PREVIEW: Fire Face Orlando City on Playoff Return
It’s a matchday eight years in the making.
In 2017, Veljko Paunovic’s Chicago Fire rolled into the MLS Cup Playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the East, optimistic about a deep run. Instead, the New York Red Bulls routed the Men in Red 4-0, silencing the Fire faithful at Seatgeek Stadium.
Fast forward eight years, and it’s the same venue for Chicago’s first playoff game since that painful defeat. No one could have predicted what would transpire in the years after. A record-breaking postseason drought, an ownership change, two rebrands, and a whole lot of coach and player turnover later, it’s time to run it back.
Here’s what to expect as the Fire host Orlando City in the MLS Eastern Conference Wild Card Game.
Fired Up for the Big Return
Chicago isn’t quite coming into this game guns blazing.
Back-to-back 2-2 draws against Toronto FC and the New England Revolution to end the season were a reflection of the post-clinch haze.
Head coach Gregg Berhalter doesn’t want to forget about those performances by any means.
“Everything happens for a reason, and we’re in this position for a reason,” he said in Monday’s press conference.
“When I think about the Toronto last kick of the game, when I think about the first kick of the game in New England, we’ve learned from that.”
Far exceeding any sense of nerves and worry is the excitement at returning the club to where it belongs.
The Fire made 11 playoff appearances between 1998 and 2009, but will now play just their third postseason game in the last 16 years.
“I see this club as a sleeping giant,” says Berhalter. “I think we have more to show and there’s more to come.”
This game is special for each and every player, and that holds true for Chris Brady.
The Naperville native joined the Fire academy setup in 2017, the same year the club last made the playoffs.
“I was there, I was in the stands,” Brady said about the ill-fated game with the Red Bulls.
“It’s crazy to think that that would be the last time up until now we’d appear [in the postseason]. It serves as added motivation for one of the team’s longest-tenured players. I think that little bit of realization is crazy to me, that now I’m in this position where I can help this team and this club do something incredible.”
Sizing up the Lions
Orlando City is not to be underestimated, but the Men in Red will be cautiously optimistic.
They earned four points from a possible six against the Floridians during the regular season and only conceded one goal.
“I think we’re both completely different teams,” Berhalter observes.
“We know they’re a good team. We know they have threats that we’re going to have to take care of.”
The elimination scenario will bring out the best in both coaches and both teams, at least according to Berhalter.
“[Oscar Pareja] will have them prepared… And we have to come with that same mindset, because one of our seasons is gonna be finished on Wednesday night.”
Brady, meanwhile, will want to forget the last time the Fire hosted Orlando, when he was sent off in the first half. He’s not dwelling on the negatives, though.
“We’re not looking to look into the past,” the goalkeeper explained. “I think it definitely helps the confidence level, knowing that we’ve gotten two positive results against this side.”
Everything on the Line
So much is at stake on Wednesday evening. The Fire have already broken an eight-year curse, and now, they have the opportunity to break a 16-year one with a playoff win.
For Berhalter, it would be further proof that he is the man to awaken the sleeping giant and lead it for years to come.
For Brady and the other homegrown players, it would mean a new dawn, one in which the youth rewrite the history books.
The emotional weight of all that history is immense; yet, for 90 minutes, this is just another Fire game.
“The beauty of this thing is that nothing changes,” Berhalter says.
“For us, it’s the same approach we’ve taken all season. We literally take one game at a time.”
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