Davis’ Discussion: For Chris Rolfe, It’s Business, Then Travel

In January, Chris Rolfe will fulfill the lifelong dream of any soccer player growing up in United States when he flies across the Pond to join Danish side Aalborb BK.

But first, he has some unfinished business: Winning the MLS Cup with a Chicago Fire club that will make massive changes before they take the pitch in 2010.

In addition to Rolfe, regulars Brian McBride, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Gonzalo Segares, Wilman Conde, and Marco Pappa could be departing and Brandon Prideaux is retiring. For the Windy City's finest, this Saturday's semifinal match against Real Salt Lake—and, if they win, next week's championship game at Qwest Field in Seattle—represents a last go-round for a group of players who believe their roster features the most talent in the league.

"We all understand that we have a very good group of guys and we may not be on a team this talented again," Rolfe told Goal.com over the phone on Friday. "A lot of the guys are leaving and it's their last chance at an MLS Cup. I think we're all very aware of that."

It's been a chaotic season for the Fire—one that saw head coach Denis Hamlett clash with Bakary Soumare, resulting in the defender's transfer to Boulogne in France—but ultimately, the squad banded together and find themselves exactly where they've been for the past two seasons: Playing for a spot in the year's final match.

Although they fell short both times—to the New England Revolution in 2007 and to the Columbus Crew a year ago—the Fire will have a decided advantage on Saturday: a home game.

"We get great crowds here in the playoffs and we have great fans that come out and support us," the striker said. "That was very apparent on Saturday [when the Fire defeated the Revolution 2-0]. It definitely helped us push through the last 10 minutes or so and get that goal and buckle down defensively when we're all tired."

The statistics back his statements up. While the Fire are a pedestrian 27-18-16 at Toyota Park during the regular season, they are a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs and have yet to concede a goal.

Of course, no matter how the next match plays out, Rolfe will be off to Europe. When he talks about the decision to move to the Danish club known as Aab by its supporters, he sounds a bit miffed at the attitude of the Fire management towards their five-year veteran. The clinical finisher expressed interest in remaining with the club, but didn't see this sentiment returned.

"I wasn't happy with the way things were going here in general," he said. "I didn't feel like they were too interested in signing me. So we obviously took the other offers from Europe very seriously and went after those. Fortunately, it all worked out."

Aab manager Magnus Pehrsson had been watching the Kettering, Ohio native since 2006, coming to a couple of his games in the U.S. during the past couple years. Rolfe spoke to Danish Superliga veterans Michael Parkhurst, Heath Pearce, and Danny Califf about making a move and decided it was the right place for him at this stage in his career.

"I think if I would have tried to make this move straight out of college it would have been very difficult for me, in terms the personal side of things as well as the professional side," the player with 36 MLS goals to his name said. "Being in Chicago for five years gave me time to mature and grow a little bit."

And so, in January he'll join fellow American Marcus Tracy at the club that currently sits in sixth place in the Superliga, one spot above their finish during the 2008-2009 campaign. Rolfe, who says his best qualities are his quickness and his ability to finish, doesn't know where he fits on Pehrsson's squad, but believes he'll have an opportunity to prove himself.

"I know they are obviously looking at me in an attacking role of some sort, whether that be more of an attacking midfielder or upfront," he said. "It's a long break they have in the winter so we'll have about a month and a half to train before the second half of the season picks up."

Rolfe, who participated in the last two January training camps for the United States National Team and played 30 minutes during the squad's 3-2 victory over Sweden in early 2009, hopes his move leads to a call from Bob Bradley. With the injury to Charlie Davies, the Americans need speed up front and it's reasonable to assume the Fire striker might have traveled with the Stars and Stripes to Europe for their upcoming friendlies against Slovakia and Denmark were it not for his club commitments. Still, he believes some other MLS regulars have earned a call up ahead of him.

"I think there are a lot of forwards that have stepped up in MLS that definitely deserve a shot," he said. "Conor Casey and Robbie Findley and even Jeff Cunningham have had such great years. Right now I'd say they deserve more of a shot than I do."

Despite his modesty, Rolfe's future is clear: Go to Denmark, play well, and fight his way onto the U.S. team. But back in the present, there's a game to play, then hopefully another. Leaving these shores with an MLS Cup would be an appropriate sendoff.

Noah Davis covers the United States Men's National Team for Goal.com

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