BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Logan Pause may be bringing the curtain down on a lengthy career with the Chicago Fire, but you get the sense that he won’t be going too far when he does hang up his boots.
The versatile midfielder confirmed his decision to retire at the end of this season back in September, and will don the red shirt for the last time in the Fire’s final game against the Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park on Friday evening (8 pm ET; NBCSN, live stream at NBCSports.com).
And although the 33-year-old is still unsure of where his future outside of playing lies, head coach Frank Yallop believes the experience that Pause has gained and the character he has shown in 12 years with the club would make him a valuable addition off the field.
“We’re talking to him at the moment,” Yallop told reporters at Toyota Park on Wednesday after the team’s final open training session of the 2014 season. “I don’t want to go too much into that, but we want to keep good people around and Logan is a good person, so we’ll figure out what that is or what it entails.
“But it’s a busy time still. There’s a lot of stuff to go in the next week, but maybe then we can sit down and figure out if there’s something that works for both the club and the player.”
Pause has been a central figure in his time at the Fire, winning two US Open Cups to go with one Supporters’ Shield and leaves the club with more appearances than anyone apart from current assistant coach and longtime teammate CJ Brown.
Retirement has been a central storyline to the 2014 MLS season with the likes of Landon Donovan, Marco Da Vaio, Jay DeMerit and Pause just some of the names bowing out after 2014.
But with players like Thierry Henry still excelling in MLS at 37 and Francesco Totti scoring goals in the Champions League at 38, Pause is 100 percent behind his decision to hang up his boots at the relatively young age of 33.
“I’m 100 percent ready to step away, I don’t know how those guys continue to do it at the high level,” Pause said. “I’m joyful and content with the decision and ready and excited for the next chapter, for new challenges and to be able to sit where you guys are and cheer on these guys and the organization for years to come.”
The Fire (5-10-18, 33 pts) will be hoping to add to their three regular season home victories when they step out for the final time in front of their fans against the Dynamo (11-16-6, 39 pts), who are six points ahead of them in eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
However, Pause’s retirement is expected to be a central theme to the evening and it will, no doubt, prove to be an emotional and poignant evening for a player Yallop described as “perfect”, “a Chicago Fire guy” and “a great servant.”
“It’s an emotional week for sure,” Pause revealed. “One more training session and one more game before wrapping 12 years up. Definitely a lot of emotion but I’m excited to celebrate with all my friends and family that have played a pivotal role in getting here and then celebrate with the fans on our home field, it’s just a great way to go out.”
