Brown holds a special place with Chicago fans
Original Fire member eyes coaching once playing career has ended
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The Chicago Fire have always had a special place for the players who were with the team in its first remarkable year of existence, when the team won both the U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup under coach Bob Bradley, now coach of the U.S. national team.
The team photo for the squad tells the story: Diego Gutierrez, Frank Klopas, Chris Armas, Peter Nowak, Jesse Marsch, Ante Razov, Zach Thornton, Lubos Kubik, Josh Wolff.
And of course, in the back row, C.J. Brown, who has started the last two games for the Fire in this, his 12th season with the team.
Gutierrez retired after last season, leaving Brown as the last member of a club Fire fans revere for their immediate success. (Marsch, Razov, Thornton and Wolff continue to play in MLS with other teams).
Perhaps it is a soccer thing, but the Fire and their fanbase do tend toward sentimental attitudes towards long-time players. Brown said he has been very fortunate to stay with one team for as long as he has.
"That has been great," Brown said. "I haven't had to move around like a lot of people have. I have formed a family here. You don't have to readjust to new systems and new coaches. Even with Denis starting last year, he has always been here, and I have known him for years. Sticking with one team is one of the reasons I have stayed in the league for so long."
At age 33 (he will turn 34 on Monday), Brown is a decade older than many of his teammates, a fact that shows up when the team is on the road as much as anywhere.
"On the road, we hang out, but you are no longer into the same things as I was when I was younger," Brown said. "Playing-wise, I think I rely more on trying to read the game than trying to use the physical part. When I was younger I used the physical part. There is a difference now."
Brown averaged 25 games a season through his first 10 years, but last season was limited to three games due to hip tendonitis and could not work his way back into the regular lineup. Again, at the start of this season, a quad injury affected him but he is back and helping out with the absence of Wilman Conde due to a shoulder injury.
Brown started his professional career in 1996 with the San Francisco Seals of USISL, so he has a lot of miles on him.
"It's the work rate," Brown said as his secret to longevity. "It's the work rate and determination to try and compete day in and day out. It's a consistency that coaches like to look for. I know I am not the best payer out there every day, but when it comes down to learning my job and doing my job, I think I have done well at it. I look for a more consistent role, and they try to keep (consistent players) around as much as possible."
The Fire are going to need Brown's help this season as Bakary Soumare and Gonzalo Segares continue their World Cup participation through the summer. But Brown has had a tough couple of games, producing an own goal against FC Dallas when a header went awry and giving up the lone score to Houston last week when he didn't close down on a ball outside that was crossed into the center for a goal.
"It does stick in your mind," Brown said of those plays. "But then we always have another game, and you are planning for that game. We don't have a lot of time to think about that last game."
Brown currently works as a coaching assistant with the Fire Juniors after coaching in Elmhurst, Ill. with a high school team. Coaching is definitely in the future picture for Brown.
"I see myself getting into club soccer," Brown said. "I would like to be higher up in the academies, but I see club soccer as my next step."
But he is clearly not ready to make that step until his playing days are over. And they aren't over yet.
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
