After being called up from Pittsburgh of the A-league, defender Tenwya Bonseu played in two regular-season games for Chicago before becoming a playoff regular.
SOCCER AMERICA: You and Peter Byaruhanga of Kansas City are the only Ugandan players in MLS. How did you make your way to America?
TENYWA BONSEU: At my high school [in Kampala, Uganda] they have a program for soccer players to get scholarships to American colleges. I won a scholarship and went to [NAIA] Martin Methodist College. We had players from many countries.
It was always one of my goals, one of my dreams, so when I got the scholarship I had to take the opportunity.
SA: How long did you stay there?
TB: After the first year, my coach told me I was playing at a higher level than most of the guys and told me when the opportunity comes to go pro.
SA: Is this your first experience in a foreign country?
TB: I went to try out with a team in the J-League. But they told me it was kind of hard, since I wanted to attend school at the same time, because of the language barrier.
It gave me much courage and showed me I have the ability. I experienced training with different peoples from different countries.
SA: Has it been difficult to move from NAIA to the A-League to MLS in less than three years?
TB: ItÆs not that easy. [Peter] went to college four years and was drafted [by MLS] earlier this year. It was a bit of luck for me. I was playing for the national team back home, so itÆs not the same situation for every player. The chance just came my way.
I play a simple game and donÆt try to complicate it by doing hard things in the midfield. I adjust and move on.
SA: Will you be back with the Fire next year?
TB: IÆm playing with first-class players like [Peter] Nowak and [Hristo] Stoitchkov and the national-team players from the U.S. You find itÆs a different level and you have to learn from them.
I would like to stay with the Chicago team. It is strong and I am learning. That motivates me.
by Soccer America senior editor Ridge Mahoney