Chicago Fire FC Year-in-Review: Things Looking Up (Finally)

Before we start the Year-in-Review, we feel we should have to address the elephant that barged into the room in Game 2 against Phialdelphia. Unfortunately, some fans in the crowd at SeatGeek Stadium displayed their ignorance by using the chant widely denounced as a homophobic slur. The match was stopped a couple times because of that and at one point, Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter appealed to the crowd to stop (which some didn’t).

In the interest of disclosure, this reporter was on his way from the Ireland-New Zealand rugby match and was listening to the match on XM radio. The chants were audible during the broadcast can could well have warranted the match be abandoned and the Fire forced to a 3-0 forfeit loss. While it is uncertain the Major League Soccer follows the protocol set by Concacaf where the match should be abandoned after the third instance, it certainly got to that point and it was a genuine worry on whether the Fire might face sanction going into 2026.

Both the club and Section 8 issued statement after the match. Regardless, it’s up to fans to expose this behavior and get the “people” who are doing this chant out of the stadium. You don’t live in Mexico, you live in Chicago. (Apologies for sounding like Sam Wyche.) It’s a bad look on what was otherwise a vastly improved season for the Fire and one where things are finally looking up for the club. Now to the review, proper.

REVIEW: While the season ended on a miserable night all around in Bridgeview, it shouldn’t take away from what was otherwise a tremendous season for Chicago Fire FC. The Fire finally made the playoffs for the first time in eight years and won their first postseason match since 2009. The club also set records for road wins (nine) and goals scored (68).

Phillip Zinckernagel became one of the signings of the season and one of the best for the Fire in some time as he became the club’s first 10-10 man scoring 15 goals and 15 assists. Brian Gutierrez had a much improved year with nine goals and six assists. Chris Brady is now the undisputed #1 in goal for the Fire. A lot of credit goes to Gregg Berhalter who got a lot out of the Fire and a 23-point improvement from last season.

It was not all good, though, as while the Fire did score 68 goals in league play, they also conceded 60–just two less than last season and gave up six in three playoff games. While Jack Elliott, Andrew Gutman, and Jonathan Dean were improvements in the back, the defense still felt lacking at times during the season. Joel Waterman was an upgrade as was a move to go with five in the back with Gutman and Dean as overlapping wings, but the reality is that the Fire need to make some defensive upgrades for 2026.

One potential answer might be in the form of Anton Saletros as a box-to-box midfielder. Andre Franco showed potential for the Fire before being lost to an ACL injury. Enough to warrant a permanent signing from FC Porto. The feeling is that the Fire are 2-3 players away from being a true contender for the first time in nearly two decades. They still have a designated player spot open.

With a new stadium set to arrive in 2028 and the best season in years for the Fire after years in the wilderness, the arrow appears to finally be pointing up. The 2025 Chicago Fire FC season was much more feel good than bad (how it ended not withstanding). Now, there is something to build on in addition to building a new stadium in the South Loop.