Segares roared on the field, but off he was friendly
It was a uneasy off-season for Gonzalo Segares.
Let go by the Chicago Fire in November, Segares could have gone on trial with another MLS team or signed with a NASL club. But at age 32, and after a great deal of consideration, Segares didn't want to try to hang on for one more season somewhere else.
Segares opted to retire where he began his pro career 10 years ago, rejoining the Fire organization as a club ambassador and Chicago Fire Academy coach. A 2005 third-round draft choice out of Virginia Commonwealth, Segares and his wife, Rusti, a real estate agent in Chicago, are putting down roots in their adopted hometown.
“I thought about what's best for my future and my family at this moment, and I'm definitely sad that I won't be on the field anymore, but also very excited to start a new challenge and I'll be staying in Chicago with the organization,” Segares said over lunch near Toyota Park. “This is where I feel that home is right now. I've been here for 10 years already. This is definitely where I want to be.”
Segares, a native of Costa Rica, played 264 games with the Fire, including 13 in the MLS playoffs. He scored 11 goals and added 14 assists.
Now he's adjusting his body clock to a different schedule, one built around teenagers' academic responsibilities and field availability at facilities around the Chicago area.
Instead of meeting with Fire coach Frank Yallop about first-team tactics, he's meeting about the Academy with director Larry Sunderland and new club vice president Logan Pause, who retired after last season. Segares is taking the lessons learned in his years as a pro and preparing to share them with the next generation.
Segares the player always was different than Segares the man. On the field he would battle you tooth and nail. He didn't back down, nor was he shy about sharing his opinion with a referee. He was tough physically and mentally, the kind of player you wanted by your side.
Off the field he's a gentleman — polite, reserved, friendly to fans and the media. Much like former teammate C.J. Brown.
Segares laughs when this is pointed out, and shakes his head in agreement. He's heard this before.
“It's funny, because even growing up back home, it's like there was a switch,” he says. “I kind of lose my mind a little bit when I get on the field. I'll be very aggressive and short-tempered and stuff like that, but outside I'm actually very quiet, very shy, very soft-spoken as well.”
Either way, he knows Fire fans won't forget him. There's plenty of evidence on social media. And he's proud of his image as a man of the fans.
“That that's how I want to be remembered,” he says, “a guy who took time to spend some time with the fans and talk to them, not just another guy who comes in and out. A player who will always be in the fans' heart.”
He characterizes his style of play much the same way.
“A guy who wasn't the best, the most technical guy or the one who could finish the best,” says Segares, a career left back, “but I always worked very hard, and through my entire career I don't think that anything was given to me. I worked hard for everything, and I'd love for the fans to remember me that way.”
After a difficult few months, Segares is at peace with his decision, and his future.
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