The 2017 season has been a step in the right direction for the long suffering Chicago Fire. The Major League Soccer team hasn’t made the postseason since the 2012 season, but the team’s appearance was brief and unspectacular. This year, the Fire has already won more matches than all of last term, and the club has equalled its 2015 tally, after just 15 matches.
The 2017 MLS season is about to go into its second half, and the Fire currently hold the second best points total with 28 from a possible 45. But how has this team that has missed the playoffs in six of seven straight years turned it all around?
Great offseason signings
The Fire had to change things going into the MLS preseason in February. The club has seen its hardcore fans turn their back on the club, and question the team’s owner Andrew Hauptman’s intentions. The team had routinely been one of MLS’s best teams before Hauptman took over the franchise, and the lack of quality soccer in the United States’ second city was a black eye on the league.
Fire General Manager Nelson Rodriguez, along with his staff, identified players that could improve the club, and second year coach Veljko Paunovic had 12 months to implement his tactics and training philosophy. The team already had some high-quality players in place, but the winter additions were the missing puzzle pieces that have transformed the team.
Dax McCarty’s arrival from New York Red Bulls was hailed as a great move, and his three assists in 13 matches is proof of it. McCarty’s 85% pass success rate and 1.3 key passes a match have been massive for a team that has already scored 25 goals this term. Yet, McCarty’s tasks of keeping play ticking over and disrupting the opposing team isn’t so easily quantifiable.
The big name
Chicago hadn’t been able to attract a big international name since the club signed former Mexican international Cuauhtemoc Blanco in 2007. However, the team pulled off a coup in the winter when World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger joined the club from English Premier League side Manchester United. Although it appeared to be a huge risk due to the German’s consistent injury problems, Schweinsteiger has been unstoppable on the pitch, and has benefitted from the less physically demanding MLS.
His one-year $5.4 million contract has many already calling for him to receive an extension. Unfortunately, Schweinsteiger hasn’t helped shift this season’s home average attendance, as those numbers are slightly down after eight home games. But if the German and company can keep the team near the top, the fans should swarm to Toyota Park. Schweinsteiger’s two goals aren’t the most on the team, but it is ability to control the game, and presence on the pitch and in the locker room that make him such a great teammate.
Unsung hero
Chicago currently has the MLS’s top scorer in Nemanja Nikolic who has scored 12 goals in 15 matches. He has tallied 46% of the Fire’s goals, and his goal scoring has been the missing ingredient from the last few seasons for the team.
MLS Cup longshots no more
The Chicago Fire has been an MLS Cup longshot for so long, but that is not the case in 2017. Chicago currently has the third best odds to win the MLS Cup according to sports bookies. Chicago is 11/1 to lift the cup in December. Of course, a lot can happen and the MLS Playoffs are an adventure for teams. But the Fire should make the postseason as long as it doesn’t capitulate. In the playoffs, anything can happen.
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