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Chicago is a huge sports city, boasting fanatical followers
of ice hockey, American football, basketball and baseball. Last
year, 60,000 even turned out to watch Ireland shock New Zealand
in a rugby union test. But not everybody has quite bought into
the "other football".
Schweinsteiger, who helped Germany win the sport's ultimate
trophy in 2014, was facing the media on Wednesday after his move
from Manchester United and though he has excellent English, the
midfielder was understandably bemused when asked if he felt his
arrival might help Fire win the World Cup.
A team official hurriedly whispered that the question must refer
to the World Club Cup but while Schweinsteiger was preparing to
answer, the reporter rephrased the question, making it painfully
obvious he was indeed referring to the most-watched sporting
event in the world.
General Manager Nelson Rodriguez stepped in to gently explain to
the reporter that clubs do not compete for the World Cup -- a
tournament where the United States has featured in the last
seven editions, reaching the knockout stage in four of them.
Instead he suggested that Schweinsteiger treat the question as
an enquiry about a more modest, but eminently more achievable
ambition -- winning the MLS Cup.
"I think in football everything is realistic and I always
believe in the team which I play for that you can win the game
even if it's against the best team in the world," Schweinsteiger
said, presumably not in reference to Fire's chances against
Brazil.
"You have a chance to win and I experienced that a lot in my
career that everything is possible."
Almost everything.
(Writing by Mitch Phillips; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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