Just one month after leaving the Chicago Fire, Hugo Cuypers will return to the Windy City to face his former club.
Puso Dithejane’s 93rd-minute winning goal over Cruz Azul secured the Men in Red safe passage to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals as the #1 seed… and thus guaranteed that they would take on Cuypers and CF Monterrey.
“Of course, right?” Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said after learning the Fire would face Rayados in the next round. “Of course it turned out like that. We helped them out a little bit, so they’ll come here in a good mood. But it’s a good team. Monterrey’s a good team. It’s going to be a good competition.”
Heads around the soccer world were turned in late June when the Fire announced the signing of legendary Polish forward Robert Lewandowski as a free agent. At home, the signing brought more questions than answers, given that star #9 Cuypers was leading the Golden Boot race and in the form of his life.
Cuypers formally announced a switch to the #99 shirt, and Berhalter shared excitement about playing with two strikers, but before the two could take the field together, Cuypers handed in a transfer request and was quickly unveiled at Monterrey. The striker said in an interview last week that his departure was fuelled by the fact that there “was a chance he would not be the main guy,” a comment that has been met with mixed reactions from the fans.
The transfer business – which has, rightly or wrongly, been framed as a straight swap of Cuypers for Lewandowski in the lineup – has come under scrutiny from fans. That has only intensified as Cuypers is scoring goals for fun at Rayados while Lewandowski has been mostly anonymous in four of six Fire appearances so far, though he has still come away with a total of three goals.
That question will now be encountered in less than two weeks.
“You can’t write a better story than that,” goalkeeper Chris Brady said Thursday. “We know Hugo. We’re familiar with him, and a lot of the scouting will revolve around him because I know he’s hot right now. It’ll be a good game. I think the key for us is going out and approaching it the same way we approached this game: must-win at home. We’ve got to bring the energy from minute one.”
The Fire’s last-gasp win over Cruz Azul is the reason Monterrey are through to the quarterfinals, but Cuypers is the reason they were even in a position to potentially qualify to begin with. The Belgian scored in all three group games – a stoppage-time strike against Orlando that proved crucial for goal differential, a second-half equalizer against Miami, and a 92nd-minute game-winning volley against Nashville.
Now, coming off the three goals in three games, Cuypers – who also opted to take the #99 shirt at Rayados – returns to face his old team. Given the suddenness of his departure, even more eyeballs will be on this one and what his reception will be in front of the Chicago supporters.
“It would be nice if we could do something for Hugo, honor him in front of the fans,” Berhalter said. “I don’t know if we can do that. I don’t know if Leagues Cup allows it, but that would be nice because he was a big part of what we were doing here. Now he’s enjoying Monterrey, scoring some goals, and they’re going to be a good opponent.”
The Lewandowski vs. Cuypers angle raises the stakes even more in what was already going to be one of the Fire’s most important games in years. They are two wins away from CONCACAF Champions Cup qualification for the first time in 22 years, and three wins away from a first major trophy in 20 years. However, best believe the biggest narrative among fans and media heading into this game will be a personal one, between one of the greatest strikers in the Fire’s history and its current star.
“It was written,” midfielder Anton Salétros said. “It was written. Now, it’s good to go again, so we’re looking forward to it.”
