Czichos, Fire want pro-Chicago crowd against Messi-less Miami

A lot can change in 11 months. It was about this time last year when the Chicago Fire and Inter Miami met before a record, 62,214-strong crowd at Soldier Field, and as the teams gear up to face off again this Saturday, many variables are dramatically different to last season.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi missed last year’s game, enabling the Fire to run out 4-1 winners, and he’ll be unavailable this time around as well. However, Miami now boasts the added starpower of Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba, neither of whom were on the field last fall.

On the other side, the Fire’s two-goal hero of that night – Swiss legend Xherdan Shaqiri – will not be a part of the action. He terminated his contract with the club earlier this month, meaning the Men in Red will miss his big-game pedigree and must depend on their younger core, including homegrowns Brian Gutiérrez and Chris Brady.

The man who wore the armband for the hosts in that stunning victory, Rafa Czichos, is set to be involved again, though in a slightly different role. The 34-year-old center back resigned the Fire's captaincy ahead of the season but has maintained his starting role on the defensive line. It was his stoppage time cross that handed the Fire their last-minute equalizer last week against New York City FC, a 2-2 result that moved his team to within two points of a playoff spot.

“We know we only have eight games left and we want to make the playoffs at the end of the season,” Czichos told MIR97 Media on Friday. “Best case scenario, we’ve got to win all of our home games, so it's going to be very important tomorrow.”

A win over Miami would boost the Fire above the playoff line, provided other results go their way around the league – a circumstance rather similar to the one the Fire found themselves in for this fixture in 2023.

Red versus pink

While remaining home matches against D.C. United, the New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC, and Nashville SC will all provide their own challenges, the Miami game will be on a whole other level. The Herons are cruising atop the MLS Supporter’s Shield standings, and maintain an eight-point stranglehold over the Eastern Conference. They’ve already clinched a playoff spot, doing so by crushing reigning Shield winner FC Cincinnati 2-0 behind a six-minute Suárez brace.

But Miami’s prowess on the field – that also includes further starpower from the likes of Sergio Busquets, Benjamín Cremaschi, and Julian Gressel – is only half the story. Messi’s absence has dimmed the hype for this game, but if last year’s match was anything to go by, it won’t stop those sucked into the Miami spectacle from passing through the turnstiles on Saturday. Many who arrived at Soldier Field last season wearing Miami, Argentina, or Barcelona kits were converted to Fire fans by the end of the thrilling 90 minutes.

Following the 4-1 win, Czichos commented on the attire of many first-timers in the sold-out crowd, expressing that he hoped they’d be back this season wearing a “different color.” While attendance has indeed seen a slight increase this season, credited in part to the excitement of that victory, it remains to be seen exactly what the crowd will look like for this year’s rematch.

“If there are going to be more pink shirts, but we still win, I'm ok with that,” Czichos said this week. “Of course, when you play at home, you want to see your fans, you want to see the people supporting you. I hope it's going to be a bit more [red] tomorrow.”

Saturday's game has not yet been announced as a sell-out, but a very high turnout is still expected, despite Miami's main man once again skipping the Chicago trip.

A possible farewell?

Czichos has been a stalwart in the Fire’s back line ever since he captained the team in his debut at the start of the 2022 season, also against Miami. However, as his third campaign nears its conclusion, so does his initial contract, and there has yet to be a decision on his future.

“It's not a secret that I feel really comfortable and that my whole family feels really comfortable here,” Czichos said. “At the end of the day, the only thing I can control is what I do on the field. I think I'm a player who always gives his best for the team and for this club. But in the end, the front office will decide what's going to happen with this roster at the end of the season… we'll see what the future brings.”

The Fire’s offseason, while still at least eight matches away, is still in a state of purgatory. The team doesn’t yet have a sporting director following Georg Heitz’s decision to depart his contract at the end of the year, leaving uncertainty to surround the position of head coach Frank Klopas as well. It seems incredibly unlikely that Czichos, now firmly into his mid-thirties, would receive a contract resembling his current $1.33 million per year deal, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t interest on his end to potentially stay in a place he’s grown to love.

“Like I said, I feel very comfortable here,” Czichos added. “That, the front office knows. But it’s [out of] my hands right now.”

In receiving a U.S. Green Card earlier this summer, Czichos is now a permanent U.S. resident and is counted as a domestic player on the roster. A decision on his future will likely be made once the new sporting staff is brought in.