U.S. soccer is relevant with A.C. Milan signing

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The future of soccer in the United States will be at the Georgia Dome this week.

The future is intense but quiet. Intimidating but polite.

Oguchialu Chijioke “Oguchi” Onyewu’s future is America’s soccer future, and he will be in Atlanta on Wednesday for A.C. Milan’s game against Club America.

Why is he the future? Because his signing with A.C. Milan two weeks ago could turn into arguably the most important signing in U.S. soccer history.

Young soccer players in Georgia and across the country now have an American playing for one of the world’s best clubs, helping to legitimize their dreams of one day doing the same.

“This is the top by far,” said Rich Skirvin, executive director of Georgia State Soccer Association, which oversees 80,000 youth players. “Particularly in the past four to five years with the increased exposure to the elites of the sports, it now becomes a key thing to see a U.S. player take a big role in international sports, particularly with a big brand name like A.C. Milan.”

And the significance is deeper than just what it means for soccer. Jill Robbins is executive director of the Atlanta-based Soccer in the Streets, an organization that tries to use soccer to help disadvantaged youth better themselves. She works with about 300 kids a week in low-income and predominantly minority areas of Atlanta. She tells stories of parents who refuse to let their kids play soccer, as opposed to basketball or football, because they see so few role models in the sport. Therefore, they don’t believe soccer will provide an opportunity to earn a living. She says Onyewu’s signing could be the difference-maker to the kids and communities her group is trying to help.

“It’s sort of like the first break in the dam,” Robbins said. “More and more players of color are going to have these fabulous opportunities. It’s going to show the kids that these players can be on the income level of the Shaquille O’Neals. It’s going to show them they can be on par with these athletes in different sports.”

Of course, he must still play, but Onyewu has proved that getting to this point can be done — and he’s done it his way. He didn’t sign with the “Rossoneri,” as A.C. Milan is called, as a prospect, like many Americans have done with other teams in Europe. He was recruited and signed based upon his production, not his potential, which was the case for Tim Howard at Manchester United and Jozy Altidore at Villareal.

“He’s one of those people that you would never be surprised at what he could accomplish and his beliefs and his ability,” said Trevor Adair, Onyewu’s former college coach at Clemson. “It’s not an arrogance. It an unbelievable self-belief in himself.”

That self-belief started when Onyewu was a kid. His parents, whom Adair praises for their benevolent hands-off attitude, emigrated from Nigeria to attend Howard University. Onyewu and his four siblings grew up in the Washington area. He played soccer and watched the big leagues in Europe, dreaming of one day playing there. He eventually became so good that he enrolled in the IMG Soccer Academy in Florida and started playing for the junior national teams. Adair first saw him when he was 15, playing on the under-17 national team. “He was a man among boys,” Adair said.

Onyewu eventually signed with Clemson and played two years. He signed with the French club Metz but made only three appearances. He was loaned to La Louviere in Belguim for one season, making 24 appearances and scoring two goals. That led to Metz loaning him to Standard Liege, also in Belgium, where Onyewu eventually signed. It was there that he started to make a name for himself, capped by him being named the league’s Foreign Player of the Year in 2005.

“One of the first Americans to do that successfully from going to college and then making it to Europe,” Adair said. “Not too many have done that. What that did was sort of put to rest a lot of people that didn’t think he could do it.”

The bigger clubs came calling, and the disappointment that followed eventually led to his signing with A.C. Milan.

In 2007, he was loaned to Newcastle in England and almost immediately was put into the starting lineup. He fared well at first, but then a new coach was hired, and Onyewu fell out of favor. Newcastle decided to send Onyewu back to Belgium.

For a player with big dreams, the setback was disappointing, but Onyewu didn’t let it stop him from wanting more.

“I thought the next part of my career had begun,” Onyewu said. “Unfortunately it didn’t happen. If the whole Newcastle experience had turned out another way, I wouldn’t be with Milan today.”

He stayed on the radar of many of Europe’s top clubs. Constant rumors of him being loaned to Real Madrid or Inter Milan, to name but two, surfaced.

But Onyewu stayed with Liege until his contract ran out and he became, in American sports vernacular, a free agent.

Then came this year’s Confederations Cup, where the United States lost to Brazil in the finals. But not before Onyewu helped shut down some of the world’s best strikers, including Spain’s Fernando Torres and David Villa.

A week and a half later, the news broke that he had signed with A.C. Milan for an undisclosed fee and salary. He will now be practicing and playing with World Cup-winning players such as Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, to name a few.

“The clubs’ record in itself, the caliber of players on the squad speaks for itself,” Onyewu said. “A strong league like Italy, you don’t think twice. You take your opportunities when they come.”

But Onyewu isn’t done. As he and Adair and have pointed out, he still needs to win a starting spot. He has been assigned No. 5, usually given to a starter. But Onyewu knows that earning the chance to play doesn’t mean you’ve earned a spot. He says that’s the most important thing that kids who dream of following his path should keep in mind.

“It definitely means that you have to aspire and never let anyone tell you different from your goals,” Onyewu said. “Growing up watching the big leagues in Europe. I want to be in that position. You can’t put yourself in that position without hard work. Give it your best. Never give up on a dream.”