The Chicago Fire has missed the playoffs in 10 of the last 12 seasons, including all of the last six. The Chicago Fire hasn’t advanced in the playoffs since 2009 — 14 seasons ago. It’s almost incomprehensible that a team can have a sustained run of failure like this in a league where now 18 of 29 teams make the playoffs.
It’s not for the lack of money or the lack of trying. The Fire revamped their designated players situation over the last couple of years, paying a $7.5 million transfer fee for Xherdan Shaqiri and $6 million for Jairo Torres. Shaqiri is the 3rd-highest paid player in MLS too.
The short version: Nothing has worked. Is it time to try again this winter?
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State of the roster
Head coach: Frank Klopas (interim, since 2023)
Chief Soccer Officer: Georg Heitz (since 2019)
The good
Over the last few years, the Fire has established itself as a legitimate identifier, developer and enabler of young talent. Djordje Mihailovic went to CF Montreal then AZ Alkmaar, Gaga Slonina to Chelsea, Jhon Duran to Aston Villa. The Fire immediately replenished with Brian Gutierrez and Chris Brady as two starters.
Maren Haile-Selassie is Chicago’s surprise leading scorer with six goals (and three assists) – a successful loan from sister club FC Lugano. Mauricio Pineda is a solid MLSer and Rafael Czichos is, at the least, a starting-level center back (if not more). Ditto for Carlos Teran. Those three represent very good options.
Ownership spends and will continue to do so. At some point, they’re going to hit big on an expensive signing.
The bad
Ownership has yet to hit on an expensive signing. The DPs have been disastrous. It may well be the worst impact-for-spend in the league.
Shaqiri had only five goals and four assists this season, not enough for the complete lack of defensive effort and issues that creates. Torres, signed ostensibly to play as a winger or No. 10, has zero goals and zero assists in 41 games across all competitions since debuting in 2022. Former DP Gaston Gimenez (re-signed to a longer TAM deal to open a DP spot) also doesn’t cover much ground defensively and, while he’s a good passer, does not add enough attacking value to also cover his defensive liabilities.
The U-22 initiative outlook since Duran left isn’t much better. Federico Navarro is a destroyer, but hasn’t taken another step forward after an impressive start when he joined in 2021. He was signed for $5 million and hasn’t lived up to that tag. Left back Daniel Aceves has been good defensively at least, but is offering nothing in the attack in his first few months. Forward Georgios Koutsias has just three goals and would have much fewer minutes if the team brought in a starting-level forward.
Those are the six most high-leverage roster spots (and a max-TAM player) and the return on investment is severely low. In this league, that’s near impossible to recover from.
What could change
The good news is there’s a DP spot open and its earmarked for a potential huge swing at center forward. Ousmane Doumbia, on loan from Lugano, is currently placeholding the third DP spot for cap purposes, but can easily be bought off the charge (if his purchase option is picked up) to bring in another DP.
The transfer for Torres has not worked out for the player or club. A move away makes a ton of sense for all parties. Striker Kei Kamara said he’s moving on this weekend while Kacper Przybylko has been very available for trade all year.
One issue of constant rebuilding is there are a lot of new players over the last year or two, and those deals signed are long-term. They’ll have to get creative to start another rebuild.
The infrastructure
Spending obviously isn’t an issue; spending it well is. A new training facility is on the way, which could help with recruitment. And while Soldier Field has a lot going for it with its downtown location and the Fire’s existing history there, the lack of fans at games (Surely in part thanks to the low-quality play) has made it more of a cavern than a fortress.
Offseason priorities
Settle on a sporting braintrust
The Athletic previously reported that out-of-contract executives Georg Heitz and Sebastian Pelzer are likely to return to the club next year. That needs to be settled before a coaching search.
Heitz and Pelzer have overseen a great period of youth development and sales, plus helping create a bigger scouting network. They have not had a good track record of big incoming signings or head coaches.
Will Chicago add another member to the front office or give more say to existing staff? Once that’s sorted, then they’ll pick a head coach. It’s an attractive job. They can afford to swing big.
Revamp the DPs
A potential Torres exit would give Chicago two DP spots to use and a whole lot of money to throw at them.
I may be one of the few remaining people with any Shaqiri stock, though I recognize this stock is not in good shape. Maybe there’s an exit there too.
Chicago needs an elite goal scorer and probably an elite chance creator, with a specific position to be determined when Shaqiri’s future is decided. Gutierrez can be a secondary creator. The spine including Doumbia (if he stays), Pineda, Teran, Czichos and Brady may look much better with a revamped attack carrying the burden.
Continue trusting the academy
Chicago has done legitimately good work with their academy-to-pro pathway in the last few years. Even with more money coming to the top end of the team, the Fire needs to keep emboldening the academy system in the talent-rich area. Homegrown players don’t hit the salary cap, a valuable tool for any players providing a steady dose of minutes.
(Top photos: Getty Images)