Fire selects UNC defender with first-round draft pick

For a player who said he likes to keep things simple and calm, Jalil Anibaba sounded excited about joining the Chicago Fire.

“I feel at home to be honest. I feel very welcomed and I feel very appreciated, and it's great to say,” Anibaba said after being drafted by the Fire in the first round of Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.

A defender from 2010 College Cup semifinalist North Carolina, Anibaba was named MVP of last weekend's player combine and is considered one of the most ready-to-play athletes in the draft.

“That's ultimately the coach's decision,” Anibaba said of Carlos de los Cobos. “What I can do is go in with an open mind and try to learn as much as possible.”

“We had ranked him very high in our books going into the combine,” said Fire technical director Frank Klopas, adding he was “a little surprised” Anibaba was available at No. 9.

After picking Cory Gibbs in last month's re-entry draft and signing Croatian Josip Mikulic, central defender seemed set, with the team's biggest need at forward. But the Fire couldn't pass up the 6-foot Anibaba, passing on Big Ten forwards Will Bruin and Corey Hertzog.

Anibaba is known for being a stout defender, communicating well and being accurate with the long pass out of the back, Klopas said. Anibaba can play right back as well as central defender, he added.

“The one person I pattern myself after is Jalil Anibaba, and that's how it's been since I was a young kid,” he said via conference call from draft headquarters in Baltimore.

“I like to keep things simple and keep things calm. I like to be the guy that calms things down.”

The Fire had traded its second-round pick to Seattle for Freddie Ljungberg and had three picks in the third and final round. At No. 45 overall the Fire took Maryland forward Jason Herrick, an Elmhurst native. He had 11 goals and 6 assists in 2010.

“We lost some forwards and we needed someone that more than anything is good around the box,” Klopas said.

The team traded No. 49 overall to Toronto FC for veteran goalkeeper Jon Conway, 33, and at No. 51 the Fire chose another forward, Cal's Davis Paul. The 5-8, 145-pounder had 8 goals and 14 assists in 2010.

“These are guys that are going to make our team better,” Klopas said.