BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Ultimately it was a simple decision, and a move that has been several years in the making.
After four years with the LA Galaxy and a year in Norway with Bob Bradley’s Norwegian club Stabæk, Chicagoland native Michael Stephens finally realized his boyhood dream of signing a professional contract for the Chicago Fire this week.
The versatile 25-year-old midfielder from suburban Naperville was once affiliated with the Fire as a teenager, but when he heard of interest from head coach Frank Yallop, he did all he could to instigate his release, which will see him link up with fellow locals Mike Magee, Harry Shipp and Chris Ritter for the Men in Red.
“It wasn’t very difficult,” Stephens told reporters of his decision to join the Fire on a conference call Tuesday. “The negotiations process wasn’t very long, for me I was excited to come back to my hometown to play with a team I have been a fan of, first and foremost, for a very long time.”
Stephens had an option of another year with Stabæk, but once the opportunity from Chicago presented itself, he immediately knew where he wanted his future to be.
“I just went to [Stabæk] and asked them to basically do me a favor, it was a good opportunity for me,” Stephens said. “I felt that it was the right time to leave Stabæk, I went there and did a good job, but I didn’t see anything really taking off from there. And once I heard about this opportunity I felt there was a chance to continue to improve and to establish myself in MLS.
“That was something that I didn’t want to pass up, so I tried my best to make it happen.”
While he boasts sound defensive capabilities and what he calls a “good engine,” Stephens will hope to recapture some of the offensive creativity that saw him lead all MLS rookies with eight assists in 25 matches with the Galaxy in 2010.
The UCLA graduate enjoyed his time in Norway and improved under the tutelage of former Fire and United States national team head coach Bradley, and Stephens was grateful for the opportunity given to him by a man he had known since his formative years in Chicago.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” Stephens said of his time in Norway with Bradley. “I knew him for a while, I played at the same club as his son Michael, so I had a connection there, and he was the coach here in Chicago, so everyone knows what a good coach he is.
“For me, it was a good opportunity to learn, and being one of the only Americans there he was extra hard on me and kept me improving throughout the year. I saw a lot of progress in the time that I started there until the end of the season and I think I improved a lot. It was a good experience for me.”
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While playing for his boyhood club and returning home to family were the driving factors in his return to MLS, Stephens is also looking forward to reuniting with former Galaxy teammate and fellow Chicagoland native Magee.
“[He’s] another guy I knew even before I went to LA but was a big part of bringing me into the team in LA as far as getting me acclimated,” Stephens said of Magee.
“He was a really good guy and hopefully he can do the same here in Chicago. He’s been a good friend for a long time so it’s always nice to have someone on the team that you are comfortable with, especially someone who’s a leader on this team, so that should make this transition easier, for sure.”
