New-look Chicago Fire FC hoping ample changes equate to success
One thing is for sure when it comes to the Chicago Fire: You can change the team name, you can change the logo, you can change the stadium, but you can’t change the past season. The Fire ended their 2019 campaign with a 10-12-12 record. There were not many accomplishments to brag about. The Fire narrowly outscored opponents by a 55-47 margin.
Rebuilding is by far the name of the game this preseason. As of Jan. 30, the Fire were up to 21 players on the roster. The club has nine more spots to fill by opening day, March 1, when the club plays at Seattle.
The rebuild started with coaching. Raphael Wicky became the 10th coach in Fire history when he inked a deal Dec. 27. Former Swiss international Wicky played in the Bundesliga before wrapping up his 17-year playing career with Chivas USA. So, he’s no stranger to MLS. Wicky resigned from his position as the U-17 USMNT coach to take the Chicago Fire position. He led the U-17s to a second-place finish at the 2019 CONCACAF Championship. The team outscored opponents 28-5, while holding opponents scoreless for 323 consecutive minutes.
“I’m really, really happy, pleased and honored to be the new Chicago Fire head coach,” Wicky said. “The first day with the team we spoke about a team culture we want to create, how we want to live together, how we want to train together that’s not only on the field. That’s more off the field. It’s the start of building a culture, building a team.”
The Fire added a big piece of the puzzle when the club signed Slovenian striker Robert Beric as a Designated Player. The 28-year-old transferred from Ligue 1 club AS Saint-Etienne and should help ignite the Fire. Beric began his professional career in 2008, appearing in 376 matches and tallying 130 goals. Beric added two goals for the Slovenia national team in 24 appearances.
Beric played for St. Etienne from 2015-19, appearing in 81 matches with 34 goals. In 2019, Beric led St. Etienne to a 3-0 victory over OCG Nice, tallying two goals in the match. Beric is known to be a fierce competitor. His experience should indeed help spark the offense.
“Robert is a goalscorer,” Wicky said. “He’s very clean and very good in and around the box. He’s a good athletic profile. And he’s a hard worker for the team. These are the things I expect from him and I’m sure he will be very good for our team.”
In the offseason, the Fire also added Spanish midfielder Alvaro Medran and Homegrown defender Nicholas Slonina. Medran spent the last five seasons playing in La Liga, where he tallied 11 goals in 91 appearances for five different clubs. At just 18-years-old, Slonina became the second member of his family to join the Fire. His brother Gabriel is a goalkeeper. Slonina played for the Chicago Fire Academy and U-17 USMNT.
The Fire selected defender/midfielder Jonathan Jimenez with the 26th pick in the draft. Jimenez split his college career at Seton Hall and Pacific, appearing in 50 matches between both schools and notching 12 goals and 14 assists. University of North Carolina and Chicago Fire Academy alum Mauricio Pineda signed a Homegrown contract with the club in January. Pineda tallied 17 goals and eight assists during his 79 games for the TarHeels.
The Fire added to their backline by adding two goalkeepers, Connor Sparrow and Bobby Shuttleworth, and defender Miguel Angel Navarro.
Real Salt Lake drafted Sparrow in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. He spent 2016-18 with the Real Monarchs before joining Nashville SC in 2019. The St. Louis native made 40 appearances in USL action, including 20 in 2017 when he led the Monarchs to the regular-season championship.
Navarro, who’s Venezuelan, joined the Fire via transfer from Deportivo La Guaira. The 20-year-old made his professional debut in 2017 and collected more than 60 appearances in Venezuela’s top division. Navarro most recently represented Venezuela’s U-23 team on Jan. 21 and 24, securing the backline in Venezuela’s 1-0 loss to Chile and 1-0 win over Ecuador, respectively.
Shuttleworth joined the league in 2009, where he spent eight seasons with the Revolution before joining Minnesota United in 2017. The University of Buffalo alum recorded 185 appearances, with 181 starts and 41 shutouts.
As with every preseason, the pieces of the puzzle will take time to come together. And they still have holes to fill in the lineup. But Wicky said they have one main goal: to fill the seats at Soldier Field.
“It’s up to us to play well and fight hard so we attract as many people as possible,” he said.
Only time will tell how the new Chicago Fire FC will fare.
Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.
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