The Fire are building their technical staff while the Red Stars prepare for draft.
FIRE BUILDING TECHNICAL STAFF: Raphael Wicky’s technical staff is beginning to take shape. On Tuesday, he introduced Chicago soccer legend Frank Klopas as an assistant coach. Klopas was an original Fire player from 1998 to 2000, was the coach from 2011 to 2013, and was a commentator from 2016 to 2019.
“I’m very pleased to have Frank join our coaching staff,” said Wicky. “He has been an integral part of the Fire since its very beginning. His passion for the Club and his knowledge of the league will be extremely valuable for our staff and players. I look forward to working with him.”
On Wednesday, it was announced that Adin Brown has been appointed as goalkeeper coach and John Grace as performance coach. Brown held the same role with the Portland Timbers for the past five seasons. Grace was performance coach and head of sports science with Orlando City SC and the NWSL’s Orlando Pride for the last three seasons.
Other additions to the technical staff include: Head Athletic Trainer Reade Whitney, Assistant Athletic Trainer Hillary Bell, Massage Therapist Steven Burrows, Equipment Manager Brian Sauer and Assistant Equipment Manager Juan Arreola. In addition, Tyler Golden will join the first team as an assistant athletic trainer. Golden previously served as the athletic trainer for the Club’s Academy teams from 2018-19.
A second assistant coach is expected to be announced at a later date.
Meanwhile, Wicky will have his official introduction as head coach next Wednesday at the CIBC Fire Pitch on the city’s North Side.
FIRE PART WAYS WITH MARCELO: While the Fire are being linked to players like Nemanja Matic and Robert Beric et al, the club parted ways with defender Marcelo. Marcelo made 16 appearances with the Fire in 2019.
RED STARS PREPARE FOR DRAFT: With Sam Kerr and Nikki Stanton off to Europe, the Red Stars start to rebuild their roster with the NWSL College Draft in Baltimore on Thursday. The Red Stars currently possess the 4th and 5th overall picks in the first round. They initially had the sixth pick as well which they traded to North Carolina for the 9th and 18th picks.
The latter was flipped to Houston for Kealia Ohai. The Red Stars traded the former to Reign FC for their first round pick in 2021 and the 24th overall pick in this year’s draft. On Tuesday, the Red Stars traded the eighth pick to Utah for allocation money. The Red Stars also have the 26th (third round) and 35th (fourth round) overall picks.
Among local players in the Draft, they include Loyola defender Madison Laudeman, Lombard native Camryn Biegalski who played at Wisconsin, Halley Havilcek from Spring Grove and Colorado State, Taryn Jakubowski from Lake in the Hills and Creighton, Tatumn Milazo from Orland Park and South Carolina, Zoe Redei from Highland Park and North Carolina, Cassandra Rohan from Palatine and Drake, and Savanah Uveges from Bartlett and Nebraska.
As far as other players who played college ball in-state, they include: Alicia Baker (Illinois), Jaelyn Cunningham (Illinois), Kate Del Fava (Illinois State), Ines Palmiero Herrera (Western Illinois), and Arianna Veland (Illinois).
