# 2021 Chicago Fire FC season

The 2021 Chicago Fire FC season was the club's 23rd year of existence, as well as their 24th in Major League Soccer. This was the Fire's first season with fans in Soldier Field since 2005 (the Fire had officially moved in 2020, however fans were not allowed in Soldier Field due to the pandemic). The Fire would fail to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth season in a row. Head coach Raphael Wicky was ultimately relieved of his position on September 30, with Assistant Coach Frank Klopas taking over on an interim basis.

## Current squad

As of November 1, 2021
| No. | Name | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Player Notes |
| 1 | Bobby Shuttleworth | G | (1987-05-17)May 17, 1987 (aged 34) | Sacramento Republic | |
| 2 | Boris Sekulić | D | (1991-10-21)October 21, 1991 (aged 30) | Górnik Zabrze | International |
| 3 | Jonathan Bornstein | D | (1984-11-07)November 7, 1984 (aged 37) | Maccabi Netanya F.C. | |
| 4 | Johan Kappelhof | D | (1990-08-05)August 5, 1990 (aged 31) | FC Groningen | |
| 5 | Francisco Calvo | D | (1992-07-08)July 8, 1992 (aged 29) | Minnesota United FC | |
| 6 | Miguel Navarro | D | (1999-02-26)February 26, 1999 (aged 22) | Deportivo La Guaira F.C. | |
| 7 | Ignacio Aliseda | M | (2000-03-14)March 14, 2000 (aged 21) | Defensa y Justicia | International Young Designated Player |
| 8 | Luka Stojanović | M | (1994-01-04)January 4, 1994 (aged 27) | FK Čukarički | |
| 9 | Chinonso Offor | F | (2000-05-07)May 7, 2000 (aged 21) | FK RFS | International |
| 10 | Álvaro Medrán | M | (1994-03-15)March 15, 1994 (aged 27) | Valencia CF | |
| 14 | Jhon Espinoza | D | (1999-02-24)February 24, 1999 (aged 22) | S.D. Aucas | International |
| 18 | Kenneth Kronholm | G | (1985-10-14)October 14, 1985 (aged 36) | Holstein Kiel | |
| 20 | Wyatt Omsberg | D | (1995-09-21)September 21, 1995 (aged 26) | Minnesota United FC | |
| 21 | Fabian Herbers | F | (1993-08-17)August 17, 1993 (aged 28) | Philadelphia Union | |
| 22 | Mauricio Pineda | D | (1997-10-17)October 17, 1997 (aged 24) | North Carolina Tar Heels | Homegrown |
| 23 | Carlos Terán | D | (2000-09-24)September 24, 2000 (aged 21) | Envigado F.C. | International |
| 25 | Nicholas Slonina | D | (2001-03-20)March 20, 2001 (aged 20) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 27 | Robert Berić | F | (1991-06-17)June 17, 1991 (aged 30) | AS Saint-Étienne | Designated Player |
| 28 | Elliot Collier | F | (1995-02-22)February 22, 1995 (aged 26) | Loyola Chicago | |
| 30 | Gastón Giménez | M | (1991-07-27)July 27, 1991 (aged 30) | Vélez Sarsfield | International Designated Player |
| 31 | Federico Navarro | M | (2000-03-09)March 9, 2000 (aged 21) | Talleres de Cordoba | International U-22 Initiative |
| 32 | Gabriel Slonina | G | (2004-05-15)May 15, 2004 (aged 17) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 34 | Chris Brady | G | (2004-03-03)March 3, 2004 (aged 17) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 36 | Andre Reynolds II | D | (2001-05-02)May 2, 2001 (aged 20) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown On Loan |
| 37 | Javier Casas | M | (2003-05-14)May 14, 2003 (aged 18) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 38 | Alex Monis | F | (2003-03-20)March 20, 2003 (aged 18) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 39 | Allan Rodríguez | M | (2004-05-07)May 7, 2004 (aged 17) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 40 | Brian Gutiérrez | M | (2003-06-17)June 17, 2003 (aged 18) | Chicago Fire Academy | Homegrown |
| 99 | Stanislav Ivanov | M | (1999-04-16)April 16, 1999 (aged 22) | PFC Levski Sofia | |

## Player movement
### In

| Date | Player | Position | Previous Club | Notes |
| November 12, 2020 | Elliot Collier | F | Chicago Fire FC | Option was exercised |
| November 12, 2020 | Djordje Mihailovic | M | Chicago Fire FC | Option was exercised |
| November 12, 2020 | Wyatt Omsberg | D | Chicago Fire FC | Option was exercised |
| November 12, 2020 | Nicholas Slonina | D | Chicago Fire FC | Option was exercised |
| November 13, 2020 | Chinonso Offor | F | FK RFS | Signed on a contract through 2023 with an option for 2024 |
| November 23, 2020 | Jhon Espinoza | D | S.D. Aucas | Signed on a contract through 2023 with options for 2024 and 2025 |
| December 9, 2020 | Stanislav Ivanov | M | PFC Levski Sofia | Signed on a contract through 2023 with an option for 2024 |
| August 6, 2021 | Federico Navarro | M | Talleres de Cordoba | Signed as a U-22 Initiative player on a contract through 2025 with an option for 2026 |

### Out

| Date | Player | Position | Destination Club | Notes |
| November 12, 2020 | Micheal Azira | M | New Mexico United | Option was declined |
| November 12, 2020 | Jeremiah Gutjahr | D/M | Indy Eleven | Option was declined |
| November 12, 2020 | C. J. Sapong | M/F | Nashville SC | Option was declined |
| November 12, 2020 | Connor Sparrow | G | Miami FC | Option was declined |
| November 30, 2020 | Brandt Bronico | M | Charlotte FC | Option was declined; his rights were ultimately traded to Charlotte FC alongside the Fire's 2022 Fourth Round Draft pick in exchange for Charlotte's Fourth Round Draft pick |
| December 17, 2020 | Djordje Mihailovic | M | Montreal Impact | Traded to Montreal in exchange for $800k in GAM in 2021 and 2022, possibly up to $1 million, along with a percentage of any future trade |
| August 5, 2021 | Przemysław Frankowski | M | RC Lens | Sold to RC Lens for an undisclosed fee |

### Loaned out

| Date | Player | Position | Destination Club | Notes | Ref |
| May 14, 2021 | Andre Reynolds | D | Memphis 901 FC | Loaned to Memphis for the duration of the season | |

### Unsigned draft picks and trialists

| Pick | Player | Position | Previous Club | Notes |
| R2, P33 | Jackson Ragen | D | University of Michigan | Ultimately signed with Tacoma Defiance |
| R2, P47 | Christian Pinzon | F | California State University, Fullerton | Pinzon signed with C.D. Guadalajara |
| R3, P60 | Mitch Guitar | M | University of Wisconsin | Officially a member of Indy Eleven, traded to Memphis 901 FC |
| Trialist | Michael Vang | M | Forward Madison FC | Invited to trial with the Fire for the preseason, due to the partnership with Madison |

## Technical staff

| Position | Staff |
| Sporting Director | Georg Heitz |
| Technical Director | Sebastian Pelzer |
| Head Coach | Raphaël Wicky (Until September 30) |
| Assistant Coach/Interim Head Coach | Frank Klopas (Until September 30, Interim Head Coach afterwards) |
| Assistant Coach | David Zdrilic (Until May 20) |
| Interim Assistant Coach | Ludovic Taillandier (Since September 30) |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Adin Brown |
Last updated: October 30, 2021 Source: Chicago Fire Technical Staff

## Squad statistics

Note: Italics indicate the player left the squad or was loaned out and hasn't returned from loan

### Games played

| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | MLS | MLS | MLS |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Starts | Apps | Minutes |
| 1 | GK | USA | Bobby Shuttleworth | 23 | 23 | 2070 |
| 2 | DF | SVK | Boris Sekulić | 27 | 28 | 2312 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Jonathan Bornstein | 25 | 30 | 2220 |
| 4 | DF | NED | Johan Kappelhof | 16 | 19 | 1230 |
| 5 | DF | CRC | Francisco Calvo | 16 | 17 | 1455 |
| 6 | DF | VEN | Miguel Navarro | 25 | 28 | 2226 |
| 7 | MF | ARG | Ignacio Aliseda | 16 | 23 | 1592 |
| 8 | MF | SER | Luka Stojanovic | 15 | 27 | 1347 |
| 9 | FW | NGR | Chinonso Offor | 11 | 34 | 1326 |
| 10 | MF | ESP | Alvaro Medran | 26 | 32 | 2288 |
| 11 | MF | POL | Przemyslaw Frankowski | 12 | 13 | 1064 |
| 14 | DF | ECU | Jhon Espinoza | 8 | 20 | 807 |
| 18 | GK | USA | Kenneth Kronholm | | | |
| 20 | DF | USA | Wyatt Omsberg | 9 | 18 | 754 |
| 21 | MF | GER | Fabian Herbers | 22 | 27 | 1833 |
| 22 | DF | USA | Mauricio Pineda | 28 | 29 | 2409 |
| 23 | DF | COL | Carlos Terán | 11 | 13 | 978 |
| 25 | DF | USA | Nicholas Slonina | | | |
| 27 | FW | SLO | Robert Beric | 26 | 33 | 2204 |
| 28 | FW | NZL | Elliot Collier | 3 | 17 | 327 |
| 30 | MF | PAR | Gaston Gimenez | 22 | 25 | 1958 |
| 31 | MF | ARG | Federico Navarro | 10 | 12 | 968 |
| 32 | GK | USA | Gabriel Slonina | 11 | 11 | 990 |
| 34 | GK | USA | Chris Brady | | | |
| 36 | DF | USA | Andre Reynolds | | | |
| 37 | MF | USA | Javier Casas | | 2 | 55 |
| 38 | FW | USA | Alex Monis | | 1 | 18 |
| 39 | MF | USA | Allan Rodriguez | | | |
| 40 | MF | USA | Brian Gutierrez | 6 | 17 | 595 |
| 99 | FW | BUL | Stanislav Ivanov | 6 | 11 | 520 |

### Goalkeeping statistics

| No. | Nat. | Name | MLS | MLS | MLS |
| No. | Nat. | Name | Clean sheets | Saves | GA |
| 1 | | Bobby Shuttleworth | 4 | 73 | 38 |
| 18 | | Kenneth Kronholm | | | |
| 32 | | Gabriel Slonina | 4 | 46 | 16 |
| 34 | | Chris Brady | | | |

### Goalscoring and assisting record

MLS Regular Season :
| Rank | Player | | A |
| 1 | Robert Beric | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | Luka Stojanovic | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | Ignacio Aliseda | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | Alvaro Medran | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Boris Sekulic | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Przemyslaw Frankowski | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Gaston Gimenez | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Chinonso Offor | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Francisco Calvo | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Mauricio Pineda | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Federico Navarro | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Carlos Terán | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Fabian Herbers | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Miguel Navarro | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Jhon Espinoza | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Brian Gutierrez | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Stanislav Ivanov | 0 | 1 |