Mihailovic, Slonina called up for Olympics
The United States are headed to the Olympics in men's soccer for the first time since 2008, and two Chicago Fire academy graduates will be a part of the 18-man squad.
Djordje Mihailovic of Lemont and Gaga Slonina of Addison will be those representatives, though neither are still with the club. Mihailovic is having an incredible season for the Colorado Rapids since joining them as a DP in the offseason, while Slonina is back with Chelsea following a loan spell at K.A.S. Eupen in Belgium.
The inclusion of Slonina means that Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, who's established himself as one of MLS' best young goalkeepers in the last two seasons, will be excluded. Columbus Crew #1 Patrick Schulte is the projected starter in Paris, even though he has looked shaky in recent U.S. appearances, and Slonina will likely be the backup.
Brady was also not named as an alternate, which, unlike most tournaments, is a role in which players are actually eligible for selection, provided that a player on the main roster is injured. Sporting Kansas City's John Pulskamp was named as the third goalkeeper. The Chicago Fire told MIR97 Media that Brady was not blocked by the club (as has happened in the past) and that Fire players were made available throughout the full Olympic cycle.
Another noteworthy exclusion was that of Fire homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez. "Guti" has not been involved with the U.S. at all since his call-up for the first U-23 camp of the cycle in October, where he appeared in a friendly against Mexico. Despite battling some difficult stretches of form at the start of this season, his production has picked up in recent weeks. Gutiérrez was omitted alongside other talented players in his position, such as top prospect Esmir Bajraktarević, Cole Bassett, Quinn Sullivan, and Diego Luna, the last of whom declined the opportunity to be a part of the group that traveled to Paris. This also increases the probability of Guti switching his international allegiance to Mexico, a country he also holds the nationality of; such a loss would be a hammer blow for U.S. Soccer.
Mihailovic's selection for the Olympics was nothing simple; initially, it seemed that top U.S. players like Gio Reyna and Malik Tillman could be a part of the team in the attacking midfield position, but as the roster deadline approached, it became clear that this was unfeasible and Mihailovic was approached. After negotiations with Colorado, he was finally released and will play in his first global tournament after being controversially left off of the U.S. World Cup roster in 2022. Mihailovic has 10 goals and 6 assists this season and has been in electric form all summer, being among the finalists for June Player of the Month in MLS.
The U.S. will start the tournament under former Fire assistant coach Marko Mitrović on July 24th against host France before rounding out the group stage against New Zealand (July 27th) and Guinea (July 30th). They will also play warm-up friendlies against Paraguay and Spain next week to prepare for the games.
