The caller ID on Alex Bono’s cell phone displayed a number from Orange County, California.

The former Syracuse goalkeeper was on his way to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for the Hermann Trophy Award presentation on Jan. 9 and had no idea who could’ve been calling from that area code.

“Hello, is this Alex?” the voice said in a German accent. “This is Jurgen Klinsmann.”

Bono’s first reaction was that it was either Juuso Pasanen or Julian Buescher, both Europeans and former SU teammates, playing a prank on him. Never did he think it could be Klinsmann, the head coach of the United States men’s national team.

“You’re messing with me, right?” Bono asked.

But after Klinsmann started talking in great detail about the national team’s training camp three days away, Bono was convinced the offer from the other end was real.

His call-up to Team USA came only two days after he signed off on turning pro. And though he wasn’t one of the 23 chosen to travel overseas with the team, it was an invaluable experience preceding the start of his Major League Soccer career. The next chapter began Tuesday with Toronto FC, the team that drafted him sixth overall on Jan. 15, capping a three-week period in which his life transformed after becoming the first player to leave SU early for the MLS.

“It’s a different way of life and this is a job now for me,” Bono said. “That’s the most fulfilling part and it’s also the most challenging part. There’s no more heading to Lucy’s on Saturday nights, there’s no more doing that stuff. It’s business.”

When they were young children, Alex and his brother Christian, now 18, would play U-10 indoor soccer at The CNY Family Sports Centre in Syracuse. They’d walk right through the woods behind their Baldwinsville, New York house and kick around at Kerri Hornaday Park.

“‘One day I’m going to play for the USA soccer team,’” Christian said his brother would profess. “We always thought he’d finish college, go do whatever and maybe go play with the U.S. team.

“It’s ironic to look back and say all these years he knew it was going to happen.”

To elevate his career to this level, though, Bono had to make one of the hardest decisions of his life.

He’s lived 20 minutes from SU for almost 21 years. He’s a “die-hard Syracuse everything fan.” After being asked his thoughts on the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry ahead of the NCAA tournament Sweet 16, Bono admitted that he hates Georgetown.

But the national team is looking to draw players from the U.S.’s U-20 squad, Bono said, and most of the teenagers on that team are already professionals. Bono’s stock would never be as high as it was right after his junior season, so he knew staying in college would only hinder his chance at eventually getting to play for his country.

After receiving the call from Klinsmann two days after turning pro, Bono attended the Hermann Trophy ceremony in Missouri, then returned to train at Manley Field House and finally headed off to Carson, California to join Team USA.

On the first day, Bono walked down to breakfast and saw players he’s used on FIFA, men he’s idolized when watching the World Cup and national heroes in his favorite sport.

When he was introduced to the team by Klinsmann, Bono received a wry “Oh, this isn’t college anymore, no more college parties.”

“Obviously, I know it’s a whole different ballgame,” Bono said. “I’m stepping up to a place where it’s the cream of the crop and I have to learn quickly.”

A typical day at Team USA camp would first consist of breakfast, training and lunch. Then the team would hit the gym, study formations in the classroom and go out in Santa Monica for food.

On Jan. 15 before training, Bono sat in the locker room at 9:30 a.m., 30 minutes before he needed to be out on the field. The MLS Draft was starting, and Bono hoped he’d be able to see himself get picked in time.

After New York City FC took a five-minute timeout with the second pick, Bono stopped watching and went to practice. He knew NYCFC had high interest in him and was contemplating taking him, but when a Team USA media relations member told Bono that Oregon State’s Khiry Shelton was the choice at No. 2, there was a moment of doubt.

“Oh sh*t,” Bono muttered under his breath. “I’m going to drop and I’m not sure where I’m going to go.”

The media relations representative stopped telling Bono the picks but at the team’s pre-practice huddle, Klinsmann called Bono into the middle. Cameras shined on the huddle from all around, Bono said, and Klinsmann told him, “I want to introduce you to your new teammate,” pointing at USA and Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley.

“Being at that national camp was a great experience for him,” said Kim Bono, Alex’s mother. “That, I think, gave him a leg up now even moving onto the Toronto scene.”

After being cut, Bono made his last rounds in the place he’s called home for 20-plus years before going up to Toronto.

On Saturday night, he sat at home talking with his grandparents and uncle. The next morning, he returned to SU and visited his former teammates to say his goodbyes.

“People look at him like this big, hard, soccer player who’s the boss of everything,” Christian said. “He’s got a soft side. He cares, he’s really a big teddy bear.”

Over the past three weeks, Bono’s profile has risen dramatically. He’s lost track of his Instagram followers as it’s climbed into the thousands and he now boasts about 700 more Twitter followers than before he turned pro.

He admitted he’ll need to be more cautious of everything he says, does and posts now that he’s a role model to a larger audience. It’s a challenge Bono knows is coming, but one he’s well-equipped for.

“The guy has been through a lot in the past three or four weeks and how does he handle it?” said his father, Mark Bono. “He’s pretty mentally tough and he’s gone about things the right way.”

Bono will be doing exactly what he’s done his whole life, but he’ll be doing it in a different country, and now, for money.

It’s daunting, but what he’s always wanted.

“It’s here,” Bono said. “It’s reality now.”

Published on January 29, 2015 at 12:20 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman