1-on-1 Interview with Chicago Fire's Jeff Gal

A professional goalkeeper never knows when their chance will come, but one thing is for certain: when that opportunity arises, you have to play well or you may never get that chance again.

The Chicago Fire’s Jeff Gal finally got his chance in 2025 and has done plenty with it.

It all started for Gal on May 10 when the Fire’s starting goalkeeper, Chris Brady, was sent off in the first half of Chicago’s 0-0 draw against Orlando City, setting up the veteran ‘keeper for his first career MLS appearance in his third season with the club as the Bartlett, Illinois native did enough to ensure Chicago left that match with a share of the spoils while not conceding with ten men.

Gal, 32, has since been the Fire’s starting goalkeeper four times in 2025, and it’s the culmination of years of work that took him to Europe and back (with a family) before finally getting the opportunity to start in Major League Soccer.

“The biggest takeaway is just saying to myself ‘all right, you're on the bench,’ but you haven't been able to hop into a game,” Gal told On Tap Sports Net. “And just being able to do that, just doing it in a real-life moment, a real-life game, hopping in there and just saying, ‘Look, man, you can relax now. You're able to hop in there, do that, be there for the team.’

“So that's the biggest takeaway. And being ready for whatever, that moment, it's like, in my mind, I said ‘okay, injuries happen.’ It was a ‘keeper red card, I've seen a few in my lifetime, but that's maybe the first time it's happened in my career. So that was different.

“Everything can happen so quickly. So I’m always just staying ready and being ready for the moment.

It was a long road for Gal to get to his first MLS appearance and subsequent four starts with starting goalkeeper Chris Brady’s absence due to his inclusion in the USMNT’s CONCACAF Gold Cup roster.

Gal was playing amateur soccer with Bridges FC in Illinois after he completed his collegiate career at the University of Virginia when his coach proposed the idea of trying his hand at playing abroad in Sweden. Gal was rewarded for that move with 75 appearances in all competitions during his time with Lidköpings FK, BK Forward, Skövde AIK, and Degerfors in Sweden.

There wasn’t the volume of chances in professional soccer in the United States when Gal made the move to play abroad, and he doesn’t regret making that move at all.

“I'm really happy with the route that I took. Maybe it took a little bit longer to reach my goal. Back then, you had MLS, but really no reserve teams or anything like that. Maybe USL was just coming up.

“Leaving to go abroad, I started out at a lower level, but I got games. And, as a young goalkeeper, that's really what you're looking for…

“It’s just one of those things where you spread your wings, see where it takes you, and put in the work. And I'm really happy that I was able to do that as my first step.”

Those initial months in Sweden were lonely for Gal, and he would spend time playing Xbox (Call of Duty was a mainstay) with friends back in the United States, and the goalkeeper would sometimes lose track of time due to the elongated days during a Swedish summer. Those moments with friends at home helped him until Gal found a support system of his own in Sweden.

“It was just becoming used to get the unknown, you know you're here for one season. Then this club is interested in you, ‘all right, this is a better opportunity for myself, let's go through it.’

Luckily, I was able to meet my wife early on in my journey in Sweden. She was my rock, really the whole time. Whenever it was time to move, she said ‘Hey, you know I'm with you, let's go do it.’ So that was really nice to have someone who was supportive of my dreams at the same time.”

The two of them moved back to the United States, with a baby in tow, for the 2023 MLS season when the Fire signed Gal to be their third goalkeeper behind Chris Brady and Spencer Richey. He was a regular with Chicago’s MLS Next Pro side, Chicago Fire II, during his first two seasons with the club, despite not getting MLS minutes as Brady became the club’s clear-cut starter. Gal was finally rewarded with the backup gig after a strong first preseason under Gregg Berhalter and has since shown that he is a more-than-capable number two ‘keeper in MLS.

Gal credits the Fire’s goalkeeping room over the last three seasons for helping him be ready for his moments in the spotlight, despite those first two seasons going poorly.

“Obviously, the last two seasons have been really tough for the club… I think the group that we've had the last two seasons is an awesome group of goalkeepers, guys who really support each other. We're there for each other. We're able to hang out outside of the team. We don’t hold any grudges against each other. It’s just, ‘look, this is who's playing. We're going to be there for him, we're going to push him.’

“And I feel like that went all three ways, you know. So it was a really good experience of just having such a unified goalkeeping group who was there to just really push each other day in, day out. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them.”

Gal will have another few chances as the Fire’s starting goalkeeper before Brady returns from international duty. He wanted to test himself in the American soccer landscape, and he’s finally gotten that opportunity over the last two months.

With his young family in the stands and his team looking for results to get them into the playoffs for the first time since 2017, Gal will need to be more than an average backup ‘keeper to help his side reach their desired heights in 2025.