Football Season Review

The Chicago Fire put in a strong performance in the league this year, collecting an impressive total of 55 points - 24 more than gathered last season. Despite leading the Eastern Conference table on a number of occasions throughout the year, the Fire would ultimately crash out of the playoffs in the first round stage, bringing their campaign to an early and disappointing end. Bringing in a number of winter signings, Chicago would look like a rejuvenated side for most of the year. World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger would provide some much needed stability in the midfield. Nemanja Nikolic would too prove to be a revelation for the Fire, with the Hungarian striker taking home the Golden Boot award after netting an incredible total of 24 goals for his side. Ghanaian winger David Accam would play his best season yet in the Fire colours. Scoring a total of 14 times and recording an additional 8 assists, the 2015 and 2016 Chicago golden boot winner showed his quality in a squad filled with talent. Chicago’s third place finish was the best the club has achieved since 2009, so there are definitely positives to build upon heading into the 2018 season. An 11 game unbeaten run through May and June would be the highlight of the Fire’s season, with the men in red looking unstoppable in the early stages. In the end, it was a lack of squad depth that hurt Chicago towards the latter end of the season. Injuries to Joao Meira, Bastian Schweinsteiger and David Accam significantly hampered the side from Illinois, with Veljko Paunoivc’s team struggling to adapt when the going got tough. If Chicago can add a few more names to their roster in the off season then they should be able to challenge in next year’s playoffs. With the status of certain players like Juninho in doubt however, they will have to bring in some extra quality if they wish to improve.

Player of the Season: Nemanja Nikolic