The 2010s were a bad decade for the Fire. They didn’t win a playoff game, saw their fan base dwindle and typically found ways to squander any momentum and create trouble for themselves under former owner Andrew Hauptman.
But as the Fire enter the 2020s, one of their most prominent ambassadors is looking ahead.
“For me, in every situation, I feel very positive, and I try to look forward,” Frank Klopas said. “The one thing for me as I look at the club, I feel that we’re heading in the right direction. Obviously, you can look back and you look at situations always in the past and how to do things better and improve, but I just want to look forward and not even in the past.
“I’m very optimistic about where the club is heading, some of the positive changes that have been made.”
The changes that figure to make the biggest impact in the 2020s came in the second half of 2019, with Joe Mansueto buying out Hauptman and the move back to Soldier Field becoming official. The team also unveiled Georg Heitz as its new sporting director, and a replacement for Veljko Paunovic figures to come soon. The team also is adding to its front-office and marketing staffs and working to reintroduce itself to the city.
“It’s a new beginning,” Klopas said.
That’s encouraging for Klopas, whose ties to Chicago soccer are as deep as anyone’s.
Klopas’ professional career started with the Chicago Sting and ended with a two-season run with the Fire that included the 1998 MLS Cup/Open Cup double. He coached the indoor Chicago Storm and has served in multiple positions with the Fire. He coached them from May 2011 through the end of the 2013 season and now serves as the analyst on local broadcasts.
Like Mansueto, Klopas sees three objectives for the Fire in the next decade: be a consistent playoff contender to win championships, create a better all-around organization and serve the community.
“Those are the three areas I think that are going to be key that Joe talked about, and I totally agree with him,” Klopas said.
For Klopas, the most important thing is for everyone with the Fire to have a winning mentality, even if the team isn’t winning. That means the entire franchise is trying to make the club better.
“When you have everyone focusing in one direction all at once, then you have the right culture and a winning mentality, and that’s going to trickle down with results on the field,” Klopas said.
If all of that happens, the Fire have a chance to undo much of what happened the last 10 years, which would be important for the franchise and Chicago soccer as a whole. But that won’t occur just because the calendar turns from one decade to the next.
They will have to make good decisions and execute. Klopas is confident that’s happening.
“The thing is, it’s not just saying it. I just feel the right steps are taking place,” Klopas said. “The right things are happening in order to ensure the club is heading in the right direction. The next 10 years are going to be very exciting for all of us.”
