Raphael Wicky might end up being the coach the Fire need. But like his new team, he has questions to answer.
The Fire on Friday announced they’ve hired Wicky, the U.S. men’s under-17 coach, to replace Veljko Paunovic. Named the under-17 boss in March, Wicky worked with Fire sporting director Georg Heitz at FC Basel from 2013-2017 when Wicky led teams in the club’s youth system.
Wicky’s contract runs through 2021 with a team option for 2022.
“This is a position that comes with a lot of responsibility and I can promise the fans and everyone at the club that I will work hard and give my all,” Wicky said in a news release. “During conversations with Joe Mansueto and Georg Heitz, I felt that we all shared a similar vision for the club and how to move it forward. That was important to me. Chicago is a world-class sports city and this club has a bright future, both on and off the field. I can’t wait to get started.”
Wicky rose to become the FC Basel coach in 2017-18, but experienced mixed results. Though the club beat Manchester United in the Champions League and reached the last 16 of that competition, Basel’s run of eight straight domestic championships ended and Wicky was sacked July 26, 2018.
The necessary quickness of this choice - one week after Heitz’s formal appointment - will raise more questions about the Fire’s pace earlier this offseason as they head into a crucial 2020 campaign. And whether Wicky was picked because of his ability, or if this is a marriage of familiarity due to his Heitz connections, will be pondered. U.S. Soccer is also based in Chicago.
Hired last Friday, Heitz inherited a thin 17-man roster with no Designated Players and came aboard two months after president Nelson Rodriguez said the Fire would be adding a new soccer executive. The team also waited a month after the season to sack Paunovic.
Wicky was a key part of Basel’s development machine before rising to the senior team. However, under his watch, the U.S. under-17 team was eliminated from this year’s Under-17 World Cup after finishing last in its group.
And though the resume’s not identical, Wicky shares a similarity with his predecessor when he was tabbed: little experience coaching senior professionals.
Paunovic’s career before the Fire consisted of tenures with the Serbian under-18, under-19 and under-20 teams. Though he led the Serbia under-20 team to the 2015 World Cup title, Paunovic was unsuccessful in MLS and dismissed.
As a player, Wicky was a defensive midfielder who made 75 appearances for the Swiss national team and was on the squad for the 2006 World Cup and Euro 96 and Euro 2004. Wicky spent most of his career with Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen.
Wicky, 42, ended his playing days in 2008 with five appearances for Chivas USA. That stint is his only time in MLS, giving the Fire an executive/coach combo that has little experience in the league.
In a news release, Heitz said Wicky has become a “student” of MLS since arriving in the United States.
“I know Raphael very well from our time together at FC Basel in Switzerland,” Heitz said. “He is a man of high character who fits the philosophy and vision of this club. He has a fresh, modern approach to football. Raphael has a great appreciation and respect for the sport and because of his time on the pitch, including representing his country at a World Cup, he is able to communicate extremely well with players.”
