Kinney working to make Fire

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Norcross native Steven Kinney said he wasn't surprised as much as he was relieved after the Chicago Fire selected him in the third round of  the MLS SuperDraft last month.

Just being chosen was hard enough. After a solid career at Elon, Kinney had three days to wow teams at a league combine in Florida just days before the draft. While many of the players there, including Atlanta natives Jack McInerney (selected by Philadelphia) and Sean Johnson (Chicago), were virtually assured of being drafted, Kinney was not.

While he said it felt good when he heard his name called, he now has to make the team, which is training in Phoenix for the pending season.

Making the job of winning a spot  as a central defender or right back more difficult is that the Fire have brought in several defenders as free-agents to compete for spots along the back line. First cuts are March 1.

"Pretty much all you can do is go in and day in and day out and perform your best," Kinney said. "I've been getting better each day."

Predictably, he said the professional game is much faster and much more skilled than what he played in college, where 1-2 touches then are 1-2-3-4 touches now, but he said he's getting used to both aspects.

While adapting has been an enjoyable challenge, Kinney said he was somewhat surprised at how accommodating the Fire's veterans have been.

"It's been great. It's a dream come true," Kinney said. "All the guys, the coaching staff, they are all good people."

Now, he's just got to make the team.

In other news about Atlantans, Clint Mathis, who was traded from Real Salt Lake to the L.A. Galaxy in the offseason, had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and is out for four to six weeks.

Champions League

If you would like a glimpse of some of the talent that will be competing in the World Cup later this summer, then check out the Champions League action this week. For the occasional soccer fan, the Champions League is the club tournament in Europe, the equivalent of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. They are down to 16 and play begins Tuesday with several intriguing matchups. Mr. Posh Spice (obligatory reference) and A.C. Milan will take on Manchester United (obligatory reference) in the first of the home-and-home series. Mr. Spice has promised he won't celebrate for the Rossoneri should he score against the Devils, the team that made him famous when he was a younger man. The second most interesting game will feature Chelsea, the second-wealthiest team in the world with a payroll that has purportedly surpassed $1 billion in the past seven years, taking on Inter Milan. Milan is coached by "the special one," Jose Mourinho, who coached Chelsea from 2004-07 and famously resigned in September 2007 because of disagreements with the club's Russian owner, Roman Abramovich. It would be like Sean Payton leaving the Saints, a team he built, to coach the rival Panthers.

If you want a glimpse of some of the talent that the U.S. team will face in its game against England in the group stages of the World Cup, watch Blues' defender John Terry and midfielder Frank Lampard, as well as Man U.'s Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.

Corner kicks

Alas, there a few "other" important fixtures in Europe today and this week: Barcelona, the best team in Europe, will look to extend the five-point lead atop the La Liga standings it had going into Saturday's action when it takes on Atletico Madrid today. ... In Italy, rampaging Inter Milan, which is eight points clear of second-place Roma in the Serie A, will take on fourth-place Napoli. ... In Germany, Schalke 04 will try to keep its Bundesliga hopes alive against FC Koln. Schalke trails leader Bayer Leverkusen by three points. ... In Mexico, Club America, which defeated A.C. Milan in Atlanta last summer, will take on Cruz Azul. Two teams struggling to do well in the Clausura this season.

Looking ahead

Next week, Europa League, the NIT of European soccer, will continue with several quality games in the Round of 32's first leg on Thursday: Everton, featuring Americans Tim Howard and Landon Donovan, will take on Sporting Lisbon from Portugal, Spain's Villareal, featuring American-turned-Italian Guiseppe Rossi, will take on Germany's Vfl Wolfsburg and Holland's PSV, a former European heavyweight, will take on a struggling Juventus side that recently replaced its coach.