CHICAGO (Feb. 25, 2022) – Chicago Fire FC announced today its performance and medical staff ahead of the 2022 MLS regular season. The Fire has hired Ignacio Torreño as Director of Performance and named Hillary Bell as Head Athletic Trainer, making Bell the only current female Head Athletic Trainer in Major League Soccer.
Torreño joins the Fire after spending the past three years as Head of Performance and Methodology at FC Basel, where he had also worked during the 2014-15 season as assistant coach and head fitness coach, winning the Swiss Super League and reaching the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Also during his time in Switzerland, Basel won the Swiss Cup in 2019 and reached the quarterfinal round of the Europa League in 2020.
“I had the pleasure of working with Ignacio at FC Basel and witnessed firsthand how beneficial his experience and methods were to both the players and the Club,” said Chicago Fire FC Sporting Director Georg Heitz. “Nacho’s approach has repeatedly led to success as he has regularly won league and cup competitions with the Clubs at which he has worked. We are looking forward to benefiting from his expertise and vision.”
The Madrid native graduated with a degree in Physical Sport Science and Sport from the National Institute of Physical Education and Polytechnic University of Madrid. Torreño also holds a Master’s in High Performance Sports from the Spanish Olympic Committee and the University of Madrid, and a Master’s in Sports Sciences from the International University of Andalucía, as well as a Doctorate in High Sport Performance from the University of Sevilla. He has developed his professional work in various positions with international teams such as FC Basel (Switzerland), TJ Quanian (China), ACF Fiorentina (Italy), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), Videoton FC (Hungary), RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (Spain) and the Israeli National Football Team. He also holds a UEFA A Coaching License.
"I am enormously happy and grateful to be able to join the Chicago Fire FC family,” said Torreño. “It is an honor to be part of a great project in the coming years, a project of great scope led by Joe, Georg and his entire team. After many years working in European clubs, I come to Chicago with great enthusiasm and with the strength and energy to help the Club and our players to continue growing.”
The Fire also named Hillary Bell as Head Athletic Trainer. Bell was promoted to the top position after serving three years as the Club’s Assistant Athletic Trainer. Prior to joining the Fire, she worked as Academy Assistant Athletic Trainer for the New York Red Bulls and was an Athletic Trainer for the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
Joining the Club’s staff as Strength and Conditioning Coach is Rubén Castro, who previously worked as the strength and conditioning coach at Vissel Kobe of the Japanese J-League. Castro graduated with a degree in Sports Sciences from the Universidad Ramon Llull in Barcelona and holds Master’s degrees in Sports High Performance from the Spanish Olympic Committee and Professional Team Sports from the Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya.
Performance Coach John Grace and Sport Scientist Hodong Cho remain with the Club, as do Assistant Athletic Trainer Tyler Golden, Massage Therapist Steven Burrows and Physical Therapists Jon Williams and Casey Gray from RUSH Physical Therapy. Joining the performance team are Assistant Athletic Trainer Juan Castano and Performance Dietician Michele Fumagalli. Castano comes to the Fire from Atlanta United FC after earning his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and his Master of Science in Athletic Training from the University of South Florida.
Also returning to the Fire are Chief Medical Officer and Head Team Physician Joshua Blomgren, D.O., Head Orthopedic Officer Brian Forsythe, M.D., both from Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH, and team cardiologist Kousik Krishnan, M.D.
