González Embracing Minutes from Veteran Role
When Omar González joined the Chicago Fire in February, he knew exactly what his role was going to be.
The 17th season of his professional career started in free agency, but despite his three MLS Cups, two Gold Cups, and one CONCACAF Champions League medal, he wasn't coming in to be a star. In the twilight of his career he was coming in to be the fourth or fifth center back on the depth chart; yet he's now found himself earning three successive starts.
"I think the only different now (in my expectations) is seeing myself on the field more," González told MIR97 Media on Thursday. "But my expectations are still the same. I'm in the same mindset of being helpful, being a good teammate, helping those around me, being that veteran presence. The only thing I needed to switch recently was that starting role."
Keeping up to speed
González is one of the most consistent North American-based center backs of the last 15 years, but it's been a while since he was an every-game starter. His 2021 season in New England was the most recent, helping the Revolution win the Supporters' Shield with 26 starts. So, to continue to perform at the MLS level, González needed to find the right club to get the best out of him as a player of his age.
Chicago, which was weeks away from opening its brand-new Endeavor Health Performance Center at the time González signed, seemed like an ideal place at the right time.
"It's everything I wanted from a club," González said. "We have everything at our disposal. We have staff who are very knowledgeable and help us with everything we need from a performance, nutrition, and coaching standpoint. No stone is left unturned."
"I didn't play for a while. I was coming in at the end of games, getting five minutes here, five minutes there. And playing my first full game five months into the season, you question whether or not you're ready and game fit. I played, sure, I was maybe cramping up a little but toward the end, but I survived, and that's just a testmanet to the staff that made sure every player was ready and a testament to myself making sure that I'm doing what I need to do every single day."
While González does have eight MLS appearances in 2025, these last three starts have accounted for 270 of his 342 total minutes. They included a shock 7-1 win over D.C. United, where he was rock solid for the most part, and two home losses against Nashville and Philadelphia. He is not the same player he once was, but has not looked out of place in any of his appearances this summer.
Mentor role
Just two weeks before the D.C. trip, González was in a completely different position in the weekly depth chart. He did not travel to Charlotte or New York City for a pair of MLS matches in mid-May, with Jack Elliott, Christopher Cupps, and Sam Rogers getting the calls instead. The now-17-year-old Cupps has been the revelation of the Fire's season in terms of young players, and while he's missed the last few weeks with injury, one of González's key tasks is to guide him in his development.
"I think back to when I was young as Gregg (Berhalter) was my mentor at the Galaxy," González recalled of his early years playing in his early days as a 21-year-old defender. "Cupps is way more of a professional than I was back then. I think Gregg had a harder time reigning me in and so I think Cupps is doing great."
"It's a lot about his attitude. It's his comittment to always thinking about where he can improve and what he can improve. And then not just thinking about it, but actually going into the gym, staying after practice, picking my brain, picking the coaches' brains. He's always looking for more and more and more. So it's definitely not surprising to me that he's played a couple of games and done well because of how prepared he is."
https://twitter.com/amcalabrese12/status/1919519630252446049
Cupps went away for international duty in June, leaving González as a starter for the D.C. game almost by default as one of two fully healthy defenders. It was at that point that Berhalter sat down with several first team players who had not yet heavily featured in 2025.
Given how they responded with a 7-1 win while several players earned their first MLS starts in months (including Kellyn Acosta, Tom Barlow, and Maren Haile-Selassie), it was clearly a method that worked.
"Gregg had a meeting with a bunch of the guys who weren't seeing a lot of minutes and said that everyone's important, and everyone can make a difference," González said. "You have to see yourself as a starter, and so that's where I had to change my mindset a little bit."
Ready for anything
With Sam Rogers back to fitness and Cupps a few weeks away from a return to training, it's likely González's minutes will return to rotational ones soon. The Fire have a stretch of five games in 14 days coming up, so while it's almost a certainty the 36-year-old will see some playing time, it probably won't be as a starter.
However, Berhalter would not have signed the experienced center back if he weren't prepared for that role. González has been clear since day one that he's ready for it, and if that means getting a run of games here in the summer, even better.
"That's football, right?" González said. "Once you get into these summer months, injuries happen, national team call-ups happen, different circumstances. And it's just part of football, part of MLS. I just knew I had to be ready for my opportunity with the way I prepare, the way that I train every day."
"I felt ready. Having the years of experience under my belt, the nerves don't go away, I'm still nervous, because I want to do it for this club, for my teammates, for the city of Chicago. So going from not playing ro being thrust into the starting lineup has been awesome and now it's about trying to be consistent in these games."
