After what felt like years of reports and rumors, Bastian Schweinsteiger has finally joined the Chicago Fire. It’s a move long in the making, one that finally sees one of the league’s premier franchises make a push towards something big.
Still, one question remains, and it’s a big one: now what?
The Schweinsteiger move answered plenty of old questions but created a major new one in the process. It’s a move that’s sure to excite and unite fans, at least for the time being, but it remains to be seen just how this gigantic piece fits in the current Fire puzzle.
On the surface, which really means off the field, it’s easy to see where this move makes sense. For years, the Fire have lagged behind the rest of MLS when it came to roster construction, and their place in the yearly standings certainly showed it. This offseason saw a new commitment towards bringing in bigger and better, from the likes of star forward Nemanja Nikolic to MLS Cup winner Juninho to longtime MLS star Dax McCarty.
The Schweinsteiger move shows a clear move into MLS 2.0, an era headlined by bigger spending and better players. However, as MLS teams move into a newer era, one featuring younger, more dynamic additions, Schweinsteiger can’t just be a name to print on pamphlets and advertisements. The league has gotten more technical and astronomically faster, and Schweinsteiger will need to make the move work on the field to make everything worthwhile. Teams can’t afford to run with figurehead Designated Players anymore and, luckily for the Fire, it seems that Schweinsteiger still has the game to make it work.
His time at Manchester United fell well below expectations, but when he was on the field, it’s hard to say anything bad about how his game held up. Featuring in mostly cup matches, Schweinsteiger was, at times, one of the best players on the field for Man United when he was fortunate enough to play. No matter how you rate MLS, any player from Manchester United would walk into any side’s starting XI, and saying Schweinsteiger isn’t MLS quality anymore is nonsense. He just featured for one of the world’s biggest teams. He’ll be fine.
Who knows what he could have done with more in Manchester, but the Fire are about to find out.
He’s here, and he’s ready to go, so now it’s about integration. Does the signing fill a need on the field? Not really. Dax McCarty and Juninho are top-level MLS central midfielders, while youngster Matt Polster waits in the wings with an injury. Relegating Polster to depth could hinder his development, although this could signal a move to right back, a position that remains a focal point for the club.
Somehow, the Fire will need to work McCarty, Schweinsteiger and Juninho into the same midfield. The eye test shows that the trio are far from the most attacking bunch, although one will need to show the ability to get forward. All things considered, that one is likely Juninho, allowing McCarty to play destroyer while Schweinsteiger serves as a deep-lying playmaker.
With that in mind, the Fire can go with a 4-3-3 featuring that trio in the middle. Nikolic retains the starting striker role with David Accam and Michael de Leeuw on either side of him. It’s not a natural spot for de Leeuw, but it’s one that may have to work given the wealth of central options.
If head coach Veljko Paunovic is feeling extra ambitious, the Fire could go with three-at-the-back, leaving room for more in the midfield and less at the notably weak fullback spots. The move gets centerbacks Jonathan Campbell, Joao Meira and Johan Kappelhof on the field while allowing the midfield trio to clog the center of the field in front of them. Brandon Vincent can be pushed up to a wing back role alongside the speedy Accam, allowing De Leeuw to play as a more natural second striker alongside Nikolic. Is it a bit far-fetched? Possibly, but it could be an interesting look.
With all of that in mind, Schweinsteiger’s move will almost certainly be a success for a club in need of some sort of positive headlines. After years of toiling away in relative irrelevancy on both the local and national scale, the Fire finally made their move, bringing in a player widely regarded as one of the best players and leaders of a generation. Toyota Park is almost certain to receive an attendance spike as eyes now turn towards Schweinsteiger’s MLS impact.
The Fire will hope those eyes then see what is now a new-look Fire squad, one with newer and better faces scattered throughout the field. Last week’s thumping against Atlanta United showed there’s work to be done, but the Fire are certainly a team better equipped to compete now than any time in the past five years.
Schweinsteiger will be vital to that when he does step on the field and, if the club and German star can make it work, the Fire could finally seal a much-needed return to relevancy.
Injuries, lack of playing time, age, coming in late for the season, adapting to the league and questionable professionalism suggest this will not end well. But, just as he did at MANU, he will make a lot of money for minimal effort.
I think this is a very risky pick up for two reasons.
One, 1 year. Give me a break is Chicago supposed to win the league now?
Two, big fish who played on winning teams don’t necessarily have what it takes to carry a very weak team on their shoulders in a parity league. Completely different animal. We have seen it time and time again. Whether it is a mental thing where they don’t care, or they aren’t good enough to do it….doesn’t matter….at all. They don’t get it done and that is all that matters. Time and time again.
Great pick-up for Chicago. If allowed to play his natural position at mid-field, he will definitely
be a MLS All-Star. Man U should have used him more. Their lack of scoring can be attributed, in part, to not using him.
Disagree with you and agree with every other rational person commenting about signing quality young players. Love what Atlanta is doing.
Not sure how many times you saw Schweini play for Man United, but he was useless. That’s why he didn’t play. He scored one goal in 18 appearances, and that one was a total fluke. He couldn’t keep pace with Premier League midfielders. Horrible signing. Use the $4.5 million to sign three or four 22-year old players with huge potential.
MLS assumes that fans don’t have internet access and can’t follow EPL news. If I were a Fire fan, I would feel like I’m getting damaged goods with this big name star who can’t buy playing time.
MLS needs to understand that fans are much more interested in their team winning games than having a couple of shiny names on their roster. Look at what Atlanta has done with their relatively unknown signings. Or even Seattle, when they brought Lodeiro over. Or Columbus a few years back, or Portland. We may not follow South American clubs, but we will quickly warm up to a skilled player that works his butt off and helps our team win.
Totally agree. Schweinie as a CAM???? When is the last time you have seen him dribble past an opponent or beat a defender 1 v 1?? Limited touches, simple passing, hardly ever a risk….The Fire have 4 of these players now.
I agree with you 100%……but……Maybe the jersey sales are the reason for the move.
Will it work for ownership in that regard?
Im skeptical on this move, 32 is relatively young but Bastian has looked old and creaky since the WC, he is hardly the player he was for Bayern a few years back. There is a reason he was buried on MAN Us bench for two years, he has completely lost his first step, to assume based on his pedigree and the fact he played, kinda, for MAN U, he will be successful in the MLS is naive. This will be a bust.
The only question I’ve yet to see asked is: Why only a 1-year deal?
Of course, the answer we all know is: Because the league placed him there, and gave him the freedom to leave to a more preferable destination within the league after one year.
But only if his prefered club can gather enough cash from the allocated perfunctory secondary draft fund or at least managed to bypass the cba’s discovery veteran international players salary cap/parity rules, otherwise I don’t see him moving anywhere within mls.
Ah, yee of little faith. You’re forgetting the re-Discovery rule.
Love when our beloved troll tries to throw in a big word here and there to throw us off our game. When know you’re an idiot Rob, no foolin’ us. Lots of great convo going on in some other posts, shocked you didn’t (couldn’t) join in. 🙂
spending money to say they have signed a star…useless, 3 CDM’s will certainly help score goals!!!
They’re guilty until proven innocent in my book unless signing ” the likes of star forward Nemanja Nikolic” qualifies as a smart move I’ll hold my doubts. Trading guys fan favorite local products like Harry Shipp and signing no name underperforming DP’s year over year (Nery Castillo, anyone?) really dampers my expectations with this team. I’m a Chicago transplant in south Florida and had to jump ship from that dumpster Fire. Andrew Haupman really has driven this team into the ground. Such a shame because Fire fans deserve better.