After more than a year on Gregg Berhalter’s radar, Johan Gómez is finally a Chicago Fire player.
Although the 25-year-old doesn’t arrive in Chicago with much fanfare or glamour, for the Fire, it's a transfer deadline move that they’ve waited quite some time to make, and with attention now turning to the chase for MLS Cup, the new signing is going to be a part of it.
“It was a really long process,” Gómez said of his move from 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig to the Fire. “Chicago first made contact about a year ago. It wasn't the right timing for me and my family at that point. I still had two years left on my contract in Germany, and we wanted to play out the season.”
“I actually wanted to come back in January. That was a decision that I had made. Unfortunately, (Braunschweig) didn't allow that, so that's how we ended up finishing out the season in a relegation battle. And now was the right time, I think, for all of us. It lined up also with the club, especially as I was entering my last contract year. So I think it finally worked out, and I'm really happy with it.”
Gómez has spent the majority of his professional career overseas, but he originally hails from Arlington, Texas, and came up through the FC Dallas academy pipeline in the 2010s. After a brief stint in Portugal with FC Porto B, the Mexican-American moved to Germany, turning out for FSV Zwickau and Eintracht Braunschweig in the second and third divisions.
During that time in Germany, he earned several youth national team call-ups and was involved in the 2024 Paris Olympics cycle, eventually traveling to France as an alternate.
As someone who can play many positions and who would not require an international slot, Gómez’s profile seemed primed for a move to MLS, where heavily restrictive roster rules add an extra layer of difficulty to the transfer market. Berhalter – someone with an intimate knowledge of both the U.S. player pool and German football – first reached out around a year ago, traveling to Niedersachsen to visit the player and his family; the Fire also tried to sign him in January, but it was blocked by Braunschweig as they were in the midst of a relegation battle in the second league.
“Gregg was great, not only with me, but with my agents, with my family,” Gómez said. “My wife was here in Chicago with my mother-in-law just visiting family, and he let them come to the facilities.”
“So when you have a coach like that who's just so kind to your family and also to me, and shows that he wants you, and is patient considering the fact that my old club blocked the transfer multiple times, actually, it just shows that at some point you may just want to make a move and try to give your all to make it all worth it for him.”
So what made Gómez an attractive player for the Fire, so much so that Berhalter was willing to put over a year into making this move happen?
In addition to the attributes mentioned before – his versatility and domestic player status – Gómez has a reputation as someone who trains well and can push his teammates across various positions.
“Johan's an interesting person, interesting player,” Berhalter said on Thursday. “When we watched him in the 2. Bundesliga, which is a very competitive league, we saw him playing wingback. We saw him playing attacking midfield. We saw him playing winger. We saw him playing forward. So we saw him playing a number of positions.”
“And what we noticed right away was there wasn't any visible dissent in playing these positions. He embraced every position. He competed in the position and really just tried to focus on how he could help the team.”
“And I think when you have guys like that, the biggest complication that we're going to have right now in the remainder of the season is picking a starting eleven. That's going to be the hardest thing.”
Having arrived in Chicago at the beginning of the week, Gómez is immediately in position to contribute for the Fire. He will wear #18 and has had multiple sessions with his new teammates ahead of a potential debut this Saturday in Toronto.
Gómez – who is coming off of a full preseason and already featured last month against 1. FC Magdeburg in the 2. Bundesliga – is ready to participate with his new club in whatever way necessary.
“I'm someone who really likes to get action offensively, whether it's creating opportunities for my teammates, for myself, or just pressing the opposition,” Gómez said. “That's what I mostly prefer. But at the end of the day, I'll play wherever they put me.”
