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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.– As Chris Richards strolled out onto the Protective Stadium pitch minutes before a midweek matchup kicked off between Birmingham Legion FC and Rhode Island FC, a wry smile cracked across the lanky 24-year-old’s face.
Ahead of performing the honorary coin toss, a video on the scoreboard ran through clips of the star defender’s numerous highlights with Crystal Palace and the United States Men’s National Team. That followed with three simple, yet powerful, words.
Welcome Home, Chris.
“It’s so great to be home,” Richards said. “It’s been such a crazy summer, so it’s good to be able to come back here for a few days, spend time with the family and all the comfort that comes with that.”
That crazy summer saw him hopping on plane not even 24 hours later, destined for South London to rejoin his Crystal Palace teammates for preseason training, although he will soon be coming back across the Atlantic at the end of July with the club for some stateside friendlies. It’s all part of a barnstorming tour for Richards that has already seen him make multiple stops across America with the USMNT during the 2024 Copa America – with Richards playing every minute of every match for the squad. After that, it was time for a well-earned vacation in Cabo San Lucas.
However, no matter where the travel itinerary had him going, Richards always knew he would find his way back home to Birmingham at some point. So taking in Wednesday’s Legion FC match with a whole host of his immediate and extended family in a suite, everything felt right in the world.
“This will always be home,” he said. “My family is still here, so no matter how far I go, I know I will always be coming back here.”
And The Magic City is always happy to welcome Richards back with open arms.
In the lead up to the coin toss, Richards passed by the Legion FC locker room on his way to the field, but made sure to stop and chat with some players as they walked by, including Kobe Hernandez-Foster who Richards first met in Germany during his time with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich – Hernandez-Foster spent time there on a trial. And once that legendary and affable grin peaked through the southwest tunnel, a cheer reverberated throughout the stadium as kids quickly ran down the aisle for a picture and/or an autograph.
The Hoover High School-alum was happy to meet with them all. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that he was in their shoes and coming up through the youth ranks at Hoover Soccer Club.
The only difference then, when Richards was their age, was that there wasn’t a professional soccer team in the city to act as a beacon for a community that has shown the ability to cultivate top-tier soccer talent over the years.
“Obviously everyone knows about the football in Alabama, but we are producing soccer players,” Richards explained. “Not only guys like myself but Tanner (Tessman) is having success in Italy and is about represent us in the Olympics. There is a lot of potential here and it’s good to see the growth of Legion happening now. It can only mean great things for our game here.”
This was Richards’ second time attending a Legion FC match, and the club presented him with a personalized “Richards #3” Sprite Chill kit that debuted that night. However, one does wonder if the Birmingham-native could’ve worn the Legion shield even more if the timeline worked out with the club’s existence coinciding with his youth career.
Instead, after it became abundantly clear that Richards was destined for great things on the pitch at Hoover SC, the only way to continue his growth as a young player was to head west to Texas where he broke through with the FC Dallas Academy from 2017 to 2019. That caught the attention of Bayern Munich… and the rest, as they say, is history with the Magic City kid going on to realize the magical dream of playing with and against the world’s best.
Richards’ hope going forward is that those same dreams can be realized for hometown kids with their hometown club.
“It’s been fun to watch what Legion has meant to the Birmingham kids and the community since it started,” he said. “As the club continues to grow it will provide more and more opportunities here for our best players to come in and get that professional experience early on which will only mean great things going forward for them.”
And that is a big reason why Richards enjoys coming back to Birmingham and taking in a Legion FC match when his schedule allows. He understands and is fully onboard with the mission of pushing the city’s soccer culture to new heights. Essentially, it’s his way of giving back to a community that molded him as the player and the man that he is now.
That’s why, no matter where his soccer journey has taken him and no matter how many soccer cathedrals he has played in throughout Germany and England, Richards found himself immensely enjoying himself being a spectator and a fan on Wednesday evening.
He got to spend it with his family.
He got to come home.
