MLS Footnotes: Will Shaqiri’s return light fire under Chicago?

Doug McIntyre

Soccer Journalist

Editor’s Note: MLS Footnotes takes you inside the major talking points around the league and across American soccer.

Pop quiz: What’s the only team in the history of the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB or MLS to win a championship in its expansion season?

It’s the Chicago Fire, which actually took home both the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup titles to cap its record setting maiden campaign way back in 1998.

The Fire — which meets Atlanta United on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1 and FOX Deportes) — won three more Open Cups and made two additional appearances in the league finale over the next eight seasons. But the once-proud club has become an afterthought in the Windy City over the years since, qualifying for the playoffs just twice in the last 13 seasons and getting bounced in the first round both times.

Chicago last reached the postseason in 2017. The Fire finished 24th overall standings last year despite investing in players like Swiss World Cup star Xherdan Shaqiri and hiring Ezra Hendrickson, one of the most highly regarded assistant coaches in MLS.

Hendrickson was always going to need time to turn things around in Chicago. Lately, things have been looking up. After taking just two points from their first three games in 2023, the Fire has posted a 2W-0L-2T record in their four most recent outings.

Last week’s 2-2 tie against the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Union still felt more like a loss; the hosts were leading 2-0 in the second half before Philly came back to steal a share of the points. It marked the second time this season that Chicago squandered a two-goal lead at home, having also done it in a 3-3 stalemate with Cincinnati last month.

“We’re at a point where we feel like we’re playing well, but we can do better,” Hendrickson told FOX Sports earlier this week. “We definitely feel like a couple of those ties should’ve been wins for us.”

“We don’t want to dwell on it,” added veteran forward Kei Kamara. “We want to build and learn from those mistakes.”

Getting key players back in the lineup should help. Shaqiri has started just two of the Fire’s seven games so far because of injury. The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward came off the bench for the final 25 minutes last weekend.

“Shaq is eligible for selection,” Hendrickson said. “He’s in training full, so there’s a possibility he will be on the pitch on Sunday.”

Fellow designated player Gastón Giménez is also expected to be available for the trip to Atlanta, as are midfielder Federico Navarro and defender Carlos Terán. Forward Jairo Torres remains sidelined. “The guys are on their way back,” Hendrickson said.

Still, Atlanta presents a formidable challenge. The Five Stripes won MLS Cup just a year removed from their 2017 expansion debut, and they’re back near the top of the East again after two playoffs misses in the last three seasons.

Atlanta, which should have World Cup winner and early MVP candidate Thiago Almada back after Almada missed last Saturday’s 2-2 tie in Toronto, has secured the maximum nine points from its three home games so far, outscoring foes 8-2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It won’t be easy. Buy a win, if Chicago can get one, could potentially vault the Fire from eighth place to fifth in the conference — right in the middle of the playoff places. It would also do wonders for the squad’s psyche the rest of the way.

“This is a very important game for us,” Hendrickson said. “It’s one of those games that could really propel our season forward.”

MLS FOOTNOTES

1. Kamara nearing milestone

With both Fire tallies in a 2-1 win over Minnesota United April 8, Kamara, 38, pulled within four goals of second place on the all-time MLS list. He now has 142 career regular season goals to Landon Donovan’s 145. Kamara has averaged better than a goal every three games through his almost 400-match MLS career and could move past Donovan before the summer if he stays healthy. The former Sierra Leone international was cleared to play this weekend after being released from concussion protocol and training with his teammates on Friday.

Chicago is the 10th MLS stop for Kamara, affectionately nicknamed “grandpa” by some of his much younger Fire teammates. He spent the 2022 season in Montreal but has long had his eye on the Fire. “I did have my agent reach out to Chicago last year and ask if there was any interest,” Kamara said. “Obviously there wasn’t [then], so I’m happy to be here now.”

Kamara has helped the Fire behind the scenes, too. “He is a leader in the locker room,” Hendrickson said. “We have a lot of young players that he’s always talking to, that he’s always encouraging.

“Off the field, he’s an extension to the coaching staff”

2. Almada transfer watch in full swing

Atlanta’s hot start would look downright searing had Gonzalo Pineda’s side not conceded a stoppage time equalizer to Toronto FC’s Brandon Servania north of the border last weekend. But the Five Stripes’ MLS Cup hopes are more likely to hinge on what happens this summer.

Italian Serie A champion-in-waiting Napoli reportedly wants to pry Almada away from MLS when Europe’s transfer window opens in July, almost certainly for a transfer fee higher than the record $27 million Newcastle paid Atlanta for Miguel Almirón in 2019. And as some have noted, there’s no guarantee that Napoli would let Almada stay stateside until the MLS season ends. Losing perhaps the league’s best player midyear would deal a fatal blow to Atlanta’s chances of winning a second title this fall.

3. St. Louis leads the field

Expansion side St. Louis City’s record six-game win streak out the gate ended with consecutive defeats, but the newbies’ magical first season got back on course with last week’s emphatic 5-1 victory over FC Cincinnati.

St. Louis now sits atop the Supporters Shield standings. LAFC, which has played one fewer match, is second with 17 points to City’s 18. St. Louis plays at Colorado Saturday, while LAFC visits Nashville.

4. A new Revolution

New England deserves love in this space after a 5W-1L02T start that has the Revolution leading the East on goal difference over Cincinnati. Maybe the Revs consistency so far shouldn’t be a surprise.

Although Bruce Arena’s team missed the playoffs last fall, the Revs are less than two years removed from shattering the league’s single season points record with mostly the same roster. New England ought to collect another three points Saturday as winless Sporting Kansas City – which has managed just two goals all season — travels to Foxborough.

5. Deadline Day approaching

The league’s only other remaining winless squad is the LA Galaxy. As such, the five-time champs figure to be among the clubs looking to bolster their ranks before MLS’s primary transfer window slams shut on Monday — especially with a ban on foreign arrivals, punishment for breaking roster rules, looming later this summer. That won’t help Chicharito & Co. this weekend, when Austin FC comes to Carson, though the fact that Austin has just one goal in four games should.

Most teams will wait until July to add bodies. The secondary MLS transfer window is aligned with the first half of Europe’s, meaning many more potential recruits will be available then. Count Chicago among the patient.

“We don’t really want to rush,” said Hendrickson. “We’ve tried to make some moves. A couple things fell through. So, at this late hour, unless something changes drastically, it’ll probably be the summer window before we get some reinforcements.”

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.