Christopher Matthew Mueller (born August 29, 1996) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a winger for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club Chicago Fire and the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. Following a collegiate career at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, Mueller was the sixth overall pick of the

2018 MLS SuperDraft The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania be ...

, joining Orlando City where he became the club's all-time leading appearance maker during a four-season spell. Mueller joined Scottish club Hibernian in January 2022, but left them after four months and returned to the MLS with Chicago Fire.

Club career

Youth and college

Mueller grew up in

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village mostly in Cook County and partly in DuPage County in northeastern Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 78,723. Schaumburg is around northwest of the Chicago Loop and northwest of O'Hare I ...

and played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 2014 to 2017, scoring 22 goals in 75 regular season matches. In 2016, Mueller was selected to the All-America third-team and the All-Big Ten first team. In 2017, Mueller was named

Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the ''Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the confe ...

, as well as being selected to the All-Big Ten first team and the All-America second-team.

Orlando City

Mueller was drafted as the sixth overall pick of the

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

. He made his professional debut on March 3, 2018, in a season-opening 1–1 draw with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. On April 8, 2018, Mueller scored his first professional goal against

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in a 3–2 victory. On April 21, 2018, Mueller scored the fastest goal in Orlando City history when he scored 63 seconds into a match against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

, and later in the match he recorded his first professional assist. Mueller was runner-up for the 2018

MLS Rookie of the Year Award The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22. The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who no ...

. On March 2, 2019, Mueller started in his second consecutive season opener, scoring in a 2–2 against

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

. He scored his first

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

goal against the same opposition on July 10, 2019, in a 1–1 quarter-final draw before Orlando progressed to their first ever semi-final on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. In July 2019, Mueller was part of the Orlando City team alongside Nani and

Sebas Méndez Jhegson Sebastián "Sebas" Méndez Carabalí (born 26 April 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo and the Ecuador national team. Club career Independiente ...

that won the 2019 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, beating teams from the MLS All-Stars and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

to win the $25,000 prize for charity with Mueller notably the only player to successfully complete a scissors kick during the volleys round. On March 7, 2020, Mueller scored Orlando's first goal of the season in a 2–1 away loss to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

. With the season affected by the coronavirus pandemic, a return to play was achieved through the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 participated in the tour ...

. Mueller scored in the opening game as Orlando beat newly formed rivals

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2020 ...

2–1 before scoring a brace in the following game, a 3–1 victory over

. He finished the 2020 season as the team's top scorer with a career-high 10 goals. On July 17, 2021, Mueller appeared as a substitute in 1–1 draw with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. It was his 108th appearance for the club in all competitions, tying the record set by

Cristian Higuita Cristian Higuita (born 12 January 1994) is a Colombian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Atlético Junior in Categoría Primera A. Club career Deportivo Cali Higuita made his debut with Deportivo Cali in 2009. A year later, he played a ...

in 2019. Entering the final year of his contract in 2021, Mueller had been in contract negotiations with Orlando City but informed the club on July 21, 2021, that he had signed a pre-contract agreement with an unnamed European club and that he would be leaving upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2021 season. He broke the club appearance record a day later, starting in a 2–1 win over

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

Hibernian

On July 22, 2021,

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

side Hibernian announced they had signed Mueller on a free transfer agreement, which would see him join the club on January 1, 2022. On January 20, 2022, Mueller made his debut for Hibernian in the side's 1–0 win over

Cove Rangers Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Championship. They are based in the Cove Bay area of Aberdeen and play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at Allan ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Arbroath F.C. Arbroath Football Club is a semi-professional Scottish football club based in the town of Arbroath, Angus. They currently play in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded in 1878 and plays home matches at Gayfield Park. They play in mar ...

in the Scottish Cup. This proved to be the only goal Mueller would score for Hibs, and he was allowed to return to the US in May 2022. Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell said that Mueller had struggled to "adapt to the pace and physicality" of Scottish football.

Chicago Fire

On May 5, 2022,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Chicago Fire FC (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

announced they had signed Mueller for an undisclosed fee from Hibernian.

International career

In November 2020, having never appeared on any level for the United States national team, Mueller was called up to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

senior team for a friendly against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. He made his debut starting the game on December 9, scoring twice, registering one assist and was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in a 6–0 victory.

Career statistics

Club

International

: ''As of match played December 9, 2020. United States score listed first, score column indicates score after each Mueller goal.''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Chris 1996 births Living people People from Schaumburg, Illinois Association football forwards Wisconsin Badgers men's soccer players Chicago FC United players Orlando City SC players Orlando City SC draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois American soccer players Des Moines Menace players United States men's international soccer players Hibernian F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players Chicago Fire FC players