Now that we’ve officially closed the book on 2021, it’s time to take a look back at the season that was and a look forward to what lies ahead for the Fire in this shortened offseason.
WHAT IT WAS
2021, from a competitive standpoint, was not good enough. I think we can all agree on that. I’m not writing this piece to paint a picture of fake rainbows and butterflies. This season, for large stretches, was very frustrating. However, there were undeniably some moments of hope and positivity that gave you a reason to get out of your seat and believe.
A 1-7-1 start to the season obviously falls into that first bucket, but back-to-back wins against two playoff sides - Orlando and Atlanta - in the middle of the summer on the lakefront was a lot of fun.
Nights like the 2-2 draw against D.C., two losses to Toronto FC and a 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati dominated most of our minds because those were the types of results that ultimately ensured the Fire would not qualify for the post-season. On the flip side, a 17-year-old becoming the starter between the sticks, the emergence of ball-winning machine Federico Navarro, and 31,000+ people at Soldier against Real Salt Lake were brief-but-important reminders of how beautiful this game is, and what this club can be.
There were more negatives than positives this season. No one is here to argue that. This is a results business, and the results weren’t there. However, as I’ve stated before, I am a “glass half-full” kind of guy, and I want to dive deep into the young crop of Chicagoland natives who have been or will be mighty impressive.
HOME (GROWN) COOKIN’
CFFC Academy products showed out this season. It started with Brian Gutiérrez getting a lot of minutes in the beginning of the year. He showed that he doesn’t only belong, but that he could be one of the sharper, cleaner attacking players on the roster this season when healthy. He rounded out his 2021 campaign (in which he battled through an ankle injury) with a Man of the Match performance in Columbus on the regular season’s final day.
“Guti” is just 18 years old, and has an incredibly bright future. Don’t let his laid back, easy-going nature fool you. This kid is a killer. He wants to put defenders on their heels, if not their backside. I spoke to him recently, and he says he is most comfortable in the No. 10 position playing in between the lines and being able to pull the strings in the attacking third. He is obviously also very capable of playing on the wing and cutting inside to cause havoc amongst the opposition. His passing ability and quick feet in tight spots are perfectly paired with his silent confidence and willingness to make things happen on the half-turn.
I buried the lead on Gabriel Slonina because this kid has been stealing the headlines the past couple of weeks. Gaga, who in 2019 became the youngest Homegrown signing in Fire history at 14 years old, made his tenth consecutive start on Decision Day and kept four clean sheets over the course of the 2021 season. This kid plays (and acts) like a 30-year-old, and his future is so bright that you might need some shades at Soldier Field next year. Gaga is communicative, confident, has a high soccer IQ, and can also distribute. There are some things he needs to improve upon, but he is a lock as the starter on opening weekend in February.
Mauricio Pineda continues to quietly impress, and is a Swiss army knife up the middle of the field for the organization. The Bolingbrook boy has played as a central defensive midfielder in addition to centerback, and has exceled in both. I recently asked Pineda which position he is most comfortable in, and he told me he genuinely doesn’t know nor care. He simply wants to help the team any way he can. Mauricio, off the top of my head, made one big mistake this year in Orlando that resulted in a goal. But, other than that, he is arguably one of the most sure-footed players in the Club. You can count on him for 90 minutes almost every single week.
Missael Rodíguez and Sergio Oregel are the two newest Homegrown signings. Rodríguez dominated the U-19 MLS Next Cup this summer, and won the golden boot with eight goals in five games. “Pace” and “finishing ability” are the two things that keep popping up when I ask the academy staff about Rodríguez.
Meanwhile, Oregel is one of the most highly-touted academy products to sign with the first team in recent memory. He has a soccer IQ that is off the charts for his age, and is a true box-to-box central midfielder. He understands the game, and can control the tempo over the course of a match. He also took home golden ball honors as the best player at the U-19 MLS Next Cup.
These two will fight for a spot on the actual gameday roster, but with the addition of the soon-to-be-named MLS lower division, this will be a good spot for players like Rodríguez, Oregel, Alex Monis (who made his MLS debut in Columbus) and Javier Casas Jr. to get professional minutes and stay match-fit.
There was some big news recently that Gutiérrez, Slonina and Rodríguez were asked to be a part of the U.S. U-20 Men’s National team ahead of the Revelations Cup in Mexico, which is the first edition of this competition. The Fire were the only MLS team other than the Philadelphia Union to have three homegrowns called into this camp.
GOODBYES AND WHYS
The Chicago Fire made an announcement on Monday that they would not be picking up the option of seven players, while letting two others become free agents.
The players whose options were not picked up are as follows: Robert Berić, Francisco Calvo, Elliot Collier, Kenneth Kronholm, Álvaro Medrán, Luka Stojanović and Nick Slonina.
Johan Kappelhof and Bobby Shuttleworth are out of contract and testing the free agent waters.
I spent time with all of these players, and really enjoyed watching them as a commentator and getting to know them as people. I wish them nothing but success in the future.
Three players - Wyatt Omsberg, Gastón Giménez and Jonathan Bornstein - all find themselves in flux as Sporting Director Georg Heitz made it clear that he wants the new head coach to be a part of the decisions for these three.
Nine players leaving means the Club now has a lot more flexibility towards the top third of the roster, particularly for players who are “on the older side.” The average age of the players let go - not including Nick Slonina (who stepped away from the game for personal reasons in the middle of the year) - is 30. It’s clear that the front office wants to re-tool the veteran experience on the squad and build around the young core they have already established.
The amount of money freed up in the salary cap and Designated Player spots is also what sticks out. Calvo was on $900k, Medrán was on $1M, Kronholm $632k, Kappelhof $490k, Stojanović $370k. This creates an enormous amount of cap space, TAM, GAM and whatever AM you can think of in addition to international roster spots.
The big one is the open DP spot that Berić has vacated. The Fire could potentially have two of those spots open if Giménez’s option is not picked up either. This would allow the Fire to essentially rebuild some of their highest paid TAM players and DPs whose salaries do not count towards the salary cap.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This offseason is going to be one of the most important the club has had in recent memory, and it is going to go down rather quickly. Heitz and Technical Director Sebastian Pelzer need to replace the departed players, find a new coach, and back-fill at least one DP spot.
Aside from the Homegrowns, the young core mentioned earlier also features the likes of Young DP Ignacio Aliseda, Jhon Espinoza, Miguel Navarro, Carlos Terán, Federico Navarro and 18 year-old newcomer Jhon Durán, who is set to join the Fire as the calendar turns to 2022. Federico Navarro has been so impressive since joining in the summer and I feel very confident building a midfield around this exceptional talent.
There is a ton of work to be done, and there will be a very different look to this group in a number of ways next year.
We will learn a lot more about the myriad of personnel decisions in the coming weeks, and whoever the new coach is will obviously be a part of these decisions.
Preseason is set to start in the middle of January, so the personnel movement, coaching change, and Intercontinental Football Show (shameless plug) should be more than enough to satiate your Chicago Fire cravings until the calendar flips to 2022.
