Arlington Hts. native Spector excited for Chicago homecoming
Jonathan Spector is coming home again.
After a long tenure playing in England, the Arlington Heights native opted last winter to finish his career in Major League Soccer, signing with Orlando City SC. On Saturday night Orlando City visits Toyota Park to take on the red-hot Chicago Fire (9-3-4, 31 points) in a homecoming game for Spector.
"Orlando is great," Spector said Friday. "I'm really enjoying it there. It's not quite home. I always called Chicago home when I was living in England, but at the same time it's great to be back in the U.S."
Spector understands MLS player acquisition rules are complex and it didn't work out for him to join the Fire. While disappointed, he's not looking back. Orlando City is his focus, and he's happy where he landed.
"When I got to know about Orlando and the passion of the fan base there, it just seemed like a really good fit for me personally," he said.
But it's good to be back in Chicago.
"Yeah, it really is," said Spector, who played two seasons of varsity soccer at St. Viator High School before finishing high school at U.S. Soccer's academy in Bradenton, Florida. "It's been a while since I've been able to play in front of my family and friends. … Playing in Chicago is special for me."
Spector has been a revelation for the Lions (7-5-5, 26 points), anchoring a much-improved defense at center back, a position the Fire could stand to improve if it's going to make a run at MLS Cup.
"They've done a good job," he said of the Fire. "It wasn't long ago that they were struggling at the bottom of the league, and this year they're looking at the top of the table. They're a good team. Things change year to year in MLS, and we know we're going to have a tough time with them."
The Orlando City defense will be tested again by Fire forward Nemanja Nikolic, the league's leader scorer with 13 goals. But that's all in a day's work for Spector, whose effort in Orlando has been noticed by U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena. Arena included Spector in the 40-man preliminary roster for next month's Gold Cup after a long absence from the national team.
It's a homecoming of another kind for Spector.
Departure:
Fire chief operating officer Atul Khosla is leaving the team for a front-office position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team source confirmed. Khosla's departure was first reported by Fire Confidential.