Stop Jon Busch if you’ve heard this before.
“[The team] has a great history, but it’s been a long time since this club’s been on the front foot,” the Fire backup goalkeeper said. “I think everybody here wants to get this club back to where it should be.”
Busch, in his second tour with the Fire, could have been referencing almost any Chicago pro team. But as it pertains to his own, the Fire might be closer to a turnaround than it might appear.
They recorded an MLS record 18 ties in 2014—out of 34 games—and finished 13 points out of a playoff spot. Though transform a handful of those draws into wins and it’s a different story.
How will they go about that in 2015? With several new faces, including Shaun Maloney. The Scottish midfielder is one of the Fire’s prized offseason signings; his experience includes time in the English Premier League.
“They drew a lot of games, which you can look at as both a positive and negative,” said Maloney, 32. “With the signings that they’ve made, we’ve got to try and turn some of those draws into wins with creativity, and that’s part of my big role.”
Having scored the fifth-fewest goals in the league last season, Maloney’s offensive capabilities have his teammates practically giddy.
“You can tell he’s comfortable with attacking in the final third and finding that threading pass,” said Fire forward Quincy Amarikwa, who led the team with eight goals in 2014. “I’m looking forward to playing with him and hopefully being on the receiving end of some through balls.”
More Top Picks Best Green Light Lamps For Light Sensitivity
Amarikwa also believes Maloney has an advantage that goes unnoticed.
“He’s got tiny feet, like a size 6 or 7,” he said, adding the average shoe size on the Fire is probably 9 or 10. Because of that, “he’s able to hit a really solid, dipping free kick. He can get his whole foot on a certain angle on the ball that people with bigger feet might have difficulty replicating.”
Part of Maloney’s motivation for signing with the Fire, even though he had offers from Premier League clubs, was to expand his horizons while he can still play soccer for a living.
“I wanted to try a new country, a completely new life experience,” said the Scottish national team veteran, who was born and spent the first few years of his life in Malaysia. “Within that, I’m still obviously very motivated for football. When I spoke to the manager and the owner, I bought into completely what they were trying to do here.”
As fans and his teammates become more familiar with him, Maloney is observing Chicago’s healthy obsessions.
“I know it’s a huge sports city,” he said. “Pretty much since I’ve been here I’ve been looking out for the basketball team. My roommate with the team [Busch] is a big ice hockey fan, so we’ve been watching the Blackhawks.”
That ought to win over a sizable portion of Chicago right there. And when Maloney and Busch aren’t training or watching hockey, TV is one subject they tackle.
“We’ve been going back and forth on what silly TV shows we watch,” Busch said. “Everything from ‘Storage Wars’ to ‘The Blacklist’ to ‘The Voice.’ He was actually trying to tell me that in the U.K. that they came up with ‘The Voice’ before we did. We had a good debate on that.”
So who won?
“Bottom line, he lost,” Busch said, laughing.
If that’s one of only a few losses the Fire have all season, they will take it. Same goes for all the reasons the team signed him.
“He’s great with the ball at his feet, He’s got good vision. He’s strong on the ball even though he’s not the biggest boy,” Busch said of Maloney, who’s listed as 5-foot-7. “You can see he commands the ball and he’s a leader. With the rebuilding of this club, you need players like that.”
Chris Sosa is RedEye’s sports editor. @redeyesportschi
SEASON OPENER
Fire at Los Angeles
9 p.m. Friday, UniMas
For more RedEye Sports, click here.