Allan Arigoni is loving U.S. lifestyle and scoring goals

Last Saturday was quite the day for the Chicago Fire’s remaining Swiss contingent.

In the morning, Zürich-born stars Allan Arigoni and Maren Haile-Selassie watched their country kick off their Euro 2024 campaign with an important 3-1 win over Hungary. Then, that evening, they went out, and both put their names on the scoresheet in a huge 4-1 win at Toronto FC.

For Arigoni, it was his first goal since joining the Fire in the offseason from sister club FC Lugano of the Swiss Super League, and the right back’s left-footed strike is the cherry on top of what’s been an excellent start to life in Chicago.

The rapid adjustment has been no mistake, though. Under Joe Mansueto’s ownership, Lugano and Chicago have shared extensive analytics with one other, and their models showed that Arigoni’s game would translate well to MLS. From day one, he proved to be an immediate upgrade in his position, and the adjustment to life in America was easy for him both on and off the field.

“I could adapt very quickly,” Arigoni told MIR97 Media last week. “I think it's also my style of play to be physical, a lot of sprints, a lot of transition, so I could adapt very quick. It is my style of playing.”

“I grew up in a small town and, I really noticed the difference between Chicago and my old town where I grew up and the people they are more like likely to talk, they are open. Where I come from is not, is not like that. But I could adapt very quicky to this because I think it's also my type of living.”

Arigoni was always brought in to be the go-to man on the right side of the defensive unit this season, but the role he’s specifically played has evolved. He lined up as the right back in a back four to start the season, and despite limited appearance at right center back and left back, it seemed like that would be his main position.

However, a poor run of results led to a formational change, and the Swiss defender was forced to play a more attacking role that also happened to better suit his strengths. In head coach Frank Klopas’ 3-5-2, Arigoni has much more positional freedom as a right wing back and joins the attack as a key piece of width. He has been adventurous in the final third while still being solid defensively.

His 89th-minute goal against Toronto, which made the score 4-1 and secured the Fire’s largest margin of victory on the road since 2019, was well deserved for a hard-working player who’s been one of the most consistently solid players for the Men in Red this season.

“I think changing the formation and using him as a wingback, he has that ability to cover that whole right side,” Klopas said after Saturday’s win. “He's fast and can cover the whole right side and get quality crosses in. But then when he gets in good spots like you saw tonight, he has the ability to finish chances off, and he's been a great addition.”

Now, the Fire will jump into the second half of the season, rejuvenated and hungry to continue their run of good form. During the international break prior to the previous match, Arigoni spent a few days in Miami reloading after an extended period without any pause; switching mid-season from the European calendar to the American one, he faces a stretch of potentially 17 months without a full offseason.

However, those tired legs have not set in yet, and Arigoni is sprinting head-first into the challenge of getting the Fire back into the postseason for the first time since 2017. While he’s not the fastest player on the team according to the statistics – Tom Barlow has allegedly clocked in at higher speeds this season (though Arigoni feels he’s still quicker) – his abilities, both physical and the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, will be key to any turnaround.

And perhaps he’ll set up a race with Barlow soon to settle that question.