Chicago Fire Season Preview

After a quiet beginning to their offseason at the end of 2011, Chicago Fire stand poised to make quite an impact in the Eastern Conference during the upcoming 2012 season. With a large percentage of their core returning, and the addition of a few players in key positions through the draft season and free transfer signings, Frank Klopas is hoping he’s assembled a group of players that can not only take the club into the postseason, but contend for a MLS Cup in November.

Much has happened since the close of the 2011 season. Let’s take a quick look the current depth chart, who’s gone and what the upcoming campaign might look like for the 2012 Chicago Fire.

Goalkeeper

 Sean Johnson

Jay Nolly (acquired from Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for 1st round 2013 Supplemental Draft pick)

Alec Kann (trialist)

Paolo Tornaghi (trialist)
 

No question here. Sean Johnson is number one, but with the possibility of him seeing USMNT time in Olympic qualifying, Chicago needed a suitable replacement for Jon Conway and Alec Dufty, both of whom had their options declined by the club. Enter Jay Nolly, a veteran who most recently saw time in goal for Vancouver, making 14 appearances in 2011. While Jay doesn’t have the amount of league experience Conway had, he is a far better choice as a backup to Johnson. Kann and Tornaghi continue to battle it out for the 3rd spot in preseason camp, but it seems unlikely the club would choose Tornaghi, as he would occupy an international spot. Not a likely proposition for a third string goalkeeper.

Defenders

Gonzalo Segares

Cory Gibbs

Jalil Anibaba

Dan Gargan

Kwame Watson-Siriboe

Pari Pantazopoulos

Steven Kinney

 Austin Berry (selected in the 1st round of the MLS SuperDraft)

Hunter Jumper (draft pick/trialist)

Tony Walls (draft pick/trialist)

Rodrigo Inigo (trialist)

Main concern in the backline: a viable backup for Gonzalo Segares. While open tryout winner Pari Pantazopoulos is postionally Gonzo’s backup, he lacks the league chops and maturity to step into that role if needed. He will get there, to be sure, but Klopas needed someone quickly who could step in. Klopas also needs depth at centerback, especially if Gibbs deals with injury issues again this season. Watson-Siriboe, coming off his loan to FC Tampa, seems to have made positive strides as a centerback. With the loss of Josip Mikulic and Yamith Cuesta within a day of each other, finding depth in the middle became just as urgent a priority as left back. Austin Berry, picked up in the first round of the SuperDraft, seems to be a solid addition to the centerback core, and while he’s being listed as a midfielder, former Fire favorite and current trialist Ivan Guerrero has proven he can play well in place of Gonzalo Segares if needed. Trialists Hunter Jumper, Rodrigo Inigo, and Tony Walls are also fighting for spots on the roster. In addition, Steven Kinney is still not healthy, and hasn’t participated in preseason training in any capacity. Kinney’s last action came on the last day of the 2010 season against Chivas, where he ruptured his achilles. He has not stepped foot on the field since. It would be unsurprising, with as much promise as Kinney has, if he was released by the club once they are able to. Even if Kinney turned up healthy next week, it would likely be months before he was able to offer his services to the club in a tangible way that would impact the backline. Especially if that is the case, the chances are good that this deep into preseason, Jumper and Walls make the team.

Midfielders

 Marco Pappa

 Patrick Nyarko

Pavel Pardo

Sebastian Grazzini

Logan Pause

Daniel Paladini

Corben Bone

Victor Pineda

Michael Vidieira

Rafael Robayo (signed on free transfer)

Ivan Guerrero (trialist)

Alex (trialist)

Chicago looks to have a solid midfield in place for 2012. The core group of players have returned in 2011, with the exception of Baggio Husidic, who was released by the team before being scooped up quickly by Swedish club Hammarby. The Fire will have the attacking prowess of Grazzini back at least until July, if he can stay healthy. Homegrown player Victor Pineda has made some positive impressions with the coaching staff in preseason, with Klopas already stating that there’s a strong posibility of Victor seeing first team minutes this season. Marco Pappa could see significant international duty with Guatemala again this summer, opening the door for Corben Bone, Daniel Paladini, or Logan Pause to get a starting nod. Pavel Pardo is back holding down the DM position, and the addition of Rafael Robayo seems to have generated the most excitement amongst fans in the offseason. Ivan Guerrero, if signed, has already proven he’s capable of holding down a midfield or right back spot, and although he’s been held out of action in the last two preseason games, word from camp is that Brazilian attacking midfielder Alex has shown promise as well.

One question in midfield is likely going to be finding a place for captain Logan Pause to fit. With Robayo coming in during the offseason, Pause seems to be the odd man out, and even moreso if Klopas selects Patrick Nyarko as a winger instead of forward. The depth in midfield could allow Robayo to come in as a 70th minute sub for Sebastian Grazzini, but it’s not likely that a player who served as captain of his former Millonarios club is going to be relegated to the role of benchwarmer. Many questions abound in the midfield position, with many players who can fill numerous roles in the middle of the pitch. Not a bad problem to have.

Forwards

Dominic Oduro

Orr Barouch

Kheli Dube

Federico Puppo

Kellen Gulley

Lucky Mkosana (draft pick/trialist)

Early and often, Klopas has gone with the forward tandem of Dom Oduro and Federico Puppo. It’s hard to tell at this point, and more will probably be revealed when Chicago enters phase three of preseason training with their involvement in the Charleston Cup, but by all appearances this is the starting forward line for Chicago entering the 2012 regular season. Puppo has failed to put the ball in the back of the net thusfar in 6 games, which could be a cause for some concern. Orr Barouch has continued to impress, regardless of his youth, picking up where he left off in 2011, and Dube, a former striker for New England, seems a serviceable backup to Oduro, although he too is still looking to find the back of the net in preseason play. Homegrown player Kellen Gulley is not likely to see many minutes with the first team this year, just as Pineda did not last season, but the Fire know they have someone in Gulley who is young, and who they can continue to feed into and nurture as a player to bring him to the place he needs to be as a striker. Mkosana, who has logged significant minutes with first team players, is looking to make enough of an impact in the last few weeks of preseason as to garner a contract as well.

Starting XI vs. Montreal

So with the changes that have taken place, and the players at his disposal, who’s Frank Klopas going to look to as his best XI going into the season opener on March 17th against Montreal? Here’s my take:

GK-Johnson

Defenders-Segares, Gibbs, Anibaba, Gargan

Midfielders-Pappa, Pardo, Grazzini, Robayo

Forwards-Nyarko, Oduro 

I don’t want to judge a player before I see him with my own eyes, but I have some initial concerns with Puppo. Klopas has gone to Puppo consistently this preseason as his starting striker, but I have to believe at this point he’s trying to see how well Puppo and Oduro gel as a tandem. One thing we know from the last third of the 2011 season is that Nyarko and Oduro gelled. They communicated well, and Nyarko became an assist master dishing to Oduro for many of his 12 goals. We know Oduro/Nyarko works. No, that pairing isn’t Messi/Silva, but few are. With this team, in this system, those two work. Klopas is testing out Puppo with Oduro, and that’s good, but here’s my concern:

Is Federico Puppo going to be Diego Chaves part 2?

Don’t misunderstand me, I liked Diego Chaves. Taken a step further, I think Chicago should’ve kept Diego Chaves, and extended his contract. But Diego Chaves and Gaston Puerari were touted just short of being the second coming of strikers when the 2011 season began. We all know the rest of that story though. Diego went cold after four matches, and Puerari was gone by June. Chaves became a utility player off the bench, and at times, a decent one at that. He finished the season strong like he started it, in a role that fit him and took some of the pressure off him as being the “go to guy” when Oduro started his tear of goal scoring. I wonder if Puppo isn’t being set up for the same thing.

The problem I have is two-fold though. First, as mentioned, it’s going against a strategy that, for the most part, worked last season. For the naysayers that would argue that Nyarko and Oduro up top together wasn’t the answer for this club, I would point out that the Fire finished the 2011 campaign 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Why not stick with that, and allow Puppo to fill that utility role that Chaves filled?

The second issue, however, is Puppo himself. It should be concerning to Fire fans that Puppo had strong opposition to coming to Chicago before signing with the team. Puppo is good friends with his fellow Uruguayan Diego Chaves. What convinced Puppo to come to Chicago was the possibility of playing alongside his friend. Upon Puppo signing, the announcement officially released that Chicago declined the option on Chaves. Klopas even eluded to the fact that Puppo not coming to the Fire would’ve possibly kept Chaves around longer. So now we have a striker who expressed hesitation with coming to the club, only to sign with the club due to his own false pretenses. That’s no way to start a player/club relationship.

Other minor indicators provide more concern. Puppo hasn’t found the net. When he had the chance to do so against Real Espana, he got too cute with a penalty kick and lobbed it over the crossbar. The burden of goalscoring cannot be on Dominic Oduro alone. He proved his naysayers wrong in 2011, and will continue to do so, but Oduro needs support in the goal scoring department. Robayo, while seemingly a playmaker, hasn’t proven to have scoring prowess in his career. Grazzini provided some scoring in 2011, but that’s also contingent on his staying healthy. Marco Pappa, who carried the world on his shoulders after Blanco left the Fire after the 2009 season, seemed to finally find his groove in the closing months of 2011, but it still did not equate to the scoring he is capable of.  

Chicago will fair much better than their final placing in 2011. Having just missed the playoffs by a mere 3 points behind New York, they found their stride just a little too late in the year. There’s nothing indicating they will have those same problems in 2012, as they’ve been one of the hottest clubs in MLS in preseason play. In spite of the questions that remain, Chicago has the capability to start the season strong, and establish themselves as not only a MLS playoff contender, but MLS Cup contender in 2012.

Image courtesy of chicago-fire.com