Jeff: Chicago Fire The Houston Dynamo has rebuilt itself into a competitive MLS operation. So, too, has the LA Galaxy, after some relatively lean years. Those legacy club turnarounds only brighten the spotlight on how, for a decade running, the Chicago Fire has been irrelevant in the MLS landscape. There isn’t one on-field move that can be singled out for derision. Kellyn Acosta was a coveted free agent and is a dependable starter in midfield, and Hugo Cuypers’ underlying numbers suggest he’s a good bet to score 13+ goals in his first season. I don’t even hate the culture hire at head coach, with Frank Klopas bridging the team to its golden years. What I can’t wrap my head around is the decision to retain sporting director Georg Heitz and technical director Sebastian Pelzer as the sporting braintrust. In their first four years, they oversaw zero playoff appearances, four seasons of the team scoring under 40 goals (something the Fire had previously never done more than twice in a row) and no greater prominence in one of the nation’s preeminent sports markets. Xherdan Shaqiri’s bloated contract hampers their every on-field decision, but retaining Heitz and Pelzer for a fifth season makes zero sense. https://theathletic.com/5440722/2024/04/24/mls-transfer-window-review/
Nobody can. But theres one reason why: Lugano. He is instrumental in that relationship. Along with the European deals they negotiated. No MLS GM negotiates at those price point with those clubs.
On this point Mansueto is knee deep with Lugano. Heitz gains a ton of respect and credibility with the Lugano execs and coaching staff that makes this partnership work. He has deep connections with the Swiss scene and has a credibility that an MLS GM wouldn't have to make this partnership work. And Mansueto has eyes for more than just these two teams. He is building a portfolio of clubs. So Heitz is instrumental in this relationship, has negotiated big money deals for players in England and Europe. Mansueto needs Heitz to work essentially, or else the portfolio falls apart because of any other MLS GM lack of credibility and respect in brokering transfers, agreements, and negotiations between Fire, Lugano and other European clubs. Heitz succeeds big time here, considering money that was negotiated between him and Villa and Chelsea. You dont negotiate at those price points if you dont have connections and relationships.
LOL. Obvo the money is a drop in the bucket for Joe. But that showed Mansueto that he has legit connection and relationships that can add a ton of value for Mansuetos soccer portfolio. You dont get that with an MLS GM
I don’t buy that “MLS GMs” can’t negotiate with Europe at these price points. Tim Bezbatchenko could turn this team around in two years and has negotiated plenty of European deals.
If he has some “European” skills then have him spend more time there. He has shown he is not good in player acquisition area, so hire somebody else for this job. ( not Pelzer).
Atlanta has traded in some expensive players on both the buy and sell sides across a few GMs/Presidents I see no evidence that Heitz has any special connections here nor any evidence that he has used those connections well if he does indeed have them what's the best thing that has come out of Lugano? MHS? writing of Kacper?? pretty sure the latter counted as a one-time buyout anyways and the fact that Lugano is where he landed netted the Fire zilch, save maybe some reputational goodwill
Atlanta did once. Because they had a world class talent. Duran and Slonina didnt command anywhere near their respective price points. Heitz worked his relationships.
one time?? Almiron, Pity Martinez (buy and sell), Almada, Barco, Araju that's six transactions more than Slonina transferred for Heitz may have squeezed extra value from Duran and Slonina, but he overpaid for Shaq and Cuypers
Huh? Both exceeded their then current valuations....by a lot. Duran was a top prospect as a kid. That's it. His transfermarkt valuation in August, 2022 was a tad over $2,000,000 at the end of the 2022 season was under $7,000,000 (6,000,000€). We paid under $2,000,000 for him and sold him after 20some matches for $18,000,000, as an 18 year old. So, Heitz sold him for three times his "price point" at the time of the transfer. He was the second most expensive MLS out transfer ever. SLONINA was third most expensive American players ever, behind Pepi to Augsburg and Aaronson to Salzburg. He was the most expensive MLS out goalkeeper transfer ever (now, that is Petrovic). Again, as an 18 year old kid. His market value at the time of the transfer (his "price point") was a tad over $3,000,000. Heitz sold him for more than $9,000,000. So, Heitz sold him for three times his "price point" at the time of the transfer. By the way, SLONINA has dropped in value to about $5,000,000. https://www.transfermarkt.us/major-...id=alle&altersklasse=alle&leihe=&w_s=&zuab=ab
One other thing, about Shaqiri. Although we all dislike his salary (which, of course, is not a "strain" our salary budget, since his hit is the same as any other DP) since he does not deliver to the extent he should. I was surprised to read that his transfer was only the 30th largest transfer-in fee paid by an MLS team. And, of course, the "most elitest, bestest" MLS players (Beckham, Blanco, Bastian, Ibrahimovic, Bale, Henry, Rooney, Drogba, of course, Messi and a host of others) had no transfer fee. If MLS teams had to pay the current "price point" for each of them, Shaqiri would not be in the top 40, maybe the top 50.
Maybe he made two good sales- maybe the Transfermarkt value estimates were wrong! Maybe values were initially low and, to compensate for that, they were then raised too high ( just kidding) The solution is staring at us. Let someone else buy players, let Heitz sell them.
If we ignore the past failures, I think everyone universally agreed that this past off season was a huge success, at least on paper. Two LBs, a nine, Acosta. A real positive window.
As well as a CB, a RB and fixing the Jairo and Kacper situation. If we don’t capture 6+ pts over the next 4 home games, we may see ‘moves’ over the summer break.
Presumably some problems were solved, although results do not reflect any improvement so far. Is it possible that the only benefit will be to show additional shortcomings?
yep, it was a good offseason in a vacuum unfortunately, the hole was dug so deep that a couple steps up the ladder only have us like 10% of the way out
It's easy to dismiss the time needed for integration of players... Cuypers and Acosta have about 700min of playing time with constant roster rotation around them. Gutman has 4min. The defense has given up too many goals. Some will bemoan Czichos has deteriorated. It's true, but not meaningfully. The issue has been the combination of the inconsistent CDM play with 3 different LB, 3 different RCB & 3 different RB. FWIW, the AMwings haven't contributed much on D. I'm not confident this improves much...no end in sight to consistent CDM play (4 of them, 2 not healthy the other 2 not great fits for the double pivot)...Teran in/out...Mueller can't cover that much ground, Guti and MHS are generally weak defenders and Shaq...well. yea. So we gotta get the attack producing! Which way does a car jack push? Up AND down...why say that? Shaq learning to work with the new signings and the new signings learning to work with Shaq. Fair or not, the star DP Shaq will remain the linchpin as long as he is here. I'm anxious to see him develop a clear connection with someone, anyone. AND to see him regularly complete crosses to Cuypers in the box (zero thus far). Oh, Heitz, he needs to be focused on plan A and plan B.... Plan A, big moves in the summer transfer window...like sell Shaq, Gimenez, Teran, & Souquet and acquire Griezmann and Modric Plan B, make a couple moves in summer and big moves in the off season. In general, he should be targeting 2 new (true) DPs in the next 9mo.