A day after Mansueto bought the team from Andrew Hauptman, the Fire scored four first-half goals to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
After their 4-0 win Saturday over FC Dallas, the Fire were addressed in their locker room by new owner Joe Mansueto. Defender Jonathan Bornstein said the Fire gave Mansueto the game ball and dedicated the win to the team’s new chairman.
“He was excited,” Bornstein said. “He talked a little about his ideas. More than anything, he was proud of the team and the feeling goes both ways on that end.”
On the surface, the Fire’s first day after the monumental change didn’t feel different. Despite perfect weather, an announced crowd of just 12,874 turned out to see the Fire’s penultimate game at SeatGeek Stadium. There was no presentation of their new owner, or acknowledgement of Andrew Hauptman.
Mansueto and Fire president and general manager Nelson Rodriguez were unavailable for comment.
It was just a soccer game that was effectively over after the Fire scored four times in the first 45 minutes. Twitter comedians joked how the victory was due to the “Mansueto Effect” and that the Fire have a plus-4 differential since he took complete control.
Realistically, Mansueto’s impact could be felt more down the line, when he’s had more time to implement his plan for the team on and off the field.
“We know that we have an owner, nothing against Andrew Hauptman - he also invested into the team - but seeing how aggressive Joe is in his stance of making soccer fun in the city again and you’re bringing it downtown,” said CJ Sapong, who scored twice. “All (the) guys know the energy that downtown brings and to be able to play there, it’s even more motivation and inspiration (to) win for this team.”
The success or failure of that move will come down to Mansueto and how well he runs the team. Sick of Hauptman, Mansueto’s purchase of the Fire was greeted with extreme enthusiasm by the team’s fan base.
“Section 8 Chicago believes Joe Mansueto will bring in a new era of success for the Chicago Fire and, as such, we embrace this announcement as something wholly positive for the club, its supporters, and the Chicago soccer community,” Section 8 Chicago said on its website.
The Fire players and coaches saw Hauptman differently, but also voiced support for the new ownership. Coach Veljko Paunovic said he was “very thankful” to Hauptman for his support and their relationship.
As for Mansueto, Paunovic is clearly excited.
“We believe that right now, being the full owner of the club is the great opportunity to move forward in a positive future for the club, which we always said was there,” Paunovic said. “I believe also that there is a very good spirit and we just want to keep working together. Very positive. I think he is a very experienced man, a man of success and that’s going to help the club for sure, like it was so far in everything that he did being the co-owner with Andrew.”
Bornstein, who joined the team July 22, said the team was “extremely happy” with what Hauptman did for the club. However, he said the Fire are also extremely happy Mansueto is taking over.
“We’re all excited. The players are very excited,” Bornstein said. “He’s talking about making good changes to the club and obviously going into the city is a big thing for us and we’re all excited for that. For me, he was always in the locker room before the games. He was the one that I was associating very positive things with the club.
“I’m really happy that he takes the team and we’ll be moving forward with him.”
