Fire's Stephens happy to be home
Michael Stephens admitted he didn't play hardball in talks with the Chicago Fire before signing with the team, he said Tuesday.
"It wasn't very difficult," Stephens said during a media conference call. "The negotiation process wasn't very long. For me, I was excited to come back to my hometown to play. It's been a team that I've been a fan of for a long time. The opportunity to come back home and play, on a team where I think there will be a lot of opportunity next year, it was a good fit. So there wasn't a big sales pitch."
The Naperville native's signing was first reported last week and made official Tuesday.
A midfielder, Stephens played four years at UCLA before spending four seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy, where he played with current Fire forward and Long Grove native Mike Magee and won two MLS Cups. Stephens, 25, briefly attended Benet Academy in Lisle, and then left Benet to join the U.S. youth residency program in Bradenton, Florida. As a teen, Stephens also played for the Fire's Premier Development League team.
After the Galaxy opted not to pick up his contract, Stephens played the 2014 season at Stabaek in Norway, where former Fire and U.S. coach Bob Bradley was his manager. He had another year on his contract at Stabaek, where he had 1 goal and 7 assists in 30 appearances.
"I just went to them and talked to them and asked them if they could basically do me a favor," Stephens said, adding he has wanted to come to Chicago in the past. "This was a good opportunity for me. I felt like leaving Stabaek. It was the right time. I think I went there and did a good job, but I didn't see anything really taking off from there. Once I heard about this opportunity, I felt like this was a chance to continue to improve and try to establish myself in the MLS."
Stephens can play centrally or wide in the midfield. Most of his Galaxy appearances were in a substitute role, but he will have a chance to earn a starting spot with the Fire, which finished in ninth place in the Eastern Conference last season and still has a lot of roster spots to fill.
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