For both the Chicago Fire and Chicago Red Stars, league play resumes on Sunday against Orlando. In the case of the Fire, it is at Soldier Field against Orlando City (7:30pm CT, Apple TV). The Red Stars travel to Orlando against Orlando Pride on Sunday (7pm CT, Paramount+). Let’s reset where things stand after their extended breaks.
FIRE: The Fire went into Leagues Cup winning five of their last six. After a road win against Minnesota, they lost on penalties to Puebla at SeatGeek Stadium and then lost to Club America in the Round of 32. The Fire will restart the season in eighth in the East, three points clear of 10th place CF Montreal. They have 11 matches left this season, five of which are at home, but also feature a string of three away matches at DC, Montreal, and Columbus; sure to be playoff six-pointers. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are coming to Soldier Field on October 4th.
It is a big stretch of games for the Fire to solidify a playoff spot after such as hot run before Leagues Cup. The Fire are 6-4-3 in league play since Frank Klopas took over for Ezra Hendrickson, one area of concern may be the lack of additional players during the transfer window, but the addition of Ousmane Doumbia has been positive so far. It’s still playoffs or bust for the Fire.
RED STARS: The Red Stars have a more daunting challenge to reach the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. They are five points out of playoff spot, but have to pass three teams to get there and the next three matches are on the road. Their next home match is not until September 17th.
They need someone to score goals while Mallory Swanson continues to recover from her torn meniscus. They also need the defense to play as well as they did in the last two Challenge Cup matches where they had back-to-back clean sheets.
News of a group led by Lauren Ricketts to possibly purchase the club is a shot in the arm for fans of the this club who have been starving for some good news this season.
In the grand scheme of things, both the Red Stars and Fire may be looking at a reset in 2024 regardless if either/both/neither make the playoffs. The Fire will be able to wear red shirts at home again, the new Performance Center in the city is set to be finished, and owner Joe Mansueto may be able to spend more freely should league rules allow now that Lionel Messi is here (as well as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba). For the Red Stars, assuming the purchase goes through, there is a rebuild that needs to be done there as well. Turnaround management is well and truly needed for the Red Stars if they want to raise their profile in this town and in a positive way so they move forward from the Yates Report.
There’s still opportunity to make things happen in 2023, but for both teams, it will be how they lay the foundations for 2024 and beyond and get Chicago soccer out of the doldrums.
