FC Cincinnati's Geoff Cameron 'not coming back to put my feet up'

Over Geoff Cameron's final month of a three-year spell at Queens Park Rangers of England's second-division Championship, minutes ebbed and flowed for the former United States international. 

As QPR's captain, the 35-year-old Cameron was able to have an open dialogue with the club about his desires for his playing career, and the prevailing sentiment was that Cameron wanted a return to Major League Soccer.

MLS, and what's now known as Houston Dynamo FC, helped catapult Cameron to the highest levels and biggest stages in his profession.

Cameron admitted during a Saturday video conference call that he'll need time to re-familiarize himself with the league but that he knew enough to know another chapter in MLS could be a fruitful one. 

There were other clubs interested in Cameron, he said during the video-conference call with local media, but his move back to MLS was completed with FC Cincinnati, and with good reason from his perspective. 

The move, initially reported by The Enquirer, was confirmed by the club earlier this week. On Saturday, Cameron officially cleared MLS health and safety protocols, making him eligible to play in the club's first-ever match at TQL Stadium. 

"I mean, we were in talks for a little bit before and obviously making the decision, there were other teams that were interested but obviously I chose to come here because I wanted to be part of something special," Cameron said. "I wanted to be part of a club that is trying to grow something and for me, if I can help in any way, I want to be a part of that project. I think that the facilities here, the stadium, what they're trying to create here is massive and I think I just want to be able to help in any way I can and be a part of that in its growing stages. Obviously, it's not going to be a success overnight. It's going to take time and I'm here for a reason. I chose to come here because I believe in this club and what it has to offer and I think it's just going to take time obviously."

Cameron's decorated career saw him play for competitive sides in England's top two divisions for the better part of a decade. That phase of his career ended May 8 with one final appearance off the bench for QPR in a victory over Luton Town. 

Cameron isn't in the reflective phase of his playing career yet, though. The time to appreciate what he accomplished in the English game will come later, he indicated. 

There's a big job ahead of Cameron at his new club and the work has already started. At FC Cincinnati, the FIFA World Cup and Copa América Centenario veteran who in his own words "challenged the American perception" or American success in English soccer, should step into a sizable role as a center back.

Cameron, who was also previously an English Premier League star at Stoke City, will be relied upon to nurture FC Cincinnati's young core players and raise the level of everyone around him during what remains a formative period for the club's on-field product.

"For me, I still have a lot to offer... I'm maybe not as quick anymore or as fast and this and that but I would say that my intelligence has gotten better as a player," Cameron said.

In his opening public remarks in the marketplace he'll now ply his trade, Cameron vowed that he chose FC Cincinnati not to slowly wind down his career but to push forward the club's oft-referred to project.

"You try to give back essentially what you were given and I kind of look through that and I'm here for this reason," Cameron said. "I still have a lot to offer and I want to keep playing and this is me not coming back to put my feet up. It's for me to come back and work and help the team win."

Cameron could debut Sunday against Inter Miami CF before a reduced-capacity crowd of about 6,000 in the TQL Stadium opener.