Was it a tantrum or just the inevitable expression of frustration, a blowing off of steam that comes with being jerked around by front office suits over ones contract? It’s not quite clear. After the Fire’s biggest win of the season (3-1 thumping of New York which should have been a 4-1 thumping), playmaker Sebastian Grazzini was nowhere to be found. Subbed in the 60th minute (a far too common fact for Grazzini, who rarely goes a full 90) after creating the Fire’s opening goal, Grazzini had no interest in handshakes or the press. He was already out of the stadium when the match concluded. Chicago did itself no favor by then making Grazzini unavailable to reports during midweek training. All this only throws fuel on the fire (forgive the pun).
What’s the problem here? Grazzini needs to have his option picked up by the Fire, but it appears that neither camp (Grazzini’s or the Fire front office) can get on the same page. This leaves the player in the lurch as he tries to remain professional and continue to put in good performances for a club that may just kick him to the curb come July. Doing so would be amazingly disrespectful to Grazzini and to the Chicago supporters. Many Fire supporters are rather confused about the handling of the Grazzini situation.
Frank Klopas was the Technical Director for the Fire, a position where he had been the architect of assembling the team of players which then Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos had to deploy. When Klopas took over it seemed a perfect fit, the man who had brought in the players was now also orchestrating how they should play and be used. The fact is, in MLS there are too many Head Coaches and not enough Managers. A Head Coach is a position limited in scope, one that too often doesn’t have the necessary authority to do what needs to be done to navigate the team. This season, we’ve seen Aron Winter in Toronto prove his inability to meld the two aspects of the game, and Peter Nowak, who was always more of a Manager than a Head Coach, get booted because insisted on melding the two aspects. When Klopas took the helm there was hope that he was going to be a proper Manager and not a mere field coach. The situation with Grazzini has revealed that Klopas doesn’t have the authority to craft his team and that he is beholden to a Chicago front office that seems more and more disconnected from the passion on the pitch.
With the upcoming arrival of Brazilian midfielder Alex and the fitness of Chris Rolfe, it’s understandable that Grazzini would be feeling a sense of urgency and worry. But Alex is an unknown quantity and given recent acquisitions (Puppo and Robayo), forgive me if I’m cool on the player’s potential for the team. Rolfe is a forward who can play withdrawn in that space between attacking midfield and striker. But, if anything, Rolfe will just mean more of an opportunity for Grazzini to shine as his presence gives someone sure-footed enough for Grazzini to target when they are on together and someone who can lift the same weight when Grazzini has to come off. It comes down to this—the Chicago Fire became a better team with Sebastian Grazzini and continues to be a better team with him; they need to lock him up and end the tourism that’s dogged Grazzini’s career.
We’ll see if this happens this weekend as the Fire host Columbus in the second match-up between the two rivals. Last time out in Columbus, the Fire was beaten quite handily. Both teams are in a tight fight for position in the Eastern Conference table. With Chicago currently sitting in fourth with 21 points, Houston a point behind, and Columbus at 19 with a game in hand there is a definite pressure to break away. Chicago already upset third place New York to close the gap a bit but they need to win against Columbus to create daylight between themselves and the rest of the teams below them. The Fire has yet to post two wins in a row and must change that Saturday night.
Centerback Arne Friedrich continues to make progress in his rehab of hamstring injury but he will not see action this weekend. Once again the youthful tandem of Austin Berry and Jalil Anibaba will be responsible for keeping the Crew out of the back of the net. The pair will be looking to set the record straight at home and help give Sean Johnson his first clean sheet of the season. It will be tough, Columbus are in a relatively good run of form collecting eleven points out of a possible fifteen over the last month. But just like Chicago dominates New York when then come to Toyota Park, the Fire dominate Columbus when they come to town—Columbus haven’t won at Toyota Park since 2006. If Chicago can resist conceding the first goal and can get on the board first, their momentum should carry them. Regardless, this match should be a hard-nosed and exciting affair.
