Thanks to Payton, Soehn earned his place in soccer

Like many Chicago-area boys in the 1970s and 1980s, Tom Soehn grew up admiring Bears running back Walter Payton.

But Soehn had German immigrants for parents, and from age 4 on, he had (and still has) a youth soccer club to call his own, the Kickers. So as much as he admired the football player - enough to name one of his three children Payton - Soehn was destined to become a fussball player.

"I always admired Walter," Soehn said by telephone Monday from the nation's capital, where he now coaches D.C. United. "He was a great professional on and off the field. … Off the field he worked harder than anyone I knew."

Not blessed with Payton's athleticism, Soehn took Payton's ways to heart. He beat the bushes of North American soccer, working his way up through an alphabet soup of leagues: the MISL, NPSL, CISL and the APSL. His patience and persistence paid off when MLS opened for business in 1996 and Soehn found a spot with the Dallas Burn.

Then he came home to play for the Fire, starting in its inaugural season in 1998, during which the defender helped the Fire win an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup. Naturally, he couldn't leave soccer when he retired in 2000, throwing himself into coaching as a Fire assistant alongside Denis Hamlett, now the Fire's first-year head coach.

"I definitely dedicated myself to working hard," Soehn said.

Soehn needs that work ethic and persistence now that United has struggled to a 3-7-1 record, falling to last place in the Eastern Conference despite its strong tradition of winning in MLS.

It's the second straight slow start for United, but like last year when the team finished the regular season atop the conference, Soehn sees his club "starting to make strides," incorporating new players into the team better after an off-season of personnel moves, and shaking some bad habits.

Soehn's optimism is a reminder to the second-place Fire that United is never a team to be taken lightly.

Despite spending the past four years in Washington, the last two as head coach, the Arlington Heights native still honors his local roots. He still serves as youth coordinator for the Lake Villa-based Kickers, with help from his brother Joe, because "It gave me the opportunity of a lifetime." This weekend he'll renew acquaintances with many in the Fire organization, including Hamlett.

"I was hoping that Denis would finally get his opportunity. It was well-deserved," said Soehn, a man who knows about getting a well-deserved opportunity.

And with many family members and friends still in the area, he hopes to get outside to the Toyota Park parking lot at some point for a little tailgating.

But this is a business trip first and foremost, and there's a game to win Saturday night, no matter which team it's against, no matter if some in Washington might prematurely be calling for his firing.

Soehn is nothing if not a true professional.

Sort of like a certain football player he grew up admiring.