5 Things We Learned: Chicago Fire vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Yesterday’s match against the Vancouver Whitecaps was a perfect example of what this Chicago Fire team is capable of when everything comes together. A solid 90 minutes of soccer, where the only goal conceded was pretty much unstoppable, has put the Fire in joint second in the Eastern Conference.

Although there are always areas to improve in, there are a lot of positives to look at. Here are some of the biggest ones.

Chris Brady should be playing for the USMNT

While many Fire fans may hold this belief and possible “unpopular opinion,” Brady continues to put up impressive performance after impressive performance without much attention from the media. For now close to the 15th or 20th time since he debuted in MLS a few years ago, the outcome of a game can be directly attributed to his performance.

The 21-year-old goalkeeper, who started every game except for one last season and has started all five games so far this season, is at a level of consistency rarely seen in players nowadays, especially not of his age. While a lot of the time he works silently, making routine but necessary saves, when the time comes, he does not hide just how good he is.

One of the highlights of the evening in Vancouver came in the 80th minute, with the Fire leading by just one goal. During a sudden counter attack from the Whitecaps, the ball was quickly switched from the left to the right side of the attack, resulting in a free shot from Edier Ocampo which was headed perfectly for the bottom left corner of the goal.

As you might guess, Brady read the play perfectly and was on the ground in milliseconds with his arm fully extended getting his fingers on it and pushing it wide. This play was not only significant because of Brady’s reaction time, but it reminded some of an almost identical play just a few days earlier in which the USMNT conceded a last-minute winner from the same exact spot shot at the exact same location of the goal; national team #1 Matt Turner was widely criticized for his positioning on the goal, and has come under scrutiny from the U.S. fanbase 15 months out from the World Cup.

Leonardo Barroso is the undisputed starter at right back

Another impressive performance from the young Portuguese fullback should be enough for Berhalter to realize the right-back position belongs to him.

With a goal just 6 minutes into his debut in MLS and an assist less than 30 minutes after coming on against Toronto FC last week, he is averaging more or less a goal involvement every 90 minutes. Last night against the Whitecaps, he did it again, but this time, in his first game as a starter, less than 2 minutes into the match. As he got the ball wide on his right side of the field, he looked up and saw Phillip Zinckernagel making a run and proceeded to play the perfect through ball in the space.

The play ended with Zinckernagel playing a simple ball across the goal to Hugo Cuypers, who finished easily and pushed the ball into an open net. For the rest of the game, Barroso was perfect in the build-up and even better defensively, leading to high praise from Berhalter.

“His defending is exceptional, his 1v1 defending. I’m really pleased with him in that area,” said Berhalter. “Offensively, [he played] a really smart ball behind their back line, which led to the first goal. We still want to continue to develop him in that area because we think he can make a major impact.”

It is safe to say that Jonathan Dean will have to fight hard for minutes upon his return from injury.

The team looks comfortable playing off the ball

In soccer, there are many ways of playing successfully and winning games. The typical way is out-possessing an opponent, out-shooting them, and dominating in most areas of the field. The key component and common denominator for a lot of the most successful teams throughout the sport’s history has been dominating possession. With that being said, it isn’t the only option, and there have been extremely successful teams, like Jose Mourninho’s Porto in the 2003/04 season, who have accomplished the highest feats in the sport playing comfortably on the counter but, more importantly, without the ball.

This is the kind of soccer the Chicago Fire are playing at this point in time. Having just slightly more possession than their opposition on only two of the five matches so far this season, and being out-possessed in the rest, the team has scored eight goals in the last three games, playing comfortably without the ball. A big question coming into this season and after the first game remained the same as other years: how can the team get rid of its careless mistakes on defense?

Thankfully, this question is slowly being answered, and it might not be in the way fans were expecting.

Although Brady has yet to record a shutout, only one goal has been conceded a game in the last three outings, and the majority have been close to unstoppable. With the lack of composure and decisions to make risky passes out of the back being minimized as the games go on, and with players like Sam Rogers stepping up for Berhalter, it seems like the team is shifting to playing more calmly and solidly with and – more importantly – without the ball.

Rominigue Kouamé's immediate impact off the bench

The day fans were waiting for finally came, and after a minor injury and other small obstacles, Rominigue Kouamé made his debut in MLS. Being one of the big singings made by Berhalter this off-season, there was a lot of anticipation behind seeing him play, and a lot of people have been wondering what exactly he can contribute to this team.

A few of those questions were answered last night, even though he only played a total of 9 minutes. Coming on in the 87th minute of the match, he looked like the best player on the field for the time he was on, putting the cherry on top in the 94th minute scoring the Fire’s third goal of the night and ending all hopes of a Whitecaps comeback.

Berhalter also had some words to say about the Mali international on his debut.

“He’s waited a long time to make his debut. You could see how much the team was pulling for him in the locker room just now, celebrating with him and really excited for him,” Berhalter said.

“He has had a long road to get to this point and he certainly made an impact in the game today.”

Berhalter is getting the most out of his depth, especially in midfield

The final talking point of the evening and one of the most important factors to the long-term success of the team is the depth that has been accomplished on defense and in the midfield. One of the biggest question marks when the lineup came out prior to yesterday’s game was; how is a midfield of Sam Williams, Mauricio Pineda, and Sergio Oregel Jr. going to do against an undefeated Vancouver Whitecaps team?

With only Sam Williams being substituted out in the 87th minute for Kouamé, the 3-1 scoreline speaks for itself when it comes to the performance of these three individuals in the middle of the park. Oregel Jr. was solid in transition, Pineda was key in defense, and Williams got a few shots off on goal, all combining to dominate the midfield surprisingly well.

In the absence of captain Kellyn Acosta, Brian Gutiérrez, and with Kouamé adapting, Berhalter once again expressed just how important depth is for the long-term success of this team.

“To win this league, you need a deep squad. You need quality. For these guys to get the opportunity and take advantage of it, guys like Sam Williams and Justin Reynolds today, it means a lot,” Berhalter said. “They get the confidence to help the team.”

Looking forward…

With the electric start that has surprised everyone, and the amount of quality in every area of the field, this team has a lot to look forward to.

Following this immense success on the road, three of the next four games will be played at home, with the first being this next Saturday, the 29th of March, against CF Montréal.