The Chicago Fire’s 2024 season is officially over and a new era, to be led by former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter, is already upon us.
Fire’s 2024 season came to a conclusion at Soldier Field on Saturday night after they fell 3-0 to Nashville SC, ensuring Chicago will finish at the bottom of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.
Nashville finally took the lead in the 54th minute after Alex Muyl’s shot deflected off Arnaud Souquet and into the net before Sam Surridge and Jacob Shaffelburg scored in the 87th and the first minute of second-half stoppage time, respectively, to take all three points back to Tennessee.
Fire owner and chairman Joe Mansueto told reporters during Berhalter’s introductory press conference earlier this week that the 2024 season “did not meet expectations” and the club’s performance on Decision Day was emblematic of their entire MLS season.
Changes already in place for 2025. Georg Heitz will step down as sporting director at the conclusion of the season, Frank Klopas will shift to a new role as vice president of football. It was an emotional press conference for Klopas after his final match as Fire head coach as he prepares for a different lifestyle with his new gig.
“It's hard,” Klopas told reporters. “I mean, right now, I'm a very positive person. I get up the next day regardless, and I'm ready to go. But, you know, I think I could deal with that throughout the season, because I know the next day, there's training, and then there's another game coming. And now, when you have this emptiness, you know, for a long time, I think it's a moment, with anything, that I talk to the players.
“I think there are moments where I need to reflect on the season, of things that I did, that I could have done better, that we could have done better as a staff. I think that's very important to kind of reflect on everything because you try to learn from every situation. Just like with the players, we go the next day, we move on from the game. But there's a video, because that's the learning process, things that we did, well, how can we improve? It's the same thing with us. I think if there's no reflection, there's no progress, there's no growth at all.”
There’s no shortage of questions that the Fire will have to answer on the sporting side in the coming months. New director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter, who was introduced to the crowd pre-match, will presumably bring in his front office and coaching staff as they look to implement their style of play in 2025.
That only brings more questions about what the Fire’s roster will look like in 2025, particularly as it pertains to players who were here this season.
Rafael Czichos and Fabian Herbers are just some of the players out of contract while others have contract options. The Fire have the ability to exercise their purchase option on Allan Arigoni’s contract or the right back would return to FC Lugano with Heitz. What about Federico Navarro and Gastón Giménez, who have been in the rumor mill every transfer window for the last two seasons?
Gregg Berhalter acknowledged Carlos Terán’s talent during his introductory press conference but the defender has always wanted to play in Europe and has been with the Fire since 2020 , so an organizational change may be the best time for the center back to move. Who even knows what formation Berhalter and company will employ?
The pieces are beginning to fall into place for the Fire but they need to prove things are different early in 2025 if they want outsiders to finally believe Chicago’s footballing fortunes have changed.
“This season is still fresh on our minds, but I think there's a lot of positivity looking forward into the offseason, especially with Gregg [Berhalter] coming in,” Kellyn Acosta said after wearing the captain’s armband against Nashville. “There could be a bunch of new faces coming next year. I mean, who knows? It’s obviously up to the front office and Gregg and all that, but having a familiar face with him at the helm is positive. I’m excited for it and hopefully, the results will come as well.”
Related: Biggest Takeaways from Gregg Berhalter's Introductory Press Conference with Chicago Fire
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