DETROIT – Fresh off his first international goal for the United States Men’s National Team earlier this summer, Chris Richards is coming to Detroit this weekend.
As the 23-year-old American center back continues to try and earn regular minutes at Crystal Palace of the English Premier League, his team is set to take on the current Europa League title holders, Spanish side Sevilla at Comerica Park on Sunday, July 30 as part of their pre-season American tour.
Though he missed out on last year’s World Cup due to an injury, Richards is viewed by many as the center back of the future for the USMNT and he’s nearing the precipice of becoming a regular starter at Palace.
For anyone, that would be an accomplishment, but it’s all the more impressive when you consider he grew up in the heart of “Friday Night Lights country.”
Speaking with WWJ’s Zach Clark and Kyle Beery earlier this summer, Richards shared his journey from Hoover, Alabama – once the setting of the MTV show “Two-a-Days” chronicling a high school football team – to the best soccer league on the planet.
Richards says as a kid he was going to try out for the football team, but got sick and “took it as a sign” that maybe football wasn’t the right path. At least not American football.
“I grew up watching ‘Two-a-Days,’ and I grew up in that culture where soccer was, I think at that point, probably the fourth biggest sport. I think now it’s making a bit of a surge,” Richards said. “Alabama was probably the coldest place when it comes to soccer fans and just soccer culture in general, or at least growing up it was that way.”
When Richards first moved to Europe with German giants Bayern Munich, he says the culture shift really helped push his game to the next level.
“My first club was one of the biggest clubs in the whole world and that was really eye-opening. It taught me a lot, but also it showed me a lot. I think it really kinda helped drive my love for the game.”
Moving to the Prem ahead of last season had the same effect, he said.
“Coming over here to Palace, it was the exact same. Playing against the best teams in the world, at some of the best stadiums in the world against some of the best players in the world,” he said. “A few years ago I was living in Alabama and then being able to do this, it’s really crazy how fast the journey goes, but I’m enjoying it.”
Now playing in Europe and making an impact with the USMNT, Richards says it will be a treat to come back to the States, getting the opportunity to play in front of his family, most of whom will be able to make the trip up from Ohio.
After spending the last several years immersing himself in other cultures, Richards says he’s excited to show his teammates a taste of home. And he hopes he can inspire the next generation of American soccer players along the way.
As for what Detroit fans – even those who may not be soccer fanatics – can expect Sunday, Richards says it’s going to be exciting.
“Whether you’re a fan of soccer or not, I think it’s a really big experience, a unique experience to something that you get in the States. I think it’ll be a different experience than anything you’ll see back home,” he said.
Sunday’s friendly match in Detroit is certainly a rarity, but it isn’t the first international soccer match played at Comerica Park. Back in 2017 Paris St. Germain took on Roma in a preseason friendly.
Tickets for Sunday’s game are available on the 313 Presents website.