Originally scheduled to be at FC Dallas on Saturday, the Fire would’ve been playing their ninth game of the season. Over a quarter of the way through the year, the Fire and soccer observers would’ve been able to assess the team’s progress and figure out where it needed to improve after an eventful offseason.
That’s not what’s happening. Instead, one of the key tasks for the Fire is helping their players get through the pandemic and the stoppage of play after two encouraging early-March games that seem more and more like a distant memory.
Fire sporting director Georg Heitz said the team is in contact with players on a daily basis, checking in on them to see how they’re doing during this unprecedented situation.
“I think it’s important that we all stay connected,” Heitz said. “We have to take care of young men. We should never forget they are young. For a couple of them, it’s much more difficult than for us.”
Like other non-essential workers, Fire players have been forced to stay away from their place of business. On Friday, MLS announced it will allow players to use outdoor team training fields for individual workouts beginning Wednesday. The Fire were working through their next steps with local officials.
Many Fire players are in a foreign country, separated from their families by thousands of miles. Zoom, FaceTime and Skype can help with the feelings of isolation, but they don’t remedy all the issues that have arisen for players, international or otherwise.
Heitz is aware of that.
“This is not easy, and we all have to deal with it,” Heitz said. “We have to support the players, and we have to listen to them. Sometimes it helps a lot just to listen to someone. This is why we are here.”
Taking care of players is one aspect of what the Fire are doing. As much as they could, they were still thinking about soccer on a daily basis, even before the small step toward resuming the season was announced.
The coaching staff was working on tactics and preparing for an eventual return to action. The players are involved in that process, watching videos and discussing strategy. The players have been given detailed training plans to stay fit, and many of them have taken part in social media to stay engaged with fans and the soccer conversation.
“[Soccer] is not only our job,’’ Heitz said, ‘‘it’s also our passion.”
That’s clear for Heitz.
Officially hired in late December, he turned over the roster in just over two months. Heitz hired a new coach, added three designated players and worked to instill his soccer philosophy.
Through two games, the Fire were winless but showed promising signs in a loss at Seattle, then a draw at New England. With the subsequent arrivals of Boris Sekulic and Luka Stojanovic, the roster was practically complete, and Heitz was about to see his project come together.
Like everyone else, Heitz is still waiting to see the result. But he understands that isn’t the most pressing issue.
“Very much looking forward to it, but I also have to say [that my happiness] is not the most important thing,” Heitz said. “We face big problems in this world. We are facing one huge problem; this is the most important one at the moment. I am sure we will see this team playing, and we will see the full potential of this team.
“We always say our day will come when we speak about the return to Soldier Field. Our days will also come with this team.”
