For the second time in three weeks, the Chicago Fire have the weekend free to watch 18 of the other 19 MLS teams go at it, sitting idle from competition before venturing out on a nine-day, three-game road trip (at Vancouver, at New England, at New York Red Bulls).
Friday morning offered ideal weather conditions for a competitive training session at Toyota Park, where Veljko Paunovic's priorities for his side were clear to see. A few notes from the session:
- The Men In Red began the day with an uplifting session of 5v2, with side walls adding a new wrinkle and an extra element of strategy to the one-touch passing game (pictured above). Midfielder Arturo Alvarez was one of many who found creative ways to circulate the ball among his teammates:
- From there it was on to executing crisp half-field passing patterns focused on building from the back, incorporating the goalkeepers and demanding one- and two-touch precision from players on all three lines:
- The passing patterns then turned on the goalkeepers, moving to finishing drills focused on shooting from outside the 18-yard box.
- Midfielders David Accam, Matt Polster and Alex Morrell -- all of whom sat out the April 30 match vs. D.C. United while rehabbing various ailments -- as well as Brazilian striker Gilberto (hamstring) all participated in the above team sessions before conducting additional work off to the side.
- Newly acquired midfielder Khaly Thiam was active in his second training session with the Men In Red, expressing excitement to be diving into the MLS campaign after completing his second season with MTK Budapest in Hungary.
"It is quick because we just ended our [season] on Saturday. I don't feel so tired because the staff did very good recovery here. I feel good." - Khaly Thiam
- The Men In Red were set to train once again on Saturday morning before taking Sunday to recover in preparation for the taxing road trip ahead.
Fieldside Chat
Following training, we spoke to veteran defender Michael Harrington for a quick Q&A and updates on the team's mentality.
On the team's top priorities during extended stretches between matches:
"Just keeping your sharpness. It's very important, it's a week where you can be aggressive, do a little bit more in your training because you don't need to be super fresh on Saturday. Early in training, getting a lot of touches and keeping your sharpness is important to do."
On the air of competitiveness within the team:
"We're doing different things here and there to spice up the competitiveness, everyone's getting after it. Everyone's trying to earn spots on the field and that competitive environment is always going to be good for the team and good for getting results going forward."
On the focus on finishing in recent training sessions:
"It's been really good. Even for outside backs, getting forward and getting good service in the box, doing anything we can to score goals is important. We put a big emphasis on that and I think we're improving and we're expecting to see the results in the future."
On his mental approach to the upcoming lengthy road trip:
"Just try to enjoy it. I think a road trip can be a good thing for a team, for team chemistry and to go away from home where all we have is ourselves. We need to go enjoy it and try to get results as a team, it can be a good things to get away and focus on the game."
Keeping an Eye Out
The weekend's slate of MLS fixtures allows the Men In Red to get an extra look at all three opponents they'll come up against on the looming road swing. Here's what's on the docket this weekend for the Fire's next three foes:
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Wednesday, May 11; 9 p.m. CT; CSN Chicago Plus): A much-anticipated matchup of Cascadia rivals lived up to the hype Saturday afternoon as the Vancouver Whitecaps came from behind to earn a 2-1 home win over defending MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers FC. Vancouver's Masato Kudo and Christian Bolanos scored within six minutes of each other in the second half to erase a 1-0 Timbers advantage and give the Caps a lift ahead of their midweek meeting with the Fire.
- New England Revolution (Saturday, May 14; 6:30 p.m. CT; CSN Chicago): Like Chicago, the Revs face a cross-country test before next Saturday's clash at Gillette Stadium, but New England will have a few extra days to recover from its visit to the LA Galaxy this weekend. New England and LA feature in the MLS Soccer Sunday doubleheader, kicking off at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
- New York Red Bulls (Wednesday, May 18; 6:30 p.m. CT; CSN Chicago Plus): The Red Bulls traveled to Orlando City SC for a Viernes de Futbol matchup on Friday, earning a road point in a 1-1 draw with the Lions. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his third goal in three games for the visitors before Kevin Molino provided a second-half equalizer for Orlando City.
