Barrington soccer star now with U.S. national team
Eighteen months ago Ryan Miller was merely an extra body training with the Chicago Fire, getting in shape to go look for a job in Europe.
Even a couple of months ago the Barrington native was a soccer nobody — until coach Bob Bradley picked him from obscurity and brought him into the U.S. national team’s January training camp.
Nothing makes a soccer player a somebody like being called into the national team’s camp.
“It was unexpected,” Miller said from sunny Southern California, where he’s training in advance of Saturday’s friendly against Chile (9 p.m., TeleFutura, ESPN3.com). “I was very excited about it. It’s been on my goals list for a long time.”
Drafted and let go by D.C. United after playing collegiately at Notre Dame, Miller, 26, considered a career that didn’t involve soccer.
“I kinda did,” he said. “When things were tough after I left D.C., I put some thought in to it. I just had too many people in my corner forcing me to give it another shot.”
He returned to the Chicago area, where he played semipro soccer and trained in Bridgeview with the Fire, the 19th man on an 18-man roster.
“I would’ve loved to play for the Fire, but that wasn’t an option for me,” he said. “I want to go where I’m wanted, and I want to go where I can play day in and day out.”
His job hunt took him to Sweden, where he latched on first with a small, second-level club called Ljungskile, then with Halmstads BK in the Swedish first division, for which he plays both right back, his preferred spot, and left back.
What makes his call-up more improbable is that Miller played much of the fall with a torn meniscus in his right knee, an injury that required surgery Nov. 11.
“I was battling a knee injury, so I wasn’t playing as well as I could’ve, but I guess I did well enough,” said Miller, who admitted he’s still not 100 percent. “This camp is actually the first time I’ve played since my surgery.”
He expects to resume his rehabilitation when he returns to Sweden after the Chile game ahead of Halmstads’ next match in early April.
“Nothing would stop me from coming into camp and competing,” he said.
Now that he’s in camp he’s enjoying the experience, not to mention the weather. It’s a little different this time of year in Southern California than in Sweden, where his club teammates have resumed training without him, their winter break over.
“Right now I’m playing hooky. To be honest I’d rather be here,” he said.
But there’s no guarantee he’ll play Saturday night, and even if he does he’s a long way from representing his country in meaningful matches — the 23 players (including Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson) in camp total only 26 caps and are looking to make a good impression just like Miller is. Bradley and his staff have offered no hints.
“You get a little feedback here and there on what you need to do better, for the most part,” he said. “As a player you know if you feel comfortable and you know if you don’t. I feel comfortable, but at the end of the day it’s the coaches’ decision.”
For now Miller is just living his dream.