Tim Melia is one of the best goalkeepers in Major League Soccer and has been since arriving at Sporting Kansas City nine years ago. He’s preternaturally adept at saving penalties, winning the psychological brain games of shootouts, and his leadership is crucial in an SKC side fighting for a fifth Open Cup.
It's also worth noting that the two-time Open Cup Champion, now 37, takes none of it for granted.
“You’re only as good as your last game,” said Melia, who earned his first starting gig in the American top-flight at the ripe old age of 29. “I know that more than the next guy because of all I’ve been through.”
An agile shot-stopper with an eye for quick breaks, the Long Island native paid his dues in the lower leagues with the Rochester Rhinos before Real Salt Lake drafted him in 2010. Of course, once at the top of the pyramid, it was all money, comfort and the professional dream.
Happily ever after, right? Not quite.
Chivas to the Pool
He was released from his contract after barely a full year in Utah and quickly landed one of the worst gigs in MLS at the time: Back-up at Chivas USA. He made six appearances for the ill-fated club and conceded 12 goals, an average of two per game. It’s one of those stats that’s a damned lie, a reflection more on the now-defunct club’s mismanagement than Melia’s chops between the posts.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, when Chivas went belly up in 2014, Melia ended up in MLS’ goalkeeper pool – where no one wants to be at age 28. He was a gun-for-hire, a back-up who’d travel to fill a hole. “It’s not the situation I wanted to be in,” he said, remembering those days. He was a body, quite literally, making up the numbers, on contract with the league but not with a team. “But it was my reality.”
