Tuesday morning the Chicago Fire officially announced two moves that had been circulating as rumors for weeks. The Fire have released midfielder Bratislav Ristic, and have signed defensive midfielder and Mexican international standout Pavel Pardo. The 35-year-old defensive midfielder will be added to the Fire’s roster upon receipt of his P1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate. Per club and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pardo comes from Mexican league team Club America, where he finished his second stint with the club. At age 35, one has to wonder what the Fire organization has up its sleeve with a veteran signing of a player seemingly on the downslope of his career. Ristic, who came to the club in 2010, played in just 17 matches, and while he did not accumulate significant stats in his tenure with the club, he was widely known and respected in Chicago as a versatile player who could fill a number of positions viably. With the signing of Pardo, however, Chicago had to free up an international spot. Although Marko Maric was another option for release, the Fire could not do so because of his injured list status. Amongst international spots currently on the Fire roster, that left Ristic as the odd man out, as the Fire opted not to vie for one of the league international spots to acquire Pardo.
Tuesday’s move seems to pose a number of questions regarding the future starting lineup of the Chicago Fire. To be sure, the Fire have needed help in the midfield. While former manager Carlos de los Cobos toyed with a number of partnerships in the midfield, it seemed the tandem of Logan Pause and Daniel Paladini had become the mainstay in the central midfield, with Patrick Nyarko and Marco Pappa occupying the wings. More recently, Klopas has inserted Ghanaians Dominic Oduro and Nyarko on the wings, with Pappa playing a forward central attacking midfield position alongside Daniel Paladini, and Pause dropped back in the defensive mid slot he’s been known for.
The move to bring Pardo on board, as another defensive mid, seems a bit puzzling, as Chicago’s woes have related more to the offensive playmaking mid than defensively. With the signing a few weeks ago of Argentine Sebastian Grazzini, the Fire showed that they were moving in a direction of trying to incorporate a point man who could open up the Fire’s game in the offensive third. While Grazzini is not yet at full fitness, he did make his debut a worthy one, coming in during the second half of this past weekend’s World Football Challenge match against EPL juggernaut Manchester United, playing 30 minutes and showing some good work and hustle, in spite of generating few scoring chances against the English champs. Still, one has to think that full fitness is the first and primary goal of Frank Klopas, so as to insert Grazzini into the lineup in a more impactful way as the club’s next MLS match on August 3rd against Philadelphia approaches.
Which brings to bare the aforementioned potential lineup shuffling. Klopas has said previously that he doesn’t want to make big wholesale changes midstream. While it’s certain that his statement pertained more to signings and player shuffling that would cause disruption amidst even the most cohesive group, there’s no doubt that huge changes in formation or lineups could have a similar effect. Without a doubt, one of the things that has worked best for Chicago under Klopas has been their defense. The grouping of Gibbs, Segares, Anibaba, and Cuesta has, for the most part, been solid. There have been gaffe’s for sure, but their shutout rate when Klopas took the reins showed a defense that had solidified and gelled together as a unit. Up top, Colombian Cristian Nazarit has added speed and aggressive play to the forward slot, with Diego Chaves and Orr Barouch filling in or playing a withdrawn forward position, which Klopas seems to prefer to a straight two-striker front.
Given all these factors, what’s the most likely scenario, you ask? It would seem that Klopas will go to some variation of a 4-5-1 formation moving forward. Under the current scenario, with Pardo likely to be working on fitness (his last match occurred on May 1st), and Grazzini still working on his fitness as well, things aren’t likely to change drastically soon. It’s possible that Klopas may ultimately start both Pardo and Grazzini as soon as the August 3rd game against the Union, although it’s more realistic to think that if having to choose, Grazzini would get the start, with Pardo starting on the bench and coming in as a second half sub. Even if Grazzini starts on the 3rd, we’re likely to only see 60-70 minutes from the midfielder.
Let’s jump ahead, though. What impact will this have on the Fire when they move into the latter third of the season, when they hope to mount a last push for the playoffs? It’s possible we would see Logan Pause, Fire captain and current central defensive mid, move into the right back position currently occupied by rookie Jalil Anibaba. As captain, it would be awkward at best for Klopas to remove Pause from the starting XI, but it’s apparent with the signing of Pardo that Klopas is dissatisfied with Pause’s play in the middle. You don’t bring a signing into Chicago with the name recognition of Pavel Pardo if you’re going to have him spend the season as a sub. Logan Pause is not known as an offensive threat, which means if anything, he moves to the back line. Cuesta, Gibbs, and Segares have all proven their mettle in their defensive spots, and while Anibaba has not performed terribly, he is still a rookie, and has some maturity to gain through time in the league. The most obvious problem with this scenario, however, is Logan’s speed against the league’s top wingmen. It’s hard to imagine Pause going toe-to-toe against the likes of a Nyassi or Zakuani and keeping up, which means the rest of Chicago’s defense would be forced to compensate for any speed lost by benching Anibaba.
In midfield, it seems apparent that Patrick Nyarko and Dominic Oduro have cemented themselves and Chicago’s wingmen, and rightly so. Both have ridiculous speed, and have consistently given fits to opposing defenders. Even Sir Alex Ferguson this weekend, after Manchester United’s match against Chicago, touted the wingers for their speed and the problems they gave the United back line. Centrally, again, Pardo seems the man for the defensive midfielder position. If Klopas remains with a 4-5-1 variation, Sebastian Grazzini will play alongside Marco Pappa. Grazzini, another midseason signing, didn’t come to the team to sit the pine, and if there’s one thing that’s certain in Chicago, it’s that regardless of performance, and short of his return from Gold Cup duty, Marco Pappa is always going to be a starter while he wears Fire red. That leaves Daniel Paladini on the outs, but not long term. Paladini, who proved himself earlier in the season when he started against Colorado, only missing a start since because of suspension or mandatory rest. While Paladini has struggled a bit more as of late, he is the perfect option for Klopas to come on in relief of Grazzini or Pappa. Subbing Paladini in for one or the other still leaves a potential playmaker, by Klopas standards, in the central attacking mid position.
Klopas probably has the most positional versatility in Orr Barouch and Diego Chaves, however. It’s reasonable to assume that Cristian Nazarit will continue to start up top as the lone striker. As such, Klopas can bring on Barouch in relief of Nazarit if necessary. Barouch has probably exhibited more bad luck than anyone else on the Fire this season, striking the post more than any other player on the squad. Barouch or Chaves can come on in the striker role, but Klopas can also utilize them in the central midfield, especially if some shuffling is required by bringing out Oduro or Nyarko, shifting Pappa to the vacant wing, and inserting Barouch or Chaves in the central midfield as a withdrawn forward.
By initial appearances, it would seem the Fire are more lost than found at this point. In reality, I believe the opposite is true. Frank Klopas has made moves in the last month to bring some organization and options to his attacking set. While the Pardo signing seems a bit more mysterious, one can see how it might fit into the big picture moving forward. The question, just as it was with some of the offseason signings by Chicago, is whether or not it will pay off. At this point, it’s almost a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained. If Chicago does not make the playoffs, it can’t be said by anyone that they didn’t try to make moves to improve their overall situation. If the worst case is that Chicago makes the playoffs as a result of these moves, then Frank Klopas will earn his squad honors as MLS comeback of the year, given their current place in the standings and the appearance of what seemed to be a dismal season just weeks ago. Only time and results will tell if the moves of the last few weeks will indeed pay dividends or not, however. The prospect of positive results seems viable now more than ever, though.
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