Should the Fire sign Chicharito?
Setting aside Lionel Messi of Inter Miami, there was arguably no bigger MLS signing in the last few years than Javier “Chicharito” Hernández. The ex-Mexican international, who is the all-time leading goalscorer for El Tri, arrived at the Los Angeles Galaxy with much bravado, having been sought after by MLS for years. This week, the now 35-year-old announced he would be leaving the Galaxy after four seasons, meaning that for the first time in his career, he’s unattached.
MLS free agency is just over five weeks away, and the Chicago Fire are expected to be quite active in that market this offseason. Chicharito, while past his best, is one of the top names on the list of available players. The Chicharito that is set to linger in free agency is certainly not the same player fans will remember making headlines at Manchester United, Real Madrid, and the Mexican National Team, but should the Fire make a move to pick him up in the offseason as they look to rebuild the striker position for 2024?
Bargain Bin
Chicharito was a Designated Player throughout his stint in L.A., but he almost certainly would not be if he were to jump to another MLS club in 2024. At 35, he could be available on a TAM contract or potentially demand a salary as low as $500,000. That’s less than the Fire’s current backup right back, Arnaud Souquet, and less than half of Kacper Przybyłko and Jairo Torres’ $1.2 million and $1.4 million deals.
And though he’s coming back from a season-ending ACL tear that kept him out for the majority of 2023, there’s no reason to believe Chicharito is done. In his last full season with the Galaxy, 2022, he netted 18 times in 32 matches, trailing only eventual MVP Hany Mukhtar, penalty specialist Dániel Gazdag, and Sebastián Driussi. His 2022 total eclipses the cumulative total of all of the Fire strikers this season (Kamara, Przybyłko, and Koutsias combined for 12 goals) and is higher than any total from a Fire forward since 2017 (Nemanja Nikolić with 24). Chicharito won’t match that tally following his knee issue, but a very talented player is still in there.
Of course, the concern here would be his age and recent injury history. As mentioned previously, he’s now 35 and has struggled with staying 100% in the last few seasons. For that reason, he can’t be someone depended upon to be a starter in 2024 for any team in the league, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have on-field value.
If the Fire do indeed go out and sign a Designated Player striker, as has been rumored for over a year, who’s to say Chicharito can’t be an extremely fashionable backup? At this point in his career, he might not be going 90 minutes, and even as an expensive rotation piece, he would add tremendous strength in depth. Anyway, that was his role at Man United for a few years, as the backup to Robin van Persie and as Sir Alex Ferguson’s “Super Sub.”
For a young striker like Georgios Koutsias or Missael Rodríguez, playing alongside a number nine with years of experience at the very, very top of the European game would be a fantastic experience. Koutsi showed glimpses of talent in his first season with the Fire, but, in truth, is not yet ready to be the #1 striker and is still very raw. In an ideal world, he would be able to learn under a to-be-determined but hopefully established DP center forward, and if the Fire want to compete, having a reliable and experienced backup is also a big boost. Kamara filled that veteran backup role in 2023, but with Przybyłko’s subpar performances, Koutsias had to be the starting striker down the stretch; that is not a recipe for success in this league, as the 19-year-old still has lots of work to do to reach his potential, and something the Fire will seek to correct in the offseason regardless.
Viva México
Since 2020, at the dawn of the Joe Mansueto era, the Fire have been looking to make a splash Mexican signing. While faint rumors circulated that year about J.J. Macias, followed by whispers of Orbelín Pineda and Jesús “Tecatito” Corona further down the line, nothing ever materialized other than the arrival of Young Designated Player Jairo Torres in 2022. Chicharito was almost certainly someone that the Fire had an eye on at some point, but it was practically a given that the league would steer him in the direction of the “Hollywood” team that is the Galaxy and the Los Angeles market, as they were the team that held his Discovery Rights.
After two seasons of Torres, it’s not difficult to confront the reality that he’s been a bonafide flop. Some have even said he could be considered the worst DP in MLS history. Simply put, the once highly-touted Atlas and El Tri prospect has not been the Mexican superstar the Fire hoped he would be.
The Fire, to represent the city of Chicago and its soccer culture, would, in a perfect world, have a Polish and Mexican superstar at all times. In the past, that has manifested itself in names like Piotr Nowak, Jerzy Podbrożny, Pavel Pardo, and, most notably, Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Connecting with the Polish and Mexican communities that helped build up much of the culture of the club is the main motivation, not just for the hope of one day landing a star like Robert Lewandowski, but to find a player who can trade the red of the Fire for the green of La Selección Mexicana. Unfortunately for the Fire, Kacper Przybyłko and Jairo Torres have simply not been those stars.
Chicharito, arguably the most famous Mexican sportsman of the twenty-first century, would be that guy. Sure, he isn’t the top player he once was, but he is still beloved by the rabid Mexican soccer fanbase. More than 30,000 fans turned out at Soldier Field on a chilly Saturday night in April 2022 when Chicharito’s Galaxy took on the Fire, and the two most recent Mexican national team games in Chicago were sellouts. While a Chicharito signing would not guarantee that kind of crowd for every game, it would certainly provide a boost, similar to how Blanco did when he played for Chicago between 2007 and 2009.
In today’s Mexican national team, there are no stars like Blanco, Hugo Sánchez, Rafa Márquez, or prime Chicharito. Its best players are an Argentine-born Eredivisie forward and a West Ham hardman. To find their Mexican star, the Fire might need to dig into the past and pick up the man who, for so many years, was the face of Mexican soccer.
Conclusion
With Chicharito potentially on the MLS free agent market this offseason, there’s no doubt that he could be a low-risk, high-reward pickup for the Fire. Shirts would be sold, tickets would be bought, and the hype around the Mexican community in Chicago would be off the charts. From a sporting perspective, he could be a pricy but talented backup who should still have plenty in the tank and serve as a role model for his younger teammates and the future strikers of the club. There appear to be few downsides to bringing on board a motivated and hungry veteran with experience at the highest level, who could represent part of the solution to a position that has been a problem for the Fire for the entire Georg Heitz era.
