Follow ex Red Bulls/Metrostars players - Page 8 - TalkSoccer

**Frank Cunha** · 17-09-2004, 04:57 PM

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/...188489,00.html

**Frank Cunha** · 17-09-2004, 04:57 PM

World at their feet
Walker used to tough challenges

By Zack McMillin
Contact
September 17, 2004

Stripped along the top of the Web site for the MetroStars, the MLS team based in New Jersey, is a picture of Jonny Walker.

The former Christian Brothers High star is wearing a goalkeeper's long-sleeved jersey, and his face screams action.

His mouth is open, his head is jutting forward and his right arm is extended in front of him. His hand, covered by a padded keeper's mitt, is gesturing, presumably to teammates, with an index finger that looks like it means business.

Even in miniature, Jonny Walker creates a presence.

Known by many American soccer fans as the man who replaced Tim Howard (a part-time Germantown resident now with Manchester United in England), Walker has spent the last year building his own reputation as one of America's best keepers.

Going into Saturday's big first-place showdown at Columbus -- and former Memphis Futbol Club teammate Ross Paule -- Walker owns a 1.57 goals-against-average and has established himself as the No. 4 keeper for the U.S. Men's National Team.

As the MetroStars make their run at a regular-season title, the goalkeeping position is not a concern.

"I knew it would be hard to find the right guy to follow Timmy," says MetroStars coach Bob Bradley. "I needed someone that wasn't going to try and be the next Timmy Howard, someone who understands his game and his strengths and knew how to play.

"That was the most impressive thing with Jonny. He wasn't fazed by the challenge."

That's probably because the challenge seemed more like an opportunity to Walker.

Walker could tell you about more challenging situations.

Like leaving his team in the A-League, MLS's feeder league, to try out for a team in Chile.

Like playing in a stadium in Chile jammed full of some of South America's most intense fans.

Like beating out a national star, Nelson Tapia, for a starting position at Universidad Catolica, one of Chile's biggest teams.

As the first American player to establish a successful pro career in South America, Walker led Catolica to a championship in 2002 and, in 2003, joined Colo Colo, Catolica's arch-rival, and helped that squad finish runner-up for the championship.

So, no, replacing Howard, the first American to ever play for Manchester United, didn't seem like that big a deal.

"I never sensed the importance of the situation or that it would be a difficult job to take," Walker told The New York Times last year. "It was an opportunity, and I took it. I never really thought about any negative aspects."

Part of Walker's charm as a player and a person is his ability to mix an intense competitive drive with a refined sense of fun.

One of his MetroStar teammates is Eddie Gaven, a 17-year-old prodigy widely considered America's next big soccer star. Gaven credits the 30-year-old Walker with making him feel comfortable and boosting his confidence.

"Jonny has probably helped me more than anybody on the team," said Gaven. "He just makes everything so much fun."

Says Walker: "I have a soft spot for him. If taking him under your wing is joking with him and all the other stuff older professionals do to people they like, yeah, I guess so."

Gaven says the presence Walker creates on the field takes on another form in the locker room and in training.

"Every time he walks in when we first start training he always has a smile on his face," Gaven says. "And it kinda makes everyone see him and say, 'Oh, this is still fun.' ... It's like he's saying, 'We get to go out and play soccer for a living. Can't ask for more than that.'"

When Gaven was called up to the national team, he roomed with Walker.

Gaven certainly has a future with the U.S. team. Walker does, too, though he knows that America's wealth of great goalkeepers will make it difficult to find a spot on the 2006 World Cup team.

But the U.S. first must qualify for that event, and indications are that Walker figures into coach Bruce Arena's plans during qualifying.

So far in 2004, Walker has earned three appearances -- called national caps -- and recorded a shutout in an April game against Mexico in Dallas. He was a part of the team that played at Panama in a qualifier earlier this month, though he did not play.

"Being a part of the World Cup qualifying process is an honor," Walker says.

Having Walker in goal gives Arena a player who knows what it's like to play in hostile environments south of the border.

"A lot of those qualifiers, it's like what I experienced, but it's not quite second-hand," Walker says. "When you walk into a stadium and the fans want to put you up on a pole and stone you, it's not something you get used to. But it's not a novelty for me."

Because of all the former club teammates in the MLS -- Paule with Columbus, Carey Talley with Dallas and Richard Mulrooney with San Jose -- sometimes Walker finds himself in eerily familiar situations, albeit in stadiums and not at a park in Shelby County.

Playing at home against Columbus on Aug. 29, Walker found himself preparing for a penalty kick from Paule, the former club teammate and high school opponent.

"The second I got the penalty I knew he was going to take it and I was thinking, 'Nineteen-ninety-one, Cameron Browne, JV, this new guy from Houston and I saved one on him,'" Walker says. "But this time he's older and he's got more meat on his bones."

Paule put it past him, but Walker found him in the tunnel at halftime and reminded him of that long-ago miss.

"I did not even think about that," Paule said. "But he mentioned it. He's a great keeper and he's dangerous in those situations."

What Paule has known that for a long time, American soccer fans are learning firsthand

**Frank Cunha** · 17-09-2004, 05:03 PM

more on Gaven on the Johnny Walker article

**Frank Cunha** · 17-09-2004, 05:05 PM

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/...188498,00.html

Player's wife helps fans keep track of local soccer success stories
By Zack McMillin
Contact
September 17, 2004

If four products of Memphis soccer playing in the MLS weren't enough, a former member of the Christian Brothers University women's soccer team is helping promote them.

Shauna Hays Walker, the wife of MetroStars goalkeeper Jonny Walker, is the content manager for USSoccerPlayers.com, the web site for the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association.

The site, which was taken over by managers for the now-defunct InternetSoccer.com, promotes the game in various forms, but its focus is on the players in the U.S. National Team pool.

Since Walker, Richard Mulrooney, Ross Paule and Carey Talley either are or have been in that group, Shauna sometimes finds herself writing about old friends.

Shauna started writing about soccer when Jonny played in South America, serving as a correspondent for American-based Web sites.

Now she works out of her New Jersey home, which makes it perfect for the family, which includes 2-year-old Seth.

"I love it because I still get to be involved in soccer," she says.