As the curtain closed on the Chicago Fire’s disappointing 2015 season, newly installed GM Nelson Rodriguez and COO Atul Khosla cut forlorn figures, deep in discussion, behind Toyota Park’s South goal.
By contrast, just yards away by the corner flag, jubilant fans of the New York Red Bulls celebrated their side’s unlikely Supporters’ Shield success, a spectacular turnaround given the vocal protests those very fans staged after an offseason filled with many unpopular decisions.
Twelve months after the Red Bulls did so, it is the Fire who stand on the precipice of a new campaign having endured a turbulent offseason, which has left just 10 members of last year’s roster on the books as the Men in Red host New York City FC at Toyota Park on Sunday (1 p.m. CT, CSN Chicago).
With a current roster of 23 players following the recent signings of John Goossens and Arturo Alvarez, the squad may be a little light on numbers, but Rodriguez likes how the group’s chemistry is coming together. They finished a successful preseason with a 5-0-1 record and victories over defending MLS Cup champions Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps to lift the Simple Invitational Trophy in Portland.
"We're very satisfied with the progress. Winning is nice," Rodriguez told reporters this week. "It was especially nice Saturday night to end preseason with a championship and a good performance against the reigning MLS Cup champions, but 24 hours later it meant nothing. This Sunday will be the real first test that the team faces. We still have to get better, but I'm satisfied with the progress that we've demonstrated that the team has the capability to continue to improve."
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New head coach Veljko Paunovic has bolstered a youthful squad, 11 of the 23 are 25 years old or younger, with a smattering of experience in the shape of Alvarez, Goossens, João Meira, Michael Harrington, and Nick LaBrocca to add to existing performers like Razvan Cocis, Sean Johnson and Eric Gehrig. How they have meshed in the five weeks of preseason gives Rodriguez faith that the Fire can improve on last year’s showing, which saw them finish without a road win and bottom of the standings with an 8-20-6 record and a franchise low 30 points.
“One of the things that brings us a good degree of comfort so far is that we think that the group we have assembled has really meshed well in terms of its chemistry,” Rodriguez revealed. “Now again, we haven't been punched in the face yet. We haven't lost four games in a row yet. We haven't lost 4-0 yet. We haven't had the media criticize us yet. The real test of that character will come when we face genuine adversity, but for the moment we're very pleased at how the character of the group has come together.”
Rodriguez has been the driving force behind the wholesale changes the Fire has made since officially taking up his role as GM in October, and he continues to impress with his vision, passion and knowledge of the game despite making several unpopular decisions. He especially impressed with his astute dealings at the 2016 MLS SuperDraft where he maneuvered the Fire into a position where they finished with potential MLS-ready starters Brandon Vincent and Jonathan Campbell.
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As for what his aspirations for this season are, the in-demand Rodriguez had this to say on a recent Facebook Q & A with local Chicago broadcaster CSN Chicago.
VIDEO: Nelson Rodríguez Facebook Live Chat
“(I would like to see) more wins and full houses,” he said. “I think we’re going to put a product on the field that’s going to make our fans proud, I think we’re going to become a very difficult team to play against and those two things are synergistic. If we win, more fans will come, if more will come we will be fuelled by their power, their energy, their goodwill and it will create a virtuous cycle of success.”
If Rodriguez and Paunovic can build on the positives of their first few months together, there is no reason why the Fire can not be this season’s surprise package and perhaps end their three-year wait for a crack at the playoffs.
