The Chicago Fire are in the midst of an organizational overhaul as they enter the last week of the MLS season.
Former United States Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter has been brought on as the Fire’s new director of football and head coach , roles that will begin in full once Chicago’s 2024 season concludes on Saturday.
Current Fire head coach Frank Klopas will transition to a new role as vice president of football under Berhalter, someone who he’s worked with before. Klopas provided insight on his new role during his final pre-match press conference as head coach.
“I'm going to do a lot of things,” said Klopas. “First of all, obviously I will be there to help Gregg with the first team, whether it's scouting, when we need to go see players, I will be there. Obviously, a big part of my work will also focus on the academy and identifying the talented players working under IDPs, making sure we bring players up when we need to, to the second team, who can potentially be the new home-grown players, how are we challenging these younger players to improve, working with the Academy Director, also.
“My affiliation and connection with [FC] Lugano, I have the contacts there, so I’m the point of reference and the key contact there with the people at Lugano, but also do a lot of work with the front office with [club president] Dave [Baldwin], whether it's going to speak to potential sponsors and our partners and stuff. I'm always available to do that.
“It's not just one thing. I'll have a little bit of a hand everywhere, but my main focus will be there whatever Gregg needs, to support him, because I think our most important priority is getting the first time right, and I said it before, that this would be probably the most crucial offseason in the club's history, and I think we've started in a really positive way, but there's a lot, a lot of work left to be done, and I'm there to support Gregg, to support the club, to support [Fire owner and chairman] Joe [Mansueto]. There's a lot of good groundwork that's been laid there.”
Naturally, Klopas wants his side to get a positive result in their final home match to end the season on a good note despite another season without a postseason berth.
“It's just important to finish on a positive note if we can, whatever that means. Obviously winning would be the best thing possible. It's the last game of the season. It's the last home game, and it's great to have it at home.”
From the rest of my notebook:
Chris Brady on Organizational Changes
The Fire’s 20-year-old Homegrown goalkeeper will wrap up his second full season as a starting goalkeeper in MLS on Saturday but is excited about a future under Gregg Berhalter in Chicago. Brady told the media that the way Berhalter approaches the game is something he can easily get behind as a player.
“I know he's very detail-oriented. I know even when he came in, you could kind of tell he's super big into analytics. He reads a lot into just even a personal conversation. Like, he's very analytical. He pays attention to all of the little details, and that's something that excites me because I feel like I have similar character traits to that.
“Someone like that, for me, it just shows he's really on it. He really knows what he wants, what he wants to do. He's listening for certain things. But yeah, in my interaction with him in that camp, that's kind of what I got from it, and then meeting him again when he came and introduced himself, that's sort of what I got.”
*Stay tuned to this channel for more from Brady* ahead of the Fire’s season finale.
International Window Recap
Ariel Lassiter, Costa Rica
Lassiter started and played the entirety of Costa Rica’s 1-1 draw against Suriname in their CONCACAF Nations League A match on October 11 before coming on in the 79th minute of their 3-0 win over Guatemala on October 15.
Sergio Oregel, USMNT U20
Oregel didn’t feature for head coach Marko Mitrović in the USMNT U20’s first match against Chile U20’s on October 12 but he did start in their 2-1 loss in their second matchup of the week on October 15.
Georgios Koutsias, Greece U21
Koutsias and Greece U21 dropped a must-win match against Croatia U21 in the EURO U21 Qualifier in Koprivnica, Croatia on October 15. Koutsias started and played the entire match at center forward and nearly scored the match-tying goal at the end of the 90 minutes.
Omari Glasgow, Guyana
It was an international window to forget for Glasgow and Guyana. Glasgow started each of his side’s CONCACAF Nations League A matches but his side failed to get a win during their two matches. Glasgow nearly scored on two occasions in their 3-1 loss to Guatemala on October 11 but everything fell apart for Guyana in their 5-1 loss to Suriname on October 15, ensuring their relegation into CONCACAF Nations League B for 2025.
Fire II Accolades
Fire II captain David Poreba was named to MLS Next Pro’s Best XI for the 2024 season. Poreba, 21, won the league’s Golden Boot after scoring 18 goals during the regular season and leading his side to a home playoff match against Orlando City B on October 20 at 2:00 p.m. CT.
What’s On Tap Next?
The Fire host Nashville SC in their season finale at Soldier Field on Saturday. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 p.m. CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
Follow @soccer_ontap on X for more Chicago Fire news and updates!
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