The 2022 Chicago Fire FC season was the club's 24th year of existence, as well as their 25th in Major League Soccer. On November 24, 2021, the Fire announced Columbus Crew assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson as the new head coach, making him the tenth full-time head coach in club history. For the fifth straight season and 12th season in club history, the Fire failed to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Fire would begin with an unbeaten record in their first four games (2-0-2), but would start a 10-game winless run where the club went 0-7-3 following their 3–1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on March 19. Following an international break from May 29 until June 17, the Fire then went 6-3-1 over their next ten games, which ultimately led them to a 2-5-3 record to finish the season. The club also lost to Union Omaha on penalties in the Third Round of the Open Cup, their worst ever performance in the competition. Despite failing to make the playoffs, goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina set the club record for clean sheets in a season with 12 following the Fire's 0–0 draw with the Columbus Crew on September 3. Slonina would be sold to Chelsea on August 2 for a club record fee, with a loan back for the remainder of the season. On the reverse, the Fire also signed Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri for a club-record fee on February 9.
Current squad Players signed as of August 5, 2022
No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Previous club Player Notes Goalkeepers 1 Gabriel Slonina G Chelsea F.C. Loaned In 18 Spencer Richey G Seattle Sounders FC 34 Chris Brady G Chicago Fire Academy Homegrown Defenders 2 Boris Sekulić D Górnik Zabrze International 3 Jonathan Bornstein D Maccabi Netanya F.C. 5 Rafael Czichos D 1. FC KölnCaptainInternational 6 Miguel Navarro D Deportivo La Guaira F.C. 14 Jhon Espinoza D S.D. Aucas 20 Wyatt Omsberg D Minnesota United FC 22 Mauricio Pineda D North Carolina Tar Heels Homegrown 23 Carlos Terán D Envigado F.C. 27 Kendall Burks D Washington Huskies 36 Andre Reynolds II D Chicago Fire Academy Homegrown Midfielders10 Xherdan Shaqiri M Olympique LyonnaisDesignated PlayerInternational 21 Fabian Herbers M Philadelphia Union 30 Gastón Giménez M Vélez Sarsfield Designated Player 31 Federico Navarro M Talleres de Cordoba InternationalU-22 Initiative 35 Sergio Oregel M Chicago Fire AcademyHomegrown 37 Javier Casas M Chicago Fire Academy Homegrown 38 Alex Monis M Chicago Fire Academy Homegrown 39 Allan Rodriguez M Chicago Fire Academy Homegrown 40 Brian Gutiérrez M Chicago Fire Academy Homegrown Forwards 7 Jairo Torres F Atlas F.C. InternationalYoung DP 8 Chris Mueller F Hibernian F.C. 11 Kacper Przybyłko F Philadelphia Union 26 Jhon Durán F Envigado F.C.InternationalU-22 Initiative 32 Missael Rodriguez F Chicago Fire AcademyHomegrown 33 Victor Bezerra F Indiana HoosiersHomegrown 99 Stanislav Ivanov F PFC Levski Sofia
Player movement
Returning, options, and new contracts DatePlayerPositionNotesRefNovember 29, 2021 Jonathan Bornstein D Georg Heitz and Ezra Hendrickson confirmed Bornstein would be returning during a press conference; it was later announced that he'd signed a one-year deal December 3, 2021 Wyatt Omsberg D Re-signed with the Fire on a contract for 2022 with options for 2023 and 2024 December 6, 2021 Miguel Navarro D Signed a new contract that runs through 2024 with an option for 2025 December 13, 2021 Gastón Giménez M Re-signed as a Designated Player through 2023 April 19, 2022 Gabriel Slonina GK 2023 option was exercised May 16, 2022 Chris Brady GK Signed a contract through 2026 with an option for 2027 September 20, 2022 Brian Gutiérrez MF Signed to a contract through 2026 with an option for 2027 September 27, 2022 Federico Navarro MF Signed to a new U-22 contract through 2027 with an option for 2028 October 7, 2022 Gastón Giménez M Signed to a new TAM deal through 2025
In DatePlayerPositionPrevious clubNotesRefJanuary 11, 2021 Jhon Durán F Envigado F.C. Signed as a U-22 Initiative Player to a contract starting in 2022 until 2024 with options for 2025 and 2026 October 12, 2021 Missael Rodriguez F Chicago Fire Academy Signed as a homegrown player to contract through 2025 with an option for 2026 October 23, 2021 Sergio Oregel M Chicago Fire Academy Signed as a homegrown player to a contract through 2025 with an option for 2026 December 20, 2021 Spencer Richey G Seattle Sounders FC Signed as a free agent to a contract through 2023 with an option for 2024 December 22, 2021 Victor Bezerra F Indiana Hoosiers Signed to a homegrown contract through 2024 with an option for 2025 January 2, 2021 Rafael Czichos D 1. FC Köln Acquired from 1. FC Köln on a contract through 2024 January 22, 2021 Kacper Przybyłko F Philadelphia Union Acquired from Philadelphia in exchange for $1,150,000 in GAM spread out over 2022 and 2023, under contract through 2023 February 9, 2022 Xherdan Shaqiri M Olympique Lyonnais Acquired from Lyon for an undisclosed fee- though it was the highest in the team's history- on a Designated Player contract through 2024. February 19, 2022 Jairo Torres F Atlas F.C. Acquired from Atlas for an undisclosed fee as a young Designated Player on a contract through 2025 February 25, 2022 Kendall Burks D Washington Huskies Signed a contract through 2023 with options for 2024 and 2025 after being drafted eleventh overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft May 5, 2022 Chris Mueller F Hibernian F.C. Acquired from Hibernian for free on a contract through 2025 with an option for 2026; the Fire acquired Mueller's rights from Orlando City in exchange for $250k GAM in 2022 and 2023, the Fire's first round draft pick in the 2023 superdraft, and the rights to an unnamed player, while also retaining a percentage of any future sale with Mueller
Loaned in DatePlayerPositionLoaning ClubNotesRefAugust, 2022 Gabriel Slonina G Chelsea F.C. Loaned back to the Fire for the remainder of the season after being sold for a club record fee.
Out DatePlayerPositionDestination ClubNotesRefNovember 8, 2021 Robert Berić F Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. Option Declined; was drafted by Sporting Kansas City in the Re-Entry Draft, but has not signed with the club November 8, 2021 Francisco Calvo D San Jose Earthquakes Option Declined November 8, 2021 Elliot Collier F San Antonio FC Option Declined November 8, 2021 Johan Kappelhof D Real Salt Lake Out of Contract November 8, 2021 Kenneth Kronholm G Retired Option Declined November 8, 2021 Álvaro Medrán M Al Taawoun FC Option Declined November 8, 2021 Bobby Shuttleworth G Atlanta United FC Out of Contract November 8, 2021 Nicholas Slonina D Retired Option Declined after stepping away from the game earlier in the 2021 season November 8, 2021 Luka Stojanović M Al-Hazem F.C. Option Declined December 13, 2021 Ignacio Aliseda F FC Lugano Transferred to FC Lugano August 2, 2022 Gabriel Slonina G Chelsea F.C. Sold for a club record fee- reportedly $10 million, with up to $5 million in add-ons. Loaned back to the Fire for the remainder of the season. August 5, 2022 Chinonso Offor F CF Montreal Sold to Montreal for $325k in 2023 GAM
Second team movement PlayerPositionMovementNotesRef Allan Rodriguez M To second team Was delisted from the senior roster and added to the second team's roster at an unknown time, with his bio page reflecting him as a Fire II player; he was later added back to the Fire's senior roster page prior to Fire II's final match on September 19 Mihajlo Mišković GK To first team temporarily Signed a short-term contract with the Fire for the May 28th game against Toronto FC
Unsigned draft picks and trialists PickPlayerPositionPrevious clubNotesRefDraft R2, P33 Charlie Ostrem D Washington Huskies Signed with Chicago Fire FC II Draft R3, P63 Carlo Ritaccio D Akron Zips Signed with Chicago Fire FC II Draft R3, P85 Yanis Leerman D UCF Knights Trialist Jahmali Waite G UConn Huskies Signed with Pittsburgh Riverhounds Trialist Alexis Cerritos F Rio Grande Valley FC Signed with Central Valley Fuego FC Trialist Diogo Pacheco F Akron Zips Signed with Minnesota United FC 2 Trialist Harold Osorio M Alianza F.C. Trialed with the club from July 4–10, signed with Chicago Fire FC II Trialist Aaron Zúñiga D Real España Trialing with the club from about August 10-August 17
Technical staff
Competitions Major League Soccer
Eastern Conference table
Overall table
Results summary
Match results Preseason
Regular season
U.S. Open Cup
International friendlies
Statistics Note: italics indicates a player who left during the season
Games played NameMLSOpen CupTotalStartsMinutesStartsMinutesStartsMinutes1GKGabriel Slonina32322880323228802DFBoris Sekulić3233282213233282213DFJonathan Bornstein132211981113221198115DFRafael Czichos2626233211120272724526DFMiguel Navarro2425217111152426218617FWJairo Torres6146846146848FWChris Mueller23241974232419749FWChinonso Offor37268121190483581210MFXherdan Shaqiri272922582729225811FWKacper Przybyłko18251606113018261636114DFJhon Espinoza31947810111204205981018GKSpencer Richey11902711120222102720DFWyatt Omsberg141412591414125921MFFabian Herbers102510701025107022DFMauricio Pineda23272002223272002223DFCarlos Terán19221676519221676526FWJhon Durán142713633117715281440327DFKendall Burks241821711120353021730MFGastón Giménez202217002022170031MFFederico Navarro27302461213027312491232MFMissael Rodriguez511901190533FWVictor Bezerra543161436861634GKChris Brady1190611190735MFSergio Oregel1117119012101736DFAndre Reynolds II41240010111055135051037MFJavier Casas5341911120161541938FWAlex Monis11711740MFBrian Gutiérrez20331638111202134175841GKMihajlo Mišković1199FWStanislav Ivanov121589110130121692110
Main starting XI This starting group is based on players who started in the indicated position more than any other player across all competitions.
NameGKRBRCBLCBLBRDMLDMRWAMLWST1Gabriel Slonina322Boris Sekulić323Jonathan Bornstein28125Rafael Czichos276Miguel Navarro247Jairo Torres1418Chris Mueller7169Chinonso Offor2210Xherdan Shaqiri2611Kacper Przybyłko1814Jhon Espinoza3118Spencer Richey220Wyatt Omsberg12221Fabian Herbers23522Mauricio Pineda2381023Carlos Terán2026Jhon Durán1527Kendall Burks2130Gastón Giménez118131Federico Navarro22432Missael Rodriguez133Victor Bezerra34Chris Brady135Sergio Oregel136Andre Reynolds II22137Javier Casas138Alex Monis40Brian Gutiérrez371199Stanislav Ivanov12
Goalkeeping NameMLSOpen CupTotalClean SheetsSavesClean SheetsSavesClean SheetsSaves1Gabriel Slonina12824512824518Spencer Richey22426434Chris Brady4141
Goals and assists
+MLS Regular SeasonRankPlayer1 Jhon Durán832 Xherdan Shaqiri7113 Kacper Przybyłko514 Chris Mueller455 Rafael Czichos316 Brian Gutiérrez277 Federico Navarro238 Fabian Herbers11 Mauricio Pineda10 Jonathan Bornstein1 Stanislav Ivanov Alex Monis Chinonso Offor Wyatt Omsberg Carlos Terán16 Boris Sekulić317 Gastón Giménez218 Miguel Navarro1 Jairo Torres
+Open CupRankPlayer1 Rafael Czichos2
Cards
+MLS Regular SeasonRankPlayerMatches Missed1 Miguel Navarro91*May 14 vs FC Cincinnati*July 13 vs Toronto FC*August 27 vs Montreal2 Rafael Czichos71*May 7 vs Atlanta United*October 9 vs New England Revolution Federico Navarro*April 30 vs New York Red Bulls*September 13 vs CF Montreal4 Jhon Durán61*May 7 vs Atlanta United5 Brian Gutiérrez31*April 16 vs LA Galaxy6 Gastón Giménez6*July 13 vs Toronto FC Carlos Terán*September 17 vs Charlotte8 Fabian Herbers5 Chris Mueller Mauricio Pineda Boris Sekulić Xherdan Shaqiri13 Jhon Espinoza3 Kacper Przybyłko15 Wyatt Omsberg216 Victor Bezerra1 Javier Casas Chinonso Offor Andre Reynolds II Jairo Torres +Open CupRankPlayerMatches Missed1 Javier Casas1 Jhon Durán Jhon Espinoza Sergio Oregel
Awards
Man of the Match awards