Chicago Fire FC facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chicago Fire FC

Nickname(s)	The Fire The Men in Red
Founded	October 8, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-10-08)
Stadium	Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois
Stadium capacity	61,500
Owner	Joe Mansueto
Sporting director	Gregg Broughton
Head coach	Gregg Berhalter
League	Major League Soccer
2024	Eastern Conference: 15th Overall: 28th Playoffs: Did not qualify
Home colors Away colors

The Chicago Fire Football Club is a professional soccer team from Chicago, USA. They play in Major League Soccer (MLS) as part of the Eastern Conference. The team moved to this conference in 2002.

The club is named after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It was started on October 8, 1997, which was the 126th anniversary of that famous fire. The team began playing in 1998 as one of the first new teams in the league.

In their very first season in 1998, the Fire won both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup. This achievement is called winning the "double". They also won the U.S. Open Cup in 2000, 2003, and 2006. In 2003, they won the MLS Supporters' Shield too.

The Fire has a big system for developing young players. This includes the Chicago Fire Development Academy and the Chicago Fire Juniors youth program. They also run the Chicago Fire Foundation, which is their charity group. The team plays its home games at Soldier Field, which they share with the Chicago Bears football team.

History of the Fire

How the Team Started

The Chicago Fire FC began as the Chicago Fire Soccer Club on October 8, 1997. The team's name honors the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The current owner is Joe Mansueto, who bought the club in 2019.

The Fire first played at Soldier Field from 1997 to 2006. Then, from 2006 to 2019, they played at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. In 2019, the team moved back to Soldier Field for the 2020 MLS season. The Fire is one of the most successful teams in the U.S. Open Cup, winning championships in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006.

Many famous players have played for the Fire. These include U.S. players like Chris Armas and Brian McBride. The team also brought in international stars like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Cuauhtémoc Blanco.

Before the Fire, Chicago had another soccer team called the Chicago Sting. They played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984. The Sting won the Soccer Bowl twice, in 1981 and 1984.

Early Success (1997–2000)

The Fire started strong in 1997. They brought in talented players from different countries, like Piotr Nowak from Poland and Jorge Campos from Mexico. American players like Zach Thornton and Chris Armas were also very important.

Under their first coach, Bob Bradley, the team had an amazing first year. They won the "double" in 1998. They beat D.C. United in the MLS Cup Final and the Columbus Crew in the U.S. Open Cup.

The team kept up its success. They reached the MLS Cup final in 2000, but lost to Kansas City. They did win the U.S. Open Cup again that year. Famous international players like Hristo Stoitchkov joined the team. Young American players like DaMarcus Beasley also grew into stars. The Fire quickly became one of the best teams in the league.

Moving Around (2002–2004)

In 2002, Soldier Field was being renovated. So, the Fire moved to Naperville, a suburb of Chicago. That same year, coach Bob Bradley left the team. Dave Sarachan became the new head coach.

In 2003, Chicago reached the league final. They also won the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup. The team returned to the newly renovated Soldier Field in the middle of the 2003 season.

After that season, team captain Piotr Nowak retired. New players like Damani Ralph joined the team. However, the Fire's performance slowed down. In 2004, they missed the league playoffs for the first time.

New Home and Changes (2005–2007)

The 2005 season started with a big change in club leadership. The team played a special game against A.C. Milan from Italy. They also had a surprising 4–0 win against D.C. United in the playoffs.

In 2006, the Fire moved into their new stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. It was called Toyota Park (now SeatGeek Stadium). The team didn't have a great league season that year. But they won the U.S. Open Cup again, which was a good sign for the future.

Fans really wanted another league title. In 2007, the Fire signed Mexican star Cuauhtémoc Blanco. After a strong start, the team's performance dropped. Coach Sarachan was then replaced by Juan Carlos Osorio.

New Ownership (2007–2009)

More changes happened in 2007. A company called Andell Holdings bought the Chicago Fire. Andrew Hauptman became the new chairman. The team has not won a major trophy since this change.

Under coach Osorio, the Fire played well and made the playoffs. But they lost to New England in the Eastern Conference Final. Osorio then left to coach the New York Red Bulls.

In 2008, former Fire star Frank Klopas became the Technical Director. Denis Hamlett was named manager. The team signed Chicago native Brian McBride. They beat New England in the playoffs, but then lost to Columbus in the Eastern Conference Final.

In 2009, the team's roster stayed mostly the same. They finished second in the Eastern Conference. However, they lost in the playoffs to Real Salt Lake after a penalty shootout. Coach Denis Hamlett was then let go.

A Changing Team (2010–2012)

For the 2010 season, Carlos de los Cobos became the new head coach. Several key players like Cuauhtémoc Blanco left the team. More changes happened later that year, with new players joining. Despite these changes, the Fire missed the playoffs for only the second time. Longtime players Brian McBride and C.J. Brown retired.

The 2011 season also started slowly. After many games without a win, Carlos de los Cobos was replaced by Frank Klopas as interim coach. With new players like Pável Pardo, the Fire improved. They reached the U.S. Open Cup Final but lost to Seattle. They just barely missed the playoffs. Klopas was then made the permanent coach.

In 2012, the Fire had a much better season. They signed players like Chris Rolfe and Arne Friedrich. Rolfe was named the team's MVP. The Fire had their best record since 2000, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference. However, they lost their first playoff game at home to the Houston Dynamo.

Missing the Playoffs (2013–2015)

The team made some changes for the 2013 season. They brought in players like Joel Lindpere and Jeff Larentowicz. The season started with the team struggling to score goals. Later, they traded for Chicago native Mike Magee from the Los Angeles Galaxy. Magee became a key player.

On June 23, 2013, veteran defender Arne Friedrich retired due to injuries. The team improved with Magee and other new players. They reached the semifinal of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but lost to D.C. United. The Fire narrowly missed the playoffs that year. On October 30, 2013, coach Frank Klopas left. The next day, Frank Yallop was named the new head coach. In December 2013, Mike Magee won the MLS MVP Award, the first Fire player to do so.

Yallop brought in new coaches and changed the team's roster. Many veteran players left, and young players joined. The team reached the semifinals of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup again, but lost badly to Seattle Sounders FC. The season ended with the Fire having a very poor record. They also set a record for the most draws in an MLS season.

In 2015, the club signed three new important players: David Accam, Shaun Maloney, and Kennedy Igboananike. The season started with losses, but the team soon won three games in a row. However, they continued to struggle. They reached another U.S. Open Cup semifinal but lost for the third straight season. Maloney left the team later that year.

Frank Yallop was replaced as coach on September 20, 2015. Nelson Rodríguez became the new general manager. The team finished the 2015 season with their worst record ever, including no wins away from home.

Last Years in Bridgeview (2016–2019)

In November 2015, Veljko Paunovic was named the new head coach. He had previously coached the Serbian U-20 team to a World Cup win.

On March 21, 2017, famous German player Bastian Schweinsteiger joined the Chicago Fire from Manchester United. He played for the team until 2019.

In 2018, Joe Mansueto bought a part of the club. By September 2019, Mansueto became the full owner of the team.

Back to Soldier Field and New Look (2020–Present)

After the 2019 season, the Chicago Fire made big changes. They planned to move back to downtown Chicago, get new staff, change players, and introduce a new team look.

On October 8, 2019, the Fire announced they would return to Soldier Field for the 2020 MLS season. On the same day, Bastian Schweinsteiger announced his retirement. The team also signed midfielder Álvaro Medrán.

In November, the team traded captain Dax McCarty. They also let go of their coach, Veljko Paunovic. On November 21, the club revealed its new look. They changed their name to Chicago Fire Football Club (Chicago Fire FC). They also changed their colors to red, blue, and gold, and introduced a new logo.

The new logo had mixed reactions from fans. Some compared it to other team logos or even a street gang symbol. The team said that new brands take time to get used to. They later unveiled another new logo in 2021, designed by Matthew Wolff.

In late 2019, Georg Heitz became the new Sporting Director. He hired Raphael Wicky as head coach and Sebastian Pelzer as Technical Director. For the 2020 season, the Fire signed Argentinian players Ignacio Aliseda and Gaston Gimenez. They also signed Robert Beric from France.

Colors and Badge

The main colors of the Chicago Fire are red, flag blue, deep blue, and white. They have also used navy blue, sky blue, gold, and black over the years.

The first Chicago Fire logo, used from 1997 to 2019, looked like the Cross of Saint Florian. This is a symbol often used by fire departments. A special "C" in the middle stood for Chicago, like the logos of the Bears and Cubs. The six points around the "C" represented the stars on the Flag of Chicago. One of these stars remembers the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This design was chosen to look classic and connect to both American sports and European soccer traditions.

Nike first wanted the team to be called the Chicago Rhythm. That idea had different colors and a cobra logo. But team officials decided to create the Fire identity instead. They also thought about names like "Chicago Blues" and "Chicago Wind".

The first Fire jerseys looked like a Chicago firefighter's coat. They had wide horizontal stripes. The home jersey was red and white. The away shirts were white and black. The all-red shirt with a white stripe was used until 2012. Then, the white stripe changed to a blue stripe. The team's secondary shirts have changed many times. Third shirts were often yellow, sometimes honoring the old Chicago Sting team. From 2014 to 2016, the team wore third shirts based on the Flag of Chicago.

The club and its fans often use symbols of Chicago to show their city pride. The six-pointed Chicago stars are very common. The light blue color of the city flag and the city skyline also appear on team items and fan gear. The Flag of Chicago is often seen at the stadium.

On November 21, 2019, the club showed off its first major new look. This happened before their move back to Soldier Field. The club's name changed to Chicago Fire Football Club (Chicago Fire FC). The old logo was replaced with a new oval-shaped one. This new logo had mirrored sets of three triangles called the "Fire Crown." This was meant to represent Chicago's recovery after the Great Fire. The new logo used dark blue, red, and gold.

Before it was officially shown, the new logo was leaked online. Many fans did not like it. Some thought the "Fire Crown" looked too much like the Vancouver Whitecaps FC logo. Others worried it looked like the logo of a street gang. The team said that it takes time for new brands to become popular. They said they had no plans to bring back the old logo. However, the club later revealed another new logo in the middle of the 2021 season. This new logo was fully adopted in 2022.

Uniform History

Sponsors

Seasons	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1998–2002	Nike	—
2003–2005	Puma
2006–2007	Adidas
2008–2010		Best Buy
2011		—
2012–2015		Quaker Oats
2016–2018		Valspar
2019–2022		Motorola
2023		—
2024–present		Carvana

Stadiums

The Chicago Fire played their home games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, from 2006 to 2019. This stadium was built just for soccer. It cost about $100 million and opened in 2006. It was first called Toyota Park, then renamed SeatGeek Stadium.

When the Fire first started, they played at Soldier Field in Chicago. This is a large stadium that also hosts the Chicago Bears football team. Soldier Field was also one of the main places for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

While Soldier Field was being renovated, the Fire played at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville, Illinois. This stadium was made bigger to hold 15,000 fans. The team returned to Soldier Field in 2003 and stayed there until 2005.

In April 2019, reports said the club wanted to leave SeatGeek Stadium. They wanted to move back to Soldier Field. In July 2019, the Fire made a deal to leave SeatGeek Stadium. They officially moved back to Soldier Field starting in the 2020 season.

Home Stadiums Over Time

• Soldier Field; Chicago (1998–2001, 2003–2005, 2020–present)
• Cardinal Stadium; Naperville, Illinois (2002–2003, one U.S. Open Cup game in 2004)
• SeatGeek Stadium; Bridgeview, Illinois (2006–2019)

Other Stadiums Used for Games

• Forest View Park; Arlington Heights, Illinois (2000) 1 game in U.S. Open Cup
• Milwaukee Sports Complex; Franklin, Wisconsin (2001) 1 game in U.S. Open Cup
• McCully Field; Wheaton, Illinois (2001) 1 game in U.S. Open Cup
• Shea Stadium, Peoria, Illinois (2008, 2011) 2 games in U.S. Open Cup Qualifying

Future Stadium Plans

The team owner, Joe Mansueto, is looking to buy land for a new stadium in Chicago. He wants to build a soccer-specific stadium within the city. This new stadium would be paid for privately, not with public money. Two possible locations are The 78 site and the Lincoln Yards development.

Club Culture

Supporters

The Fire has a strong fan culture. The first fan group was called Barn Burners. At games, fan groups sit behind the north goal in an area called Section 8. This name comes from the section number at Soldier Field. Section 8 Chicago is the main independent fan group for the Fire.

These groups create exciting atmospheres at matches. They often do "tifo" displays, which are large choreographed shows with banners and flags. This helps show their pride and cheer on the players. SeatGeek Stadium is one of the few places in America where fans do these big displays.

Mascot

The official mascot of the Chicago Fire is Sparky. Sparky is a Dalmatian dog. He usually wears the team's jersey or a firefighter's uniform.

Rivalries

The Fire has rivalries with several MLS teams. Older fans might say their main rival is FC Dallas or Los Angeles Galaxy. This is because of exciting playoff and cup games in the league's early years.

After the Fire moved to the Eastern Conference, they played Dallas and LA less often. New rivalries grew with D.C. United and New England Revolution. The Fire and Revolution have played each other in the MLS Cup Playoffs many times. They met 8 times in 10 seasons from 2000 to 2009.

Newer rivals include Columbus Crew, who used to be the closest MLS team to Chicago. Also, Atlanta United FC has become a rival due to fan disagreements. In 2023, St. Louis City SC joined the league. Since St. Louis and Chicago are historic rival cities, a new rivalry has naturally started between these two teams.

Broadcasting

Since 2020, WGN Sports has shown Chicago Fire games on TV. In 2023, most MLS games, including Chicago's, became available on the Apple TV through their special deal. Some games might still be shown on national TV.

Spanish-language radio station WRTO has broadcast Fire matches since 2017. In 2023, the Fire also made a deal with Cumulus Media to broadcast games in English on WLS 890 AM or its website.

Players

Current Roster

No. Position Player 2 DF Arnaud Souquet 4 DF Carlos Terán 7 MF Maren Haile-Selassie 8 FW Chris Mueller 9 FW Hugo Cuypers 12 FW Tom Barlow 14 DF Tobias Salquist 15 DF Andrew Gutman 17 MF Brian Gutiérrez 19 FW Georgios Koutsias 22 MF Mauricio Pineda 23 MF Kellyn Acosta

No. Position Player 24 DF Jonathan Dean 25 GK Jeffrey Gal 30 MF Gastón Giménez 31 MF Federico Navarro 32 FW Missael Rodríguez 33 FW Victor Bezerra 34 GK Chris Brady 35 MF Sergio Oregel 36 DF Justin Reynolds 77 DF Chase Gasper 78 GK Bryan Dowd MF Laurence Wootton

Ring of Fire

The "Ring of Fire" is a special honor created in 2003. It celebrates people who have made the Chicago Fire club successful. Only current "Ring of Fire" members can choose new inductees. No more than one person can be chosen each year. Their names and numbers are shown at SeatGeek Stadium.

In 2008, members voted to honor two fans who had passed away, Dan Parry and Brandon Kitchens. The club chairman decided against it for the "Ring of Fire." However, Parry and Kitchens were later honored on the "Wall of Honor," a special recognition for Fire fans.

C.J. Brown was inducted into the "Ring of Fire" in 2012. On October 3, 2015, Ante Razov, the club's all-time leading scorer, also joined the "Ring of Fire." Most recently, in February 2024, former goalkeeper Zach Thornton was inducted.

• 10 Piotr Nowak (inducted 2003)
• 41 Frank Klopas (inducted 2004)
• 5 Luboš Kubík (inducted 2005)
• Former general manager and club president Peter Wilt (inducted 2006)
• Former head coach Bob Bradley (inducted 2007)
• 14 Chris Armas (inducted 2009)
• 2 C.J. Brown (inducted 2012)
• 9 Ante Razov (inducted 2015)
• 18 Zach Thornton (inducted 2024)

Club Staff

Head Coaches

Name	Nationality	Tenure
Bob Bradley	United States	October 30, 1997 – October 5, 2002
Dave Sarachan	United States	November 4, 2002 – June 20, 2007
Denis Hamlett (interim)	Costa Rica	June 20, 2007 – June 30, 2007
Juan Carlos Osorio	Colombia	July 1, 2007 – December 10, 2007
Denis Hamlett	Costa Rica	January 11, 2008 – November 24, 2009
Carlos de los Cobos	Mexico	January 1, 2010 – May 30, 2011
Frank Klopas (interim)	United States	May 30, 2011 – November 3, 2011
Frank Klopas	United States	November 3, 2011 – October 30, 2013
Frank Yallop	Canada	October 31, 2013 – September 20, 2015
Brian Bliss (interim)	United States	September 20, 2015 – November 24, 2015
Veljko Paunović	Serbia	November 24, 2015 – November 13, 2019
Raphaël Wicky	Switzerland	December 27, 2019 – September 30, 2021
Frank Klopas (interim)	United States	September 30, 2021 – November 7, 2021
Ezra Hendrickson	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	November 24, 2021 – May 8, 2023
Frank Klopas (interim)	United States	May 8, 2023 – December 5, 2023
Frank Klopas	United States	December 5, 2023 – October 19, 2024
Gregg Berhalter	United States	October 20, 2024 – Present

Club Presidents

Name	Tenure
Robert Sanderman	1997–2000
Peter Wilt	2001–2005
John Guppy	2005–2008
Javier León (interim)	2008
Dave Greeley	2008–2010
Javier León (interim)	2010
Julian Posada	2010–2012
Nelson Rodríguez	2018–2021
Ishwara Glassman-Chrein	2021–2022

General Managers (Sporting Directors)

Name	Tenure
Peter Wilt	1997–2005
Nelson Rodríguez	2015–2019
Georg Heitz	2019–2024
Gregg Broughton	2024–present

Chief Operating Officer

Name	Tenure
John Urban	2018–present

Technical Directors

• Frank Klopas (2008–2011)
• Brian Bliss (December 6, 2013 – January 5, 2016)
• Sebastian Pelzer (December 28, 2019–)

Directors of Player Personnel

• Mike Jeffries (2010–2012)

Assistant Coaches

Team Achievements

National Titles
Competitions	Wins	Seasons
MLS Cup	1	1998
Supporters' Shield	1	2003
U.S. Open Cup	4	1998, 2000, 2003, 2006

• Individual Club Awards
  • MLS Team Fair Play Award: 2009

Other Awards

MLS Wooden Spoon: 2015, 2016 (This award goes to the team with the worst record in the league.)

Records

Top Goal Scorers

#	Name	Years Played	MLS Goals	Playoff Goals	Open Cup Goals	CCL Goals	Total Goals
1	Ante Razov	1998–2000 2001–2004	76	10	6	2	94
2	Nemanja Nikolić	2017–2019	50	0	5	0	55
3	Chris Rolfe	2005–2009 2012–2014	48	4	3	0	55
4	Josh Wolff	1998–2002	32	0	6	1	39
5	David Accam	2015–2017	33	0	5	0	38
6	Dema Kovalenko	1999–2002	22	5	3	5	35
7	Piotr Nowak	1998–2002	26	3	0	0	29
8	Damani Ralph	2003–2004	22	1	4	1	28
9	Mike Magee	2013–2015	22	0	5	0	27
10	Hristo Stoichkov	2000–2002	17	4	3	0	24

Year-by-Year Performance

Here's a look at the Fire's performance in recent seasons:

Season	League											Position		Playoffs	USOC	Continental / other		Average attendance	Top goalscorer(s)
	Div	League	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Conf.	Overall						Name(s)	Goals
2019	1	MLS	34	10	12	12	55	47	+8	42	1.24	8th	17th	DNQ	R4	Leagues Cup	QF	12,324	Nemanja Nikolić	13
2020		MLS	23	5	10	8	33	39	−6	23	1.00	11th	22nd		NH	MLS is Back Tournament	GS	0	Robert Berić	12
2021		MLS	34	9	18	7	36	54	−18	34	1.00	12th	22nd		NH	DNQ		10,703	Robert Berić	8
2022		MLS	34	10	15	9	39	48	−9	39	1.15	12th	24th		R3			15,848	Jhon Durán	8
2023		MLS	34	10	14	10	39	51	−12	40	1.18	13th	24th		QF	Leagues Cup	R32	18,170	Maren Haile-Selassie	6

1. Avg. attendance includes statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, MLS is Back Tournament, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

Team Awards

Year	Team MVP	Golden Boot		Defender of the Year
		Winner	Goals
1998	Piotr Nowak	Ante Razov	10	Luboš Kubík
1999	Luboš Kubík	Ante Razov	14	Luboš Kubík
2000	Piotr Nowak	Ante Razov	18	Carlos Bocanegra
2001	Piotr Nowak	Eric Wynalda	10	Zach Thornton
2002	Zach Thornton	Ante Razov	14	Zach Thornton
2003	Chris Armas	Ante Razov	14	Carlos Bocanegra
2004	Henry Ring	Damani Ralph	11	Jim Curtin
2005	Iván Guerrero	Chris Rolfe	8	Iván Guerrero
2006	Andy Herron	Andy Herron	9	CJ Brown
2007	Cuauhtémoc Blanco	Chad Barrett	7	Gonzalo Segares
2008	Jon Busch	Chris Rolfe	9	Bakary Soumaré
2009	Brian McBride	Brian McBride	7	Wilman Conde
2010	Logan Pause	Marco Pappa	7	CJ Brown
2011	Dominic Oduro	Dominic Oduro	12	Cory Gibbs
2012	Chris Rolfe	Chris Rolfe	8	Arne Friedrich
2013	Mike Magee	Mike Magee	15	Sean Johnson
2014	Sean Johnson	Quincy Amarikwa	8	Sean Johnson
2015	David Accam	David Accam	10	Eric Gehrig
2016	David Accam	David Accam	9	Johan Kappelhof
2017	Nemanja Nikolić	Nemanja Nikolić	24	Johan Kappelhof
2018	Bastian Schweinsteiger	Nemanja Nikolić	15	Bastian Schweinsteiger
2019	C.J. Sapong	C.J. Sapong	13	Bastian Schweinsteiger
2020	Robert Berić	Robert Berić	12	Mauricio Pineda
2021	Federico Navarro	Robert Berić Luka Stojanović	8*	Boris Sekulić
2022	Xherdan Shaqiri	Jhon Durán	8	Rafael Czichos
2023	Brian Gutiérrez	Maren Haile-Selassie	6	Chris Brady
2024	Hugo Cuypers	Hugo Cuypers	10	Chris Brady

Golden Boot is the team leader in goals (regular season games only). * Indicates a season where two players tied for the Golden Boot award.

See also

In Spanish: Chicago Fire para niños