BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. ā Pari Pantazopolous completed an amazing four-month journey on Monday, when he officially signed a contract with the Chicago Fire.
The 22-year-old midfielder/defender beat out 210 players from 19 countries to win the clubās open tryout in December. His prize: a chance to train with the first team in preseason.
Pantazopolous took full advantage of that opportunity, working hard and surviving every single roster cut to earn a deal. Signing the contract is a dream come true for the Greek-born, Chicagoland-raised Pantazopolous, who has been a Fire fan since the clubās founding.
āIām amazed,ā Pantazopolous told MLSsoccer.com. āItās so exciting. Itās like every Chicago kidās dream to be a part of the Fire. This was the team I always rooted for, always cheered for and went to every single home game. Itās just an amazing feeling; Iām really excited and Iād just like to thank the Fire for giving me this chance.ā
Of course, if it werenāt for a brief moment of curiosity and a quick click of the mouse, Pantazopolous would never have been here.
After spending three years playing in lower divisions in Cyprus and Greece, Pantazopolous returned to Chicago this summer to be closer to family and friends. Pantazopolous, who doesnāt have an agent, didnāt have many soccer prospects ā until he logged on to the Fireās official website and saw an ad for the teamās open tryout.
āI was home one day and I was like, āHey, whatās going on with the Fire?āā he said. āSo I clicked on the site and the first thing that popped up was the tryout info. It said, āIt could be you,ā so I signed up for it.ā
Pantazopoulos started training after signing up for the tryout, getting into shape and sharpening his touch with MLS and college players at an indoor facility this winter. From there he went into the open tryout, determined to work hard, play simple and let things run their course.
āI didnāt worry about anything,ā he said. āI just tried to work hard and play tough, aggressive and simple.ā
That was good enough for the Fire, who picked Pantazopolous as their winner and eventually saw enough in him to give him a first-team deal.
āItās an amazing feeling and shows how hard work pays off,ā he said. āIāve been playing hard, trying to listen to veteran players and the coaching staff everyday and go from there. Iām still young and Iām still developing, so itās going to take time for me to adjust to the first team. But Iāll be honored to work hard with them and eventually when my chance comes Iāll be ready.
āThe only thing I can do is stay positive and work hard,ā he added. āIf I do that Iāll keep getting better.ā