Brian McBride Rejoins MLS with the Chicago Fire

The Chicago Fire and Toronto FC completed a trade Wednesday that sends American soccer superstar and Chicago area native Brian McBride to the Fire in exchange for forward Chad Barrett and a first-round draft pick next year. The deal has been talked about ever since McBride admitted earlier this summer his interest in returning to Major League Soccer following a successful stint with Fulham in the English Premier League.

McBride, 36, will not join the Fire until after the US Olympic team completes play in the Beijing Olympics. McBride was one of three over-age players added to the Olympic roster by coach and former Fire midfielder Peter Nowak.  The first possible appearance by McBride will be Aug. 16 at home against DC United. If the US advances beyond the opening round, McBride's start with the Fire will be delayed.

McBride's contract with Major League Soccer runs through the 2009 season.  The process by which McBride joined the Fire went like this: Toronto FC had the top allocation slot, which meant McBride was theirs to have, but McBride expressed interest in playing in Chicago, so TFC made the trade with the Fire.  McBride retired from international soccer after the last EPL season, but found MLS attractive enough to reconsider his decision.

"I am excited to be joining the Chicago Fire for many reasons," McBride said in a statement released by the Fire. "One of the most important of those is Chicago is my hometown. I have a great desire to win championships and hope to do so with the Fire. I am definitely looking forward to my future with the Fire."

McBride hails from Arlington Heights, a northwest suburb of Chicago.  "Brian is an outstanding player and we're excited that he is returning to his hometown to join the Chicago Fire," team owner and chairman Andrew Hauptman said. "His tremendous skill and dedication to the sport are an inspiration to us all. We're thrilled we are able to bring him back to Chicago and MLS, and I am confident he will have an important impact on the team, as well as contribute to the community in meaningful ways."

The engineer of the trade was Fire technical director Frank Klopas.   "Brian is one of the greatest strikers in American history and we are thrilled to have him be a part of our team," Klopas said. "His career speaks for itself and we are looking for him to be an instant contributor to our club."

Although Toronto FC traded away a superstar player, they did receive back a striker they needed in Barrett, who had five goals and four assists for the Fire this season, and a total of 18 goals and 11 assists in four seasons with the team.   "First, I would like to thank all parties involved in getting this done," TFC director of soccer Mo Johnston said. "The real winners in this deal are MLS, the Chicago Fire, Toronto FC, and Brian McBride. The Fire has brought back a wonderful striker and we're getting in return, a promising young striker, as well as a first-round draft pick. It was important that we received the No. 1 pick in this deal, and hopefully it will serve us well in the future."

McBride's professional soccer career is one of the most storied in U.S. soccer history, and its most recent conclusion was significant for an American player. He spent the last four and one-half seasons with Fulham FC in the EPL, and was the team's player of the year in 2005 and 2006. He made 154 career appearances for the team, started 111 games, scored 40 goals, 32 in EPL matches, and was the team's captain for the 2007-2008 season, a high water mark for a player from the USA.

He suffered a dislocated kneecap in the second game of last season, but returned in February, and helped the Whites win four of their last five games to avoid relegation.   McBride was also a mainstay of the US national team for years. He earned 95 caps and scored 30 goals, he appeared in three World Cups (1998, 2002 and 2006) and is the only American player to ever score goals in more than one World Cup. He has three World Cup goals, ranking second on the country's all-time World Cup scoring list.