Somehow, the Chicago Fire picked a former Generation adidas player off the waiver wire who has national team experience at all the youth levels, including the under-23 or Olympic level.
Defender Tim Ward joined the Fire in the offseason after being waived by the Colorado Rapids, who were his third team since being drafted by New York/New Jersey in 2005.
That means the Fire are his fourth MLS team, and Ward could start for the Fire when they play at FC Dallas Saturday.
Ward, 22, a native of nearby Waukesha, Wis., has trained on the right side with the first team defense this week because last year's starter, Brandon Prideaux, was getting treatment for a quad contusion. He was learning the Fire way to play, which calls for the wide defenders to attack the goal when the opportunity presents itself (as Gonzalo Segares does on the left side).
"He was a guy we thought could help our team on the right or left side, and he can also play in the (defensive) middle," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "You try to get better players to fill out your roster, because you never know when a guy is going to go down, and this gives us better coverage."
Ward has a resume that conflicts with his MLS struggles.
Ward played at the national level for all the youth teams through under-23 (playing with that unit in 2007) and was a Generation adidas player, but his MLS career has not gone as well so far.
After being drafted by the MetroStars, he played in 13 games for them, then was traded to Columbus for Chris Henderson.
He played in 17 games for Columbus through two seasons, then was traded preseason in 2008 to Colorado for Nicolas Hernandez. But he did not play with the Rapids' senior team before being placed on waivers.
Coincidentally, the Fire picked up Prideaux off the Colorado waiver wire before the start of the 2008 season, and Prideaux started 27 games for the Fire last season.
Ward will battle Dasan Robinson, Daniel Woolard, Austin Washington and veteran C..J. Brown for playing time on the back line of a team that led MLS in goals-against-average for much of the 2008 season.
"This is definitely one of the best defensive teams in the league," Ward said. "Every time I saw them play, they put on a pretty good display. Bakary (Soumare) was Best XI last year, Wilman Conde has been around for a while, Gonzalo has been around, and I think both of those guys were considered for Best XI. Playing next to those guys will make my job easier."
Ward said he knows Soumare from their Generation adidas days, and Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch from their time together in Columbus.
"I think this is a good opportunity for me," Ward said. "I can see the level is high, and I think with the opportunity I am given, hopefully I can do something with it."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
