Catching up with Gaga Slonina
Tonight, Chris Brady will take the field for the 12th time this season when the Chicago Fire takes on Atlanta United at Soldier Field. The 19-year-old goalkeeper has been one of the most impressive stories of the season so far, making the starting job his own, and playing more than well enough to fill the void left by Gaga Slonina over the offseason.
Slonina will also take the field today as well, though it will be with a different team: the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team. Brady has been that team’s #1 throughout most of the cycle, including CONCACAF qualifiers, but he was not released by the Fire to go to the World Cup this Spring.
“We’re disappointed that some of the guys [including Brady] weren’t released,” says Head Coach Mikey Varas, “but my overarching goal as U-20 coach is making sure that I graduate players onto the senior team and help advance these guys’ careers… having so many guys being indispensable to their club teams to the point where they’re not released, it’s something that we can take a lot of pride in and the players should take a lot of pride in.”
Since Brady won’t be able to fight for the #1 spot, Slonina has a great opportunity to showcase himself at a World Cup tournament. Since leaving Chicago for Chelsea this offseason, Gaga has made his senior international debut for the USMNT against Serbia and has been playing with the developmental squad in the Premier League’s reserve league.
“I think that those six months we were super vital for me to be able to be around the environment,” Gaga told us Thursday. “Also, to see what I still need to improve on to take myself to that to that level. I think having six months to adapt to the lifestyle in the U.K. was really really good for me so I’m happy with the progress I made while I was there.”
Since Gaga had a full season of playing first team soccer in Chicago, playing at the Premier League reserve level was admittedly a step down, but he has still received rave reviews from those in England. He appeared eight times in the league and kept three clean sheets, including wins over Arsenal and Manchester United and a shutout against Liverpool. His time at Chelsea has helped him become a better and more well-rounded goalkeeper, including an improved ball-playing ability.
“Being around that environment, you’re going to get better, you have to adapt, otherwise you’re not going to make it,” says Gaga. “To train with the first team there, the level is the best in the world. You can get very good in a short period of time, but if you don’t have the right mindset, and you don’t want to improve, it won’t matter where you are. You need to have the right mentality to continue to want to get better, but within the time I’ve been there, I think I’ve gotten much better at playing with my feet. It’s a big emphasis for the goalkeeper to be the eleventh player, instead of just the goalkeeper.”
While Slonina is accomplishing great things for a goalkeeper of his age, it’s hard to deny the role that the Chicago Fire played in his development. Not only did he have the opportunity to get first team minutes at 17, something totally unprecedented in world soccer for a goalkeeper, but he was pushed hard by his talented teammate Chris Brady, and both had the opportunity to work with goalkeeping coach Adin Brown.
“I have to give a lot of credit to [Brown],” says Slonina. “I loved working with him, every single moment. We still chat about it sometimes now. Preparing with him, day in and day out, being in early, watching film, it was something special that we build. Obviously, he’s at San Jose now, but he had a big impact on my career and I’ll forever be grateful.”
As for Brady, he also had an impact on his development.
“We were never really too close, but it was a healthy competition that pushed us to get better and to have the success that we’re having right now. It was great to be with him at the Chicago Fire, and I wish him the best because it’s good to see other young goalkeepers doing well.”
While Brady is naturally a bit disappointed to miss the competition, he knows he has a job to do in Chicago, and he’ll be looking to continue his good form this weekend. Though he’s had an excellent season and has been a real bright spot for the Fire, he has made a few uncharacteristic mistakes, and while those moments can be difficult, they can help make a player better in the long run.
“If you dwell on a mistake, you’re likely to make more,” says Gaga. “You’re going to make mistakes as a young goalkeeper, you’re going to make mistakes as an old goalkeeper, mistakes won’t ever leave you, but you just get better at adapting to them and get better at learning from those mistakes.”
It’s safe to say that Brady has a similar mentality because as mentioned previously, he’s been a real standout this season. Had he been available for the U-20 World Cup, there’s a very real chance that he would have wrestled the starting job away from Slonina. Sadly, it’s a contest we won’t get to see right now, though it could happen one day with the senior national team.
It does remain a remarkable fact that two of the world’s most elite goalkeeping prospects just so happened to be born a few miles apart in the Chicago suburbs just a few weeks apart. Such a coincidence may never happen again. Now, though, they are thousands of miles apart, and both succeeding in their own ways.
Gaga and the U-20s will kick off their World Cup campaign this afternoon at 1 against Ecuador, while Brady and the Chicago Fire welcome Atlanta at 7:30 tonight. Chicago’s two brightest young goalkeeping stars will have perfect opportunities to showcase their talents on huge stages, and long may it continue.
