LA Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein spent his first eight seasons as a professional in a Kansas City Wizards uniform after leaving his home town of St. Louis to play college ball at Indiana University. However, after starting 183 games and scoring 39 goals and recording 45 assists (both numbers second all-time in club history, behind only Preki), the 31-year-old Klein was traded to Real Salt Lake in January 2006. From there he was traded to the Galaxy earlier this season.
As Klein said in an e-mail to his fans after his trade to RSL, "Kansas City will always hold a special place in [his] heart." Yet the club was in the middle of an extended sale by Hunt Sports Group that clouded the team's future in Kansas City when Klein was traded, and he was never able to gain closure to those circumstances. But now that the team has new ownership in OnGoal, LLC, Klein is excited by the future of the Wizards, of Major League Soccer -- and, of course, his own future.
What do you think of the Lane 4 Property Group proposal to redevelop an area where the now closed Bannister Mall sits (in south Kansas City) to include a stadium for the Wizards?
CK: "From everything I've heard, the ownership group here has really been fantastic. For them to put together something in what seems to me to be a central location ... [is] great. Any stadium would be great, but I think MLS is getting to the point now where a stadium just to put a stadium in is not the right thing to do. It has to be in the right spot. In Kansas City, Bannister Mall would be a fantastic spot, and with the organization that is in place, I think it would work."
As a St. Louis native, how do you feel about possible MLS expansion there in the coming years?
CK: "St. Louis has always been in the running. For me, there's one side of me that doesn't know why it took this long, but the other side of me is happy that it looks like it's going to go through. St. Louis deserves to have a team, and the people of St. Louis deserve to see soccer at its highest level in this country. Hopefully, they get to do that."
What are your goals as a player as you look to the future at this stage of your career?
CK: "My first goal is to win a championship wherever I go. I feel like Los Angeles has put me in a situation going forward to do that. While I'm playing, that's really my only goal: to help my team anyway I can. In the future, we don't know. When I'm done playing, I'll deal with that. I have a few things going on. I really enjoy playing right now; I enjoy the guys, and I enjoy Los Angeles."
Do you still keep a home in Kansas City?
CK:"I've always wanted to take my family where I go, so we don't keep a house here. We've gone from the Midwest, where my wife and I spent our whole life, to the mountains, then to the beach. So it's been an interesting ride. It's fun for us to see the country, and we're pretty happy right now."
You were well known and well appreciated for working in the Kansas City community in your time here. Do you plan on doing the same in L.A.?
CK: "It's tough getting acclimated. You get in, you get your family settled first, and then you do anything the front office asks. As I meet people, and as they asked me to speak places, I'm sure I'll be more than willing to do that."
After the Galaxy beat the Wizards 1-0 Thursday evening at Arrowhead Stadium, Klein, labeled "the nicest guy in soccer" by one Kansas City soccer scribe, stuck around while the Wizards signed autographs for their fans. To the 32,000 plus crowd, it was as if Klein had never left as they clamored for his signature too, well after giving him a rousing cheer in the lineup introductions.
In his e-mail following his trade, Klein said about the fans who make up the Wizards' supporters' group "The Cauldron": "I see our fans and know their names and it almost seems like I am leaving family." Thursday night the Wizards' fans showed how glad they were to see him come home, if only for a few hours.
Bob Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
