Football Season Guide

Compared to previous years, the 2017 season was largely a success for the Chicago Fire. While Veljko Paunovic's men would crash out of the playoffs in a disappointing 4-0 first round defeat to the New York Red Bulls, the Fire's season was filled with positives. Not only did Chicago finish the season in a solid third place in the Eastern Conference, lead striker, Nemanja Nikolic would additionally grab the league's golden boot award, netting an impressive total of 24 goals over the course of the season. Chicago haven’t really added any star names to their ranks over the course of the off-season, although the players they have brought in look able and experienced. The defensive duo of Christian Dean and Rafael Ramos will provide some much needed stability at the back for the Fire, who didn’t have the strongest of defensive unit’s last campaign. The recent arrival of Aleksandar Katai, on loan from La Liga side Alaves, also looks to be an exciting addition. Scoring 23 goals in 37 games during the 2016 season with Red Star Belgrade, Katai certainly has an eye for goal, and will hope to strike up a meaningful partnership with Nikolic going forward. Perhaps the biggest downside for Chicago going into the 2018 season, is the loss of Ghanaian winger, David Accam. Scoring 33 goals in 79 appearances for the Fire, Accam was a fan favourite at Toyota Park, and had tremendous creative ability going forward. It will be interesting to see whether Chicago opt to bring in any other names, because at the minute they appear to be slightly understrength compared to last season.