There are two questions about the Chicago Fire’s attack entering the 2021 season: Who else will score besides Robert Beric? And, what kind of depth does the team have?
Both of those questions will be tested when the Fire start the season April 17 at Soldier Field because of a string of injuries over the last week during preseason training in Orlando, Fla.
Winger Stanislav Ivanov, one of the team’s few offseason additions, will be out at least four months after undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee.
Midfielder Fabian Herbers, the team’s second-highest scorer last season, is expected to be out four to six weeks with an MCL sprain, and Elliot Collier’s sprained ankle will keep him out for at least a few weeks.
Of course, the Fire still have time to figure it out before hosting the New England Revolution next month, but losing attacking options before even playing a game is less than ideal, coach Raphael Wicky said.
“Obviously we’re not happy about that,” Wicky said Thursday during a conference call. “You never wish (for) an injury to a player. Unfortunately, it’s part of the game, and it happens, and then as a coaching staff, you have to try to deal with it the best you can. That’s what we’re doing.
“We know that Stani is going to take a while, but we hope that the other players are back after a few weeks. It’s difficult to give an exact time.”
The Fire scored 33 goals last season — tied for fifth-most in the 14-team Eastern Conference — but relied heavily on Beric, who scored 12 goals in 23 games despite going seven-straight matches without a goal.
But they struggled during Beric’s drought, scoring just five goals and going 1-5-1. (The lone win was a 3-0 victory against FC Cincinnati.)
Herbers was the team’s next-highest scorer with four, followed by midfielder/defender Mauricio Pineda and winger Przemyslaw Frankowski, who scored three each.
The lack of goals throughout the team already was a concern for the Fire, as was finding a way to replace Djordje Mihailovic’s creativity. Mihailovic, who had a team-high seven assists, was traded to CF Montreal in the offseason.
After last offseason’s turnover, the Fire took a calculated approach this time around, signing only Ivanov, striker Chinonso Offor, defender Jhon Espinoza and striker Jhon Jader Duran, who won’t join the team until 2022.
“We wanted to have more competition,” sporting director Georg Heitz said earlier this month of the strategy. “This was one goal that we had. I think we got this. They all have speed. They are really, really speedy players. They should really give us depth in the roster and so this is what we expect from these players. But not only putting pressure on the guys who have already been here but really competing for minutes.”
The recent injuries — particularly Ivanov’s — will test that depth.
“It’s an opportunity for some other players to step in,” Wicky said. “That’s why we have a lot of guys, and that’s how we treat it. That’s how we now work with it.”
Two of those players the Fire already were looking to be contributors are designated player Ignacio Aliseda, and Luka Stojanovic, who played only 60 minutes last season because of an MCL injury.
Aliseda’s struggles in his pandemic-impacted first season resulted in just one goal and two assists.
Stojanovic, who can play several midfield positions, could be an X-factor, but his lack of minutes because of injury makes him an unknown quantity.
“Aliseda obviously is a big part, Frankowski is a big part, Luka is back and is doing well,” Wicky said. “But there’s other guys. We’re in preseason, and it’s an opportunity also for younger players to step in. Guti (Brian Gutierrez) gets minutes, (Alex) Monis gets minutes. It’s up to them as well to show that they’re there and that they’ll try to catch this opportunity.”
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