Brad Guzan back to MLS? Sure … but not anytime soon

Here’s the thing to ask yourself when American soccer heroes abroad are queried about whether they will return to Major League Soccer one day:

What else are they ever going to say?

For that matter, when Cristiano Ronaldo or any of the game’s global luminaries are asked about playing “one day” in MLS, what harm in saying “Heck yeah … I think I’d like to play there someday and enjoy life in that wonderful country!”

So we shouldn’t all Harlem Shaky when a right-proper soccer hero talks about coming to MLS or coming home to MLS, which would be the case with Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan. The current U.S. international backup began his professional career at Chivas USA.

He’s now the established No. 1 at Villa Park. Establishment as an English Premier League starter is pretty much the be-all, end-all, the career summit for a goalkeeper. Guzan is there at age 28!  The only upward move from here would be to a better club, one perhaps challenging for European hardware, whether that’s in England, Germany, Spain or wherever.

(MORE: It’s been a good year at Villa Park for Guzan. Seriously.)

Yes, I am positive the Illinois man and his family would love to return stateside at some point. But let’s not kid ourselves here. If things go right for Guzan we are talking about rediscovering his MLS roots somewhere past the year 2020. Let that sink in.

Here’s the “Would you ever … ” quote du jour. It’s from a piece in the Express and Star:

Would I like to return to MLS one day? Yes, definitely. I was only a kid when I first went into MLS and it was still growing. To see now from watching the highlights on the internet and TV just how far it has come.

“Hopefully, I will get the opportunity, when I’m finished playing in Europe, to go back and play in it. Especially being from Chicago, I’d love to go back and play for the Chicago Fire in front of friends and family. That would be pretty neat.”