a tie, which is not everything we wanted but better than not. I think we have a good opportunity with Orlando to start these next seven games off on a good streak."
