In the 61st minute mark of the Chicago Fire’s 1-0 loss to the New England Revolution, a threshold was crossed: The Fire’s Designated Player trio of Jonathan Bamba, Robert Lewandowski and Philip Zinckernagel put together more minutes than Bamba, Zinckernagel and former Fire striker Hugo Cuypers did in the Fire’s first half of the season, leading up to the World Cup break.
That’s enough of a sample size, with 16 games since Lewandowski’s arrival (he has appeared in 15 of the matches) to compare the Fire’s production from their Designated Players before and after the Polish superstar was essentially swapped for Hugo Cuypers in the Fire’s lineup. That’s enough of a sample size to make comparisons, and comparing now – when it’s been about a like-for-like number of minutes before and after the midseason change – is fair.
While Philip Zinckernagel didn’t technically occupy a DP spot on the Fire’s roster until September, for this analysis, it’s fair to retcon him into the slot for the whole year: For the first half of the season, the Fire had only two DPs, preserving the option to bring in a new, potentially game-changing player. By giving Zinckernagel the DP deal, the Fire gave up that possibility, electing instead to reward a player already here with a new contract.
It’s no secret that, at a high level, Lewandowski has not been as productive for the Fire as Cuypers was earlier in the season, when he was performing at a career-high rate which saw him leave MLS in the lead for the Golden Boot.
In fact, in roughly the same number of minutes, Bamba, Zinckernagel have been able to combine for eight goals and four assists with Lewandowski, compared to 20 and eight with Cuypers.
