5 Things We Learned: Chicago Fire vs. San Jose Earthquakes
The Chicago Fire are truly up and running in preseason, finally getting their first win at the Coachella Valley Invitational this afternoon. Gregg Berhalter's offense exploded in a thrilling first half, putting up five goals within 34 minutes to crush the San Jose Earthquakes 5-1.
While victory over the Wooden Spoon winners isn't a surprise, the dominance of the performance provides promising signs just 10 days out from MLS opening day in Columbus. Here are five things we learned from today's thumping.
Jonathan Bamba hits the ground running
Given Bamba's pedigree in Europe and Designated Player salary, there would always be a lot of eyeballs on his arrival in MLS. With two goals and an assist in the first half of today's game, it seems clear that he's going to fit like a glove in this league.
The 28-year-old Frenchman, donning the #19 shirt for his second Fire appearance, looked dangerous with every touch. In addition to his two goals, Bamba added an assist for Philip Zinckernagel and made it look easy. He showed no lack of confidence in taking on defenders and was nothing but clinical in the final third – something the Fire have lacked from their wingers in recent seasons, particularly off of the left side.
While it's difficult to be definitive based on preseason, the fact that Bamba's uptick in form at Celta Vigo has immediately translated into goal contributions with the Fire is an extremely welcome sign. At worst, it shows he'll be ready to start and play a central role on matchday one, and at best, it suggests he has the tools to be one of the league's top wingers.
Brian Gutiérrez finds his mojo
Arguably the Fire's most disappointing player over the whole of last season was Gutiérrez, who recorded just six goals and two assists across 32 matches. However, the early signs are that playing in a more established role in midfield will do wonders for his confidence and performance levels week in and week out.
The 21-year-old found the back of the net twice today, converting from close range after receiving a nice pass from Sergio Oregel before doubling his tally with a penalty kick. In general, he also looked much more confident across the 45 minutes, largely playing as an advanced number 8 in a midfield 4-3-3. The fluidity of Bamba's role off of the left side also took some of the burden off of Guti, allowing him to drop deeper and connect with Oregel and Zinckernagel.
Of course, nothing is definitive. But Guti seems to have returned from his first U.S. Men's National Team camp with a new energy, and that will be a game-changer for the Fire this season.
Help needed up front
While the supporting trident of Bamba, Gutiérrez, and Zinckernagel excelled underneath the center forward, the same could not be said for those playing up front. Tom Barlow started the game as the #9 but had minimal influence before being replaced by a similarly unimpactful Dean Boltz at halftime.
In the grand scheme of things, the backup forward is not the most pressing issue in the world. However, just 10 days out from opening day, DP striker Hugo Cuypers is still working his way back to full fitness and is yet to appear in preseason, so there's a very real possibility he won't be available against the Crew. Furthermore, an ACL tear has taken MLS Next Pro Golden Boot winner David Poreba out of the equation, further thinning Berhalter's options up front.
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As of right now, Barlow is likely the go-to man if Cuypers isn't ready on matchday one and if anything, the forwards' lack of involvement in today's goal-fest makes this position a much more pressing need in the final weeks of the offseason. The Fire have three open senior roster slots (potentially soon-to-be four if/when Arnaud Souquet is moved off of the books), and finding a budget backup forward on the domestic market shouldn't be something out of the question.
Finally, there are other, more unorthodox options within the current squad. Gutiérrez has played and performed well up front for the U.S. U-20s in the past, while winger Omari Glasgow often lines up through the middle as Guyana's talisman. Winger Chris Mueller or Fire II's Claudio Cassano could also theoretically be metaphorical band-aids at the position.
Rominigue Kouamé must earn his place from Oregel
TAM midfield addition Kouamé arrived in California this week to join up with the Fire preseason camp, but did not feature against the Earthquakes. While it had been previously thought that the Mali international would naturally slide into midfield next to Kellyn Acosta, the high-level preseason performances of Sergio Oregel mean that shouldn't be a guarantee.
Since scoring in his first preseason appearance against Kansas City last month, Oregel has been one of the Fire's top midfielders and has consistently been Berhalter's pick to partner Acosta. The 19-year-old repaid his coach's faith with another goal contribution today, adding the assist on Gutiérrez's first goal and making the finish easy for his fellow homegrown.
Oregel's performances represent a stark departure for a player who just a few months ago, looked like he could be on the way out of the club, but now he's well-positioned to at least get some substantive minutes on opening day and beyond. The Evergreen Park native has just 10 career MLS minutes, all coming back in 2022, but has turned things around tremendously this winter.
Though Kouamé still has a leg-up this season given his European experience at Cádiz and Troyes, the encouraging signs from Oregel mean that the Fire's midfield depth crisis seems considerably less alarming. The final preseason test against the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday is a change for Kouamé to make his debut and stake his claim in the last minutes of game action before the MLS season begins.
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Fire II fans can get excited
In reality, the Chicago Fire first team only played 45 minutes today, as Berhalter made 11 halftime changes. Of the second half lineup, only three players are set to actually play the bulk of their minutes this season with the first team (Jonathan Dean, Omar González, and Justin Reynolds). The rest of the lineup was made up by Jeff Gal, Diego Konincks, Sam Williams, Harold Osorio, Claudio Cassano, Vitaliy Hlyut, Dean Boltz, and Omari Glasgow.
While the largely Fire II lineup did technically lose their half 1-0 against a Quakes team much more resembling their first half XI, the young group held their own for the 45 minutes. New addition Cassano, whose transfer was finally formally announced this week, was among the most promising, accounting for himself well even if he isn't close to being ready for MLS minutes.
The new additions and returning reserve players have looked solid in preseason, and talented center backs Chris Cupps and Olu Oyegunle are still on the way to join that group. All things considered, the second team takeaway from preseason is that Fire II are going to undoubtedly be a contender in MLS Next Pro this season based on talent alone, though the question does remain what their identity will be under new head coach Mike Matkovich.
Starting Lineup and Player Ratings
4-3-3: Chris Brady (7); Andrew Gutman (6.5), Sam Rogers (6.5), Carlos Terán (7), Leonardo Barroso (7); Kellyn Acosta (7.5), Sergio Oregel (8), Brian Gutiérrez (8.5); Jonathan Bamba (9), Philip Zinckernagel (8); Tom Barlow (5)
