Last week, Extra Newspaper met with Doctor Gilberto Muñoz, the medical director for the entire Chicago Fire organization. Gilberto, who has worked for the Fire for 10 years, is used to making fast decisions when a player gets hurt during a game. He talked with Extra about what it’s like to be in charge of keeping soccer players healthy, and gave us tips on working out.

Extra Newspaper: What is the hardest part about being the Chicago Fire doctor?

Gilberto Muñoz: The hardest part is being able to make a decision in a promptly matter. Sometimes I have to decide if they can play or not play, within minutes. The key in sports medicine is all about speed. It’s very hard to tell someone that they have a career-ending injury. It’s happened before. We had a player once who had a groin injury that didn’t get better, and it forced him to retire.

EN: When you are watching the game, are you ever able to let your guard down?

GM: No, I can’t. When I am watching any other game I can just be a fan. But when there is a real game being played my sense of awareness is a million times higher. There is a process that goes on before each game – we talk about what injuries the player has, and what we are going to do if this or that happens. You cannot just go and sit on the bench and say, “I am here.” You have to know where the paramedics are, which emergency room the patient will be sent to. When you’re on the bench, you have to make fast calls.

EN: What is the most common injury soccer players have?

GM: Ankle sprains and knee injuries. They do everything they can to make their ankles strong, but that’s the nature of soccer.

EN: You also have another practice outside of the Chicago Fire. What do you tell patients who want to start working out for the first time?

GM: I tell them they need to start walking. Walk on the treadmill or outside. And once you get better at it, you can do three minutes of walking, then one minute running. Do this over and over for one week. Next week, you can do two minutes walking, one minute running, and repeat. The next week, you can do one minute running, one minute walking. Then ...