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Brian Gutiérrez, now with two senior U.S. Men’s National Team caps to his credit. Maren Haile-Selassie, a fan favorite for his explosive speed on the wing. David Poreba, the reigning MLS Next Pro MVP and Golden Boot winner, having earned a first-team deal with his hometown club. New U22 signing Leonardo Barroso. Defensive midfielder Rominigue Kouamé, with experience in the top flight leagues of France, Belgium and Spain. In normal circumstances, these are just a few of the names that Chicago Fire fans would be looking forward to seeing in person – sometimes, for the first time – at Soldier Field for the team’s home opener on Saturday.
Instead, they are just some of the names of players that will be unavailable for the home opener as the Fire take on D.C. United, looking for their first win of the year showing promise – but not a result – against the Columbus Crew in their season opener last week. In addition to those players, left-back Chase Gasper is out with a long-term injury that also saw him miss playing in any of the Fire’s preseason matches. Winger Chris Mueller is also expected to be absent, spending time with his wife and family following the birth of their second child.
Despite no “intent” to “hurt the opponent,” Gutiérrez suspended for Saturday
Of all of the absences, Brian Gutiérrez’s is the most unexpected. The Fire midfielder’s suspension was announced on Tuesday following a review by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for play early in the second half last Saturday, when Gutiérrez was engaging with the Crew’s Yevhen Cheberko as the ball went out. During the game, the play was scrutinized during a lengthy VAR review and eventually resulted in a yellow card for the Fire homegrown. After review by the MLS Disciplinary Committee under Parameter 3 of MLS’s Competition Guidelines, however, the yellow was upgraded to a red. For that to happen, the decision must be unanimously considered a “clear and unequivocal red card” by the panel.
Although Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter defended his player in media availability, saying that “as he went into that challenge, he didn't understand how the player was going to duck and go down, and it looked a lot worse than it actually was. I don't think there's any intent on his part to hurt the opponent. It was an unlucky play, and we talked to him about just being careful in
situations like that,” the team did not formally appeal the decision and Gutiérrez’s suspension will stand, with Berhalter saying that “someone’s going to need to step up in Guti’s place.”
Fitness issues add further wrinkles for Berhalter
One of the players that might be expected to do that is Philip Zinckernagel, the veteran Danish attacker having experience playing in all three roles across a front three. However, Zinckernagel is one of several players that are working their way back to full fitness following injuries sustained in preseason. In the season opener, the Fire debutant played 68 minutes at the right wing position before being subbed off in favor of Omari Glasgow. With Haile-Selassie unavailable due to injury, the Guyanese international is the only other right wing on the squad.
In addition to all of the players that are outright unavailable against D.C. United, a number of players are coming off of injuries and are still working themselves up to 90 minute fitness. Designated Player Hugo Cuypers was out with an injury for almost the entire preseason, only returning to full training with the team after their last preseason game at the Coachella Valley Invitational. After playing 45 minutes against Columbus, Berhalter indicated that the Fire’s star striker had made “some progress,” with his recovery “so we expect him to be able to play longer than he did last week.”
The Fire’s availability issues go deeper than just the attack. Former Fire homegrown Mauricio Pineda – usually a stalwart and the player that led the team in minutes in 2021 – has also been working his way back to full fitness. Berhalter said that he is unlikely to be able to start on Saturday, after playing 22 minutes in the season opener. The Fire coach also confirmed that despite some notable errors in his first MLS start, Sergio Oregel Jr. will play again against D.C. United, noting that managing the confidence of promising young players like Oregel is critical.
Berhalter left with difficult squad choices for Saturday
The Fire head coach, frankly, may have no other choices other than to put Oregel back in the saddle on Saturday. With Berhalter confirming that “none of our players that were injured will be back” against D.C., the only fully healthy positions for the Fire are in net and at center-back. Due to the restriction of 20 players on the senior roster with a further 10 mostly younger- or lower-paid players on the supplemental roster, MLS depth charts are always thin: The Fire spent the majority of 2024 without a natural left-back after injuries to Andrew Gutman and Gasper. The Fire’s situation, though, is particularly dire.
The team is sorely lacking depth at every position in the attack, and Berhalter will likely have to make a choice of shifting players around while managing minutes and trying to get a result at home ahead of a three game road swing. With Gutiérrez’s suspension the team has no available central attacking midfielders with senior-level experience other than Zinckernagel, who is likely on restricted minutes. Moving Zinckernagel centrally from his more natural position on the right wing, however, means that the only first-team player available on the right wing is Omari Glasgow, who has a total of 58 minutes of MLS experience to his credit, alongside two shots – neither on target. Glasgow has skill and has shown promise, but is still adapting to the pace and physicality of MLS.
Assuming Zinckernagel is employed elsewhere, the team has no natural backups at either the left-wing or left-back positions. Jonathan Dean, who played out of position at left-back for long stretches of last year, is the probable starter on the right. Although he could switch if Gutman needs to come off, the Fire’s only other right back is Justin Reynolds, who has one MLS start in his career. And although both players are industrious and Reynolds shows promise, neither Dean nor Reynolds could be expected to provide the kind of dynamic service offensively that Gutman is expected to provide under Berhalter’s system.
Of the four players available in the defensive midfield, only Pineda and Acosta have significant experience in the position and Pineda’s minute restrictions mean that he won’t be able to start. Oregel has two MLS appearances while the Fire’s other player in the position, 18-year-old Dylan Borso, has none. In emergency situations, teams have been known to pull center-backs into the defensive midfield. In his time with the Philadelphia Union, it’s a role that Jack Elliott has shown that he can admirably fill when asked. Against D.C. United, whose one truly top-end player is Christian Benteke, that’s unlikely to happen: He earned MLS Golden Boot last year off of his aerial prowess in the box, and the Fire are likely to want their best center-backs tasked with keeping Air Benteke grounded.
Necessity, however, is the mother of invention and a crisis also provides opportunity. Several players are likely to be in line for their first starts, with several others in line for their first appearance in the league. And despite Benteke’s prowess and changes D.C. made in the offseason, the team is still a relatively weak squad, at least on paper. There are real questions around its roster build (they are paying for a Designated Player that currently plays for Atlanta United), and even as the team moved to strengthen their goaltending corps, they also shipped away a number of their better players.
That means that despite the difficult decisions Berhalter and his coaching staff must make in deciding on the gameday roster on Saturday, the game should present a real opportunity for players that might otherwise struggle to earn minutes. With those minutes, they have the chance fill roles that might not typically be asked of them. If a handful of the players make the most of that chance, the Fire should expect a result in their home opener.
