Brian Ching cannot wait for the chance to show his home state of Hawai'i exactly why Houston Dynamo are the two-time reigning MLS Cup champions.
Ching spearheads the Dynamo challenge for the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship this week and will be guaranteed a tremendous reception when he takes the field at Aloha Stadium on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old missed out on last season's MLS Cup Final victory with Houston when he was injured in the lead-up to the victory against the New England Revolution at RFK Stadium.
However, he played a crucial role in the 2006 triumph and remains one of the club's most popular players.
That popularity is mirrored in Hawaii, where Ching is a much-loved figure and his participation in the Pan-Pacific Championship has been greeted with delight.
"It is my first chance to play here for 12 years and I am very excited about it," he said. "A lot of my friends and family have not been able to see me play live and now they can.
"It is amazing for me to be able to share Hawaii with my teammates -- it is a blessing. I have dreamed about something like this ever since I became a professional and now it is coming true."
Ching left the islands in 1996 to play soccer at Gonzaga University, and has gone on to make 25 appearances for the United States national team.
His big breakthrough in MLS came after joining the San Jose Earthquakes in 2003 -- and he followed the club when it relocated to Houston.
While enjoying Hawaiian hospitality has been nice, it is Wednesday's semifinal against Australian A-League team Sydney FC that is occupying most of Ching's thoughts.
"I speak for the whole team when I say we are really excited about this," he said. "We are a team that has been together for six or seven years and we consider ourselves one of the best in MLS. We look forward to showing that level of play in this tournament."
