Veljko Paunovic added a key piece to his plans for the Chicago Fire back line in 2016 and beyond on Tuesday, announcing the signing of 25-year-old Dutch defender Johan Kappelhof.
After coming up through the Ajax youth system, Kappelhof found a home at FC Groningen, where he featured in 123 Eredivisie matches -- including 18 this season -- before moving stateside for a new challenge with MLS and the Chicago Fire. He departs a Groningen side that currently stands ninth in the 18-team top flight of Dutch football.
Kappelhof helped anchor Groningen's victory in the 2014-15 Dutch Cup -- akin to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open cup or English FA Cup -- which marked the club's first major trophy and which qualified the side for Europa League competition for a second straight year. Groningen won by a 2-0 scoreline in the final over defending Cup champion PEC Zwolle, which had pulled a significant upset in toppling Ajax, 5-1, in the previous year’s Dutch Cup final. Kappelhof played the full 90 minutes in the victory.
Slotted to play centrally for the Men In Red, Kappelhof is likely to lead a centerback corps that also currently features João Meira, Eric Gehrig and rookie Jonathan Campbell. Check out additional highlights from Kappelhof’s FC Groningen career below:
