Kellyn Acosta "looking into the future" under Berhalter

When Kellyn Acosta was unveiled by the Chicago Fire shortly before the start of the 2024 season, the sky seemed to be the limit for the Men in Red. A seemingly stellar offseason had seen them land record signing Hugo Cuypers and positional upgrades in Andrew Gutman and Allan Arigoni before topping it all off with the high-profile free agency signing of Acosta.

Eight months later, and with the Fire’s season finale a week away, it’s clear that 2024 didn’t go anywhere near according to plan. They are on course to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference for the first time in nearly a decade and never climbed out of a hole that they began digging themselves into on the second matchday.

This week’s news that former U.S. Men’s National Team manager Gregg Berhalter would be taking over as the Fire’s head coach and director of football has completely changed the outlook, however. We spoke with Acosta, a longtime U.S. international, amidst what’s been a chaotic and exciting period for both himself and the club.

Reunited with GGG

Acosta, brought in to sure up the midfield and add leadership to Frank Klopas’ group, didn’t have a bad season per se, but it was by no means a success. It was a year with ups and downs for the experienced U.S. international, but in a team where nobody really had a good season, he wasn’t able to play his best soccer.

But when did Acosta play the best soccer of his career? Many would argue that came with the USMNT under Berhalter. Owner and chairman Joe Mansueto officially introduced the new head coach to the players in Bridgeview on Wednesday, with both Mausueto and Berhalter also set to meet the media next Thursday. With several years of work together previously, Acosta expressed excitement at the opportunity to play under him again.

“Gregg did a great job getting the best out of me in those years and making me feel confident and comfortable,” Acosta said. ”I've had some great games under him. I think he's a guy that's super detail oriented and a guy that's going to give direction for everyone; everyone's going to know what their role is and what's asked of them.”

“I think we're going to have to set systems that way of playing and a way to break teams down, and I think it's going to be positive. I had a number of great years with Gregg, and I'm excited to continue building on that relationship and get the club and organization back on track.”

While significant changes could come in the transfer market this offseason as Berhalter looks to mold the roster in his image, one of a handful of pieces that are going nowhere is Acosta. He will be a player Berhalter can build around and will be depended upon as a leader during the transition phase. And with potential new additions around him that better complement his style and Berhalter’s system, 2025 could be a much more enjoyable year of soccer for Acosta and the Fire’s midfield.

Lessons from 2024

On paper, 2024 was a pretty terrible season for the Fire in MLS. If they fail to get three points on Decision Day against Nashville SC, they’ll guarantee a 15th-place finish, and considering the millions spent in the offseason, that can’t be considered anything short of a failure. However, a silver lining is that the Fire still managed to cram in some promising glimpses throughout the year, and with things generally moving in the right direction off the field, 2024 is a year they will hopefully be able to forget quickly.

Despite all the positive talk this week about what the future holds under Berhalter, Acosta still knows that there are lessons the team can take away from this year. Complacency and a lack of consistency were two key faults that prevented the Fire from finding a rhythm and stringing more than two wins together. Still, even on a smaller scale, silly mistakes were often the cause of individual shortcomings that translated into slipping down the standings.

“I think if you look back on some of the goals that we've given up, it’s from simple mistakes on our end,” Acosta said. “I don't think there have been a ton of games where teams have just outright played through us, and we weren't able to cope with that. Collectively, we gotta look at ourselves and realize that in these moments, we just weren't good enough, and I think in these games, you gotta figure out ways to win and roll up your sleeves and be gritty.”

“Sometimes it's not gonna be glamorous and beautiful, but I think there are some games where we went down a goal or two, and we kind of just fell over and that sums up how our season was. I wouldn't call it unlucky because I think we're the catalyst of that.”

Incredibly, the Fire have led for just 269 minutes in league play this season – less than 10% of total minutes played. In the past, there was a question of whether or not they could hold onto leads, but in 2024, it seemed like they never really had them. The Fire tended to fold every time they fell behind, which eventually caused them to sit so far outside of the playoff positions.

“Ultimately, we ended up coming up short, so it's a sour taste,” Acosta said. “But there's gonna be a big transition period in the offseason. It's gonna be some new guys, and we’ll be at the new training facility. It's gonna be a fresh start, and Gregg mentioned to us when we met him: it's not about what happened in the past, but it's about right now and looking into the future.”

Off-the-field Impact

Even as the MLS season winds down for the Fire, Acosta still finds himself busy off the field. Between

had no shortage of items on his plate. Acosta has also started a Harvard business course in the last couple of weeks and is preparing for a case study coming up on Italian powerhouse AC Milan.

Acosta’s exploits off the field, particularly with his foundation, earned him a nomination for MLS’s Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award (formerly Humanitarian of the Year). Recent or planned events include a book drive, a hospital visit, and a coat drive, in addition to the recent opening of a turf field in Gage Park.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_4AtxOsBmb/?igsh=MWJsbmhpbWpxdDF4eA==

“That's huge, and that's a special nomination for me,” Acosta said. “I'm super excited to be amongst a bunch of great people throughout the league. Yeah, it’s been a busy month, but that's how months go. That’s the life of an athlete and I’m trying to just balance it all.”

His work indeed makes him a contender for the award, which was last won by a Chicago Fire player back in 2016 (Matt Lampson). Acosta is one of four Fire players nominated for MLS year-end awards, with Chris Brady (Goalkeeper of the Year and Young Player of the Year), Hugo Cuypers (Newcomer of the Year), and Brian Gutiérrez (Young Player of the Year) all finding their way onto ballots as well.

Read more:

https://meninred97.com/3-winners-3-losers-from-berhalters-hiring/

https://meninred97.com/what-berhalters-usmnt-stint-tells-us-about-the-fire/

https://meninred97.com/acosta-klopas-on-usmnt-coaching-search-you-have-to-make-tough-choices/

https://meninred97.com/chicago-style-kellyn-acosta-is-bringing-glamour-back-to-the-fire/