The Chicago Fire will look quite different when they return from the seven-week World Cup pause. One earth-shaking signing – Robert Lewandowski – has everyone talking about the Fire, and with all eyes on a potential debut next Thursday against Vancouver, expectations around Gregg Berhalter’s team have risen substantially.
Now among the longest-tenured non-homegrown players on the roster, Swiss winger Maren Haile-Selassie has seen the broader changes the club has undergone since his arrival from FC Lugano in 2023. And throughout that whole period, Lewandowski has been speculatively linked with a move to the Windy City – something that has now become a reality.
“Everybody kind of knew about rumors going around for a while, but there are many rumors, so you don't really know what will become true,” Haile-Selassie told MIR97 Media in an exclusive interview on Friday. “I was relaxed and just observing it from afar, and then when I saw that it happened, I was happy to get a big player like that at our club. To be sharing locker room with him, and to be learning a lot from a player like that who achieved so many things in his career, arguably one of the best strikers of this generation or the last generation.”
“It’s amazing to see that he chose Chicago at this stage where he's not the youngest anymore, but still, you saw the last seasons with Barcelona that he still contributed. I think he could have stayed in Europe too, at bigger clubs, and maybe other more financially interesting stations. But him choosing Chicago shows what the club, the city, and everything can bring to a player.”
Big Expectations
Although nothing else major has yet changed in the transfer market, the lone addition of Lewandowski firmly places the Fire amongst the favorites for MLS Cup. That isn’t unfounded, as Berhalter’s team is already 3rd in the Eastern Conference, and ended the pre-World Cup period with a run of three successive wins.
Now, after the long pause, the first team is largely back to full health, with some injury struggles they encountered in the spring now in the rearview mirror. That sets the Fire up well to build some quick momentum after a sluggish May in which they needed to grind for results.
“I think it was also a good time to shut off a little bit before many games come quickly,” Haile-Selassie said. “I feel like the team came back pretty fit. Everybody was working through the break. We had some good weeks of preparation, and I can't wait to get started in a few days.”
The first test of the second half of the season, against Western Conference-leading Vancouver, is a great chance for the Fire to make a statement that they are a title contender. Given the Whitecaps’ starpower, and the potential debut of Lewandowski, this may be the most eyeballs on a Fire game in a very long time, and a victory at Soldier Field would be a huge story in MLS.
“At the end, it's about what we can do on the field,” Haile-Selassie said. “It's a great tool to get a player name like that, who I think is going to be able to help us; it's not just a name. So at the end, we have to show on the field that we're a great team in this league. I think we did it in the first 14 games of the season. But we're just going to have to improve, and I think we're going to improve. So all the talk or opinions and stuff, it doesn't really matter to us.”
Two-striker setup
One of the things that made Lewandowski's signing so surprising from an MLS standpoint was that the Fire already have one of the league's best strikers on their team. Hugo Cuypers has more goals than anyone else so far this season, and the signing of another DP center forward adds more complexity to an otherwise straightforward situation at the position.
Prior to the World Cup break, Berhalter flirted with a nominal two-striker setup, albeit in a limited capacity. As Cuypers was the only real option up front, and has been for the last three seasons, an attacking midfielder or winger, such as Haile-Selassie or Robin Lod, was used in support when something resembling a 4-4-2 was used. Now, with the expectation that Berhalter will seek to get Cuypers and Lewandowski on the field together, that is going to change.
If the Fire do indeed go with a traditional 4-4-2 shape, there might be no player on the roster who stands to gain more than Haile-Selassie. 2025 was a difficult season for him; after missing the preseason with an injury, he hardly played in the first half of the year, and while he came alive in moments in the final months, he was largely a backup. However, his well-rounded skill set positions him well to succeed on either side of a 4-4-2, given that it will likely be a more complex role than the one demanded of the wingers under Berhalter last season.
“I'd like to think of myself as someone who can play many positions, not just play but also contribute,” Haile-Selassie said. “This season I played winger, but I played a lot up front as well. so I'm comfortable wherever I play. So again, when you have a player like (Lewandowski), not just him, but the players that we have up front, the quality is a joy to play with, and we obviously have to show that we can play together.”
“I don't think it's going to change too much for our game. Obviously, now you have a bigger target person who you could maybe cross into as a winger. Until now, we looked more to combine and pass through. But now, when you have a player like that who is very comfortable in the air and in duels, that's going to be another weapon we look to use.”
“Hopp Schwiiz”
The three-week pause from MLS training sessions gave players an excellent opportunity to unwind and take a mental break. However, completely unplugging from soccer was simply not going to happen. Even with the league season on hold, the World Cup has, of course, dominated everyone’s lives for the last month, especially considering it is being held here in the United States.
It’s also been a special tournament for Haile-Selassie’s home nation of Switzerland, which has qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time since their own home World Cup in 1954. The Alpine team won Group B, defeating Bosnia & Herzegovina and Canada, and cruised past Algeria in the round of 32 before a shootout upset over tournament dark horse Colombia in the round of 16.
“I don't think I've ever seen people in Switzerland celebrating a Swiss win like that,” the Zürich native and former Swiss youth international said. “It's very, very nice to see because usually Swiss people are more reserved, so it was amazing to see everybody celebrating Switzerland win. That's what football can do, and what the World Cup can do.”
The Swiss will have to face their biggest test yet tonight – Lionel Messi and Argentina. The defending champions labored past Cabo Verde and Egypt in the first two knockout games, though Messi's historic run has carried them so far in pursuit of a fourth star. A victory would be, without a doubt, the greatest moment in Switzerland’s sporting history.
“I think at that stage everything is possible,” Haile-Selassie said. “You never know. Miracle. Like I said, at that stage everybody can beat everybody.”
