Overview Chicago Fire Football Club was founded as Chicago Fire Soccer Club on October 8, 1997. The club is named after the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871; the official founding date of the team was the 126th anniversary of that event. The owner and chairman of the Fire is
Joe Mansueto, who purchased the club in 2019. The club president is Ishwara Glassman-Chrein; Georg Heitz was appointed sporting director in December 2019; The Fire were originally based at
Soldier Field from 1997 to 2006. From 2006 to 2019, the club played at
SeatGeek Stadium, a stadium originally built for the club, at 71st and Harlem Avenue in
Bridgeview. In 2019, with the change of ownership to Joe Mansueto, the Fire returned to Soldier Field for the 2020 MLS season. The Fire are currently one of the most successful clubs in the
U.S. Open Cup, winning championships in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006. Many notable players have worn the Fire shirt, including U.S. internationals
Chris Armas,
Carlos Bocanegra,
Frank Klopas,
DaMarcus Beasley,
Brian McBride,
Tony Sanneh,
Cory Gibbs,
Ante Razov,
Josh Wolff,
Eric Wynalda and
Jon Busch. Some of the club's other notable American professional players include
C.J. Brown,
Jesse Marsch,
Chris Rolfe, and
Zach Thornton. The Fire also have a reputation for importing international talent, from established veterans like
Bastian Schweinsteiger,
Pável Pardo,
Piotr Nowak,
Cuauhtémoc Blanco,
Tomasz Frankowski,
Luboš Kubík,
Hristo Stoichkov and
Jorge Campos; in addition to younger players such as
Patrick Nyarko,
Marco Pappa,
Damani Ralph,
Bakary Soumaré and
Nery Castillo. Chicago was once the home of the
Chicago Sting who competed in the top-level
North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984. They spread their home games at
Soldier Field,
Wrigley Field, and
Comiskey Park. The Sting won the
Soccer Bowl twice:
1981 and
1984. They were the only club other than the
New York Cosmos to win multiple titles in the NASL. Some of the club's notable players were Argentine striker
Pato Margetic and German forwards
Karl-Heinz Granitza and
Arno Steffenhagen.
Foundation and initial success (1997–2000) at Soldier Field in July 1998 Founded in 1997 at
Navy Pier, on the anniversary of the
Great Fire, the Fire immediately tapped into the diverse ethnic makeup of the city. The team brought in Polish players Piotr Nowak,
Jerzy Podbrożny, and
Roman Kosecki; the Mexican
Jorge Campos; and the Czech
Luboš Kubík. While all showed their talent while playing for Chicago that first year, American players (
Zach Thornton,
Chris Armas,
C.J. Brown) proved most integral to the Fire's continued success. Under the club's first head coach,
Bob Bradley—and against all expectation—the team completed the double in its first competitive year, beating
D.C. United in the
1998 MLS Cup Final, and defeating the
Columbus Crew in Chicago to win the
1998 U.S. Open Cup a week later. The team's momentum continued, winning the
2000 U.S. Open Cup over the
Miami Fusion and reaching the
2000 MLS Cup final, losing to the
Kansas City Wizards. Internationally experienced players such as
Hristo Stoitchkov joined the Fire, while young American talents such as
DaMarcus Beasley developed. The Fire quickly became cemented as one of the league's preeminent teams.
Nomadic times (2002–2004) With Soldier Field undergoing massive renovations, the Fire moved to the western Chicago suburb of
Naperville in 2002. That same year, Bob Bradley abruptly departed the team to lead the
MetroStars, from his home state of
New Jersey. The Fire then selected the
U.S. men's national team's top assistant,
Dave Sarachan, to assume the vacant post. Chicago qualified for
the league final while also capturing the
Supporters' Shield and
2003 U.S. Open Cup along the way. The team returned to Chicago and the renovated Soldier Field midway through the 2003 season. After that season, longtime captain Piotr Nowak retired to take a position in the front office. He departed a year later to become manager of
D.C. United. In this period new talent emerged, including Jamaican striker
Damani Ralph. Still, stagnating performances and the building strength of the
Eastern Conference made Chicago's league position ever more tenuous. In 2004, the team missed the league playoffs for the first time in their history.
Turmoil, and a permanent home (2005–2007) The 2005 season began with the unexpected dismissal of popular club president
Peter Wilt by then-owners
AEG, a move decried by fans, many players, and club staff. This came as a shock, given his brokering of a $100m deal to build the Fire a stadium in the collar suburb of
Bridgeview. He was immediately replaced by
MetroStars executive
John Guppy. Competitively, the season was most notable for the blockbuster visit of
Milan from Italy's
Serie A, and the surprising 4–0 away defeat of
D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. 2006 arrived, and the Fire moved from Soldier Field into its new stadium in Bridgeview, a southwest suburb of Chicago:
Toyota Park, located at the corner of 71st Street and Harlem Avenue. In its first season, it played host to an unspectacular league campaign; but victory in the
2006 U.S. Open Cup marked a continuation of the club's successes and promise for the future. The anxiety to win another league title continued to grow, however.
Sarachan entered 2007 (his fifth season in charge) under intense pressure from fans and the administration to produce a league championship. Tension mounted further on April 3, 2007, when the Fire signed
Mexico and
América star
Cuauhtémoc Blanco to a
Designated Player contract. After a perfect three matches to open the year, they won only one of their next eight, and Sarachan was dismissed. Following a brief search,
Millonarios manager
Juan Carlos Osorio was named the club's third head coach.
Andell Inc. acquisition of the Fire (2007–2009) More change came soon afterward. On September 6, 2007,
Andell Holdings, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm controlled by chairman
Andrew Hauptman, acquired
AEG's interest in the Chicago Fire Soccer Club. Reports estimated the purchase price to be upwards of $35 million. The team has not won a major trophy since Hauptman bought the team. On the field, behind Blanco and
Wilman Conde, Osorio's central defender at Millionarios, the Fire went on an extended unbeaten run to close the season, easily qualifying for the playoffs but were defeated at
New England in the Eastern Conference Final. On December 10, 2007, the Fire announced Osorio's resignation. He was named manager of the
New York Red Bulls eight days later. Hauptman filed tampering charges with the league in protest, and the Fire were compensated by the Red Bulls with cash and draft picks. Changes came quickly in Osorio's wake. On January 17, 2008, former Fire star
Frank Klopas was named Technical Director in charge of player personnel, and longtime Fire assistant
Denis Hamlett was appointed manager. While the Fire struggled at home in
2008 the team found unusual success on the road, gathering 22 out of a possible 45 away points. Momentum grew with the long-anticipated signing of Chicago native
Brian McBride on a free transfer in July 2008. After disposing of the Red Bulls 5–2 in the season's final game, they decisively conquered New England in the first round of the playoffs with a 3–0 victory at home. This was Chicago's first playoff advancement over the Revolution in four consecutive seasons. But triumph only lasted for a week, as they again missed the league final with their 2–1 Eastern Conference Final loss to eventual champion
Columbus. The
2009 season saw few alterations to the previous year's roster. The story of the season was much the same, as continued poor home form offset excellent performances away from Toyota Park. This led to a second place Eastern Conference finish behind Columbus. Despite this,
Real Salt Lake managed to upset the Crew in the quarterfinals, meaning Chicago would host the semi-final for the first time in six years. Chicago's nearly flawless home playoff history meant little in the end, as they lost to Salt Lake, 5–3, on penalties after 120 scoreless minutes. Shortly thereafter, manager Denis Hamlett was dismissed.
A team in flux (2010–2012) (right) dribbling past a Seattle defender during an April 2012 match Leading up to
2010, Chicago hired
Carlos de los Cobos as head coach, previously manager of
El Salvador.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco,
Chris Rolfe and
Gonzalo Segares all departed. More changes came in the summer transfer window with the trade of
Justin Mapp to
Philadelphia, the acquisition of Mexican international striker
Nery Castillo, and the trade for former Swedish international midfielder
Freddie Ljungberg. Defender
Gonzalo Segares returned to the Fire, leaving
Apollon Limassol after only six months away. Despite these reinforcements, the Fire failed to qualify for the playoffs for only the second time in club history. Former U.S. international
Brian McBride and club original
C.J. Brown retired at season's end, followed closely by the departures of
Wilman Conde, Ljungberg, and Castillo.
2011 began much in the way of 2010, with foundering performances both home and away. After nine winless matches,
Carlos de los Cobos was let go on May 30, 2011. Technical Director
Frank Klopas was named interim head coach. Behind summer reinforcements
Pável Pardo and
Sebastián Grazzini, as well as forward
Dominic Oduro's 12 goals after being acquired in a trade from
Houston and Dan Gargan's defensive addition, the Fire qualified for the
U.S. Open Cup Final (lost at
Seattle) and narrowly missed making the playoffs after gaining 24 points in their last 12 league matches. After the season's conclusion, Klopas was given the permanent manager job on November 3, 2011. Although expectations were modest for
2012, Klopas' first full season as coach, the year saw a change in fortune for the Fire. The spring and summer months saw several new acquisitions for the club, starting with the reacquiring of
Chris Rolfe from
Aalborg BK. Rolfe, who scored eight goals and 12 assists in the 21 games he played in 2012, would later be named the Fire's MVP. Other signings included Brazilian midfielders
Alex Monteiro de Lima from the Swiss side
FC Wohlen,
Alvaro Fernández from
Seattle Sounders FC, forward
Sherjill MacDonald from
Beerschot AC of Belgium and veteran defender
Arne Friedrich from
VfL Wolfsburg. Although they would fall out of the U.S. Open tournament early that season, the Fire eventually compiled a 17–11–6 record, their best since 2000, and ranked as high as second in the Eastern Conference before ending the year in fourth place. On October 31, 2012, in their first playoff appearance since 2009, the Fire lost their first-round
MLS Cup playoff match-up at home against the
Houston Dynamo, 2–1.
Missing the playoffs (2013–2015) In the 2012–2013 offseason, the franchise made some moves to improve on 2012's success. The team acquired
Joel Lindpere and
Jeff Larentowicz and also traded
Dominic Oduro for
Dilly Duka and the rights to
Robbie Rogers. The beginning of the season saw the team struggling to score goals, resulting in a record of 2–5–1 through April. After two successive losses to the Union in May, and with veteran
Arne Friedrich still on injured reserve, the Fire acquired their former centerback
Bakary Soumaré from Philadelphia. Also in May, Robbie Rogers expressed an interest to play in Southern California, at which point a deal was brokered for Rogers' rights in exchange for Chicago native
Mike Magee from the
Los Angeles Galaxy. On June 23, 2013, Friedrich, who had not played a 2012–13 game due to recurring injuries, announced his retirement. After starting the season 2–7–3, the additions of Soumare and Magee led to seven wins in the squad's last 10 games. The Fire were busy in the transfer window as well, adding veteran defensive midfielder
Arévalo Ríos and forward
Juan Luis Anangonó. The Chicago Fire also advanced to host the semifinal of the
2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but fell 2–0 to eventual champions
D.C. United. Alleged fan actions in the stadium that night led to a famous editorial piece, "What it means to be a part of the Fire family", being penned by the club's Director of Communications, which was seen as an odd attack on the fan base and widely panned by local and national media. After a 12–6–6 finish to the season, the Fire narrowly missed the playoffs for the third time in the last four years—losing out to the Montreal Impact on goal difference. On October 30, 2013, the club announced that the president of soccer operations Javier Leon and head coach
Frank Klopas had stepped down, but the Fire front office had a replacement one day later. On October 31, 2013, Chicago Fire named
Frank Yallop as its new head coach and director of soccer. On December 5, 2013, Fire MVP Mike Magee became the first Fire player to win the
MLS MVP Award—beating out
Los Angeles Galaxy's
Robbie Keane and
Montreal Impact's
Marco Di Vaio for the honor. Meanwhile, Yallop was busy recruiting a new coaching staff which included "Ring of Fire" member and Chicago Fire veteran
C. J. Brown and former U.S. International striker
Clint Mathis as the team's assistant coaches, adding Columbus Crew's
Brian Bliss as Technical Director. Former Fire forward
Brian McBride was added as an assistant coach in May 2014 for a short-term assignment. The shake-up extended to the roster, as Yallop moved team veterans and starters and brought in youth prospects—reforming the team while freeing up cap space. Major exits in early 2014 included
Chris Rolfe,
Austin Berry,
Jalil Anibaba,
Daniel Paladini, and
Paolo Tornaghi. Filling that void was a handful of youth prospects including
Harrison Shipp (
homegrown player),
Benji Joya (via MLS "weighted lottery"), and Grant Ward on loan from
Tottenham Hotspur. Despite rarely looking like a team that could advance to the
MLS Cup Playoffs, the team once again advanced to the semifinals of the
2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but were routed 6–0 by eventual champions
Seattle Sounders FC on August 13. The result was the worst competitive defeat in club history and saw Frank Yallop issue an apology to Chicago Fire supporters on the club's official website. As the Cup run had, the season ended in disappointment, with the Fire ending the season with a 6–18–10 record, with 18 draws, also setting a record for most draws in an MLS season in the process. The club began 2015 with renewed hope, bringing three new Designated Player signings in
David Accam,
Shaun Maloney and
Kennedy Igboananike to bolster an anemic attack. The club also signed products
Michael Stephens and
Eric Gehrig as well as Trinindad and Tobago international
Joevin Jones. With so many new pieces needing to adjust, 2015 marked the first time in club history the side began the season with an 0–3–0 record, but they showed signs of recovery by winning their next three matches. April was the last time the club would be anywhere near equal on wins and losses, but the side did still advance to another
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Playing in front of a sparse crowd at the
Philadelphia Union's
PPL Park, the Fire fell 1–0 at the same hurdle for the third straight season. Less than two weeks later, Maloney, who was the club's center piece offseason signing, was transferred back to England with
Hull City citing personal reasons. Despite no hope for a Cup final, widespread fan protests and dim likelihood of a playoff berth, the club didn't part ways with Frank Yallop until September 20, 2015, one day after another listless 1–0 home defeat to
Orlando City SC. Along with Yallop's departure, the club announced it had named long-time MLS executive Nelson Rodríguez as the club's new general manager, with his first job being to commence a search for a new head coach. Technical director Brian Bliss was given the interim head coaching job, with former player and current club vice president
Logan Pause assisting for the remaining five matches. The club has finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 8 wins, 20 losses and 6 ties. For the first time in the club's history Fire finished the season with zero road wins (0–12–5). Twenty losses in a season became the highest in the club's history.
Final years in Bridgeview, Illinois (2016–2019) played for Chicago from 2017 to 2019 On November 18, 2015, Rodriguez made his first moves as GM, firing most of Yallop's remaining technical staff, including goalkeeping coach Aron Hyde, fitness coach Adrian Lamb and Director of Scouting Trevor James. Rodriguez also parted ways with the club's long-time Director of First Team Operations Ron Stern, Equipment Manager Charles Raycroft and Assistant Equipment Manager Allan Araujo. On November 24, 2015, the club announced that
Veljko Paunovic, former coach of the Serbian U-20 side that won the
2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, had been named the new head coach of the Chicago Fire. On January 5, 2016, technical director
Brian Bliss also departed the Fire to join Sporting Kansas City as Director of Player Personnel, completing the total overhaul of the technical staff. On March 21, 2017
Manchester United allowed
Bastian Schweinsteiger to join Chicago Fire, subject to a medical and a visa being secured. The move from Manchester United was completed on March 29, 2017. On July 11, 2018, the club announced that Hauptman had sold a 49 percent stake of his ownership to
Joe Mansueto, the founder of
Morningstar, Inc. On September 13, 2019, Hauptman sold his majority share to Mansueto, who became the sole owner.
Return to Soldier Field and rebrand (2020–present) As the 2019 MLS campaign concluded, the Chicago Fire organization began the ambitious process of reinventing the franchise during the course of a three-month offseason. The changes included securing a downtown Chicago venue, adding new front office positions, shifting organizational roles, making major roster changes, and rolling out a new brand identity. Two days after the end of the season, October 8, the Fire officially announced they would return to
Soldier Field to play the 2020 MLS season, that same day
Bastian Schweinsteiger announced his retirement. Two days later, the Fire announced the signing of midfielder
Álvaro Medrán; eight days later Designated Player and former Golden Boot winner
Nemanja Nikolić announced he would be leaving the team. 's signing was the most expensive in Chicago Fire history ($7.5 million). The first full month of the off-season saw the Fire continue their overhaul. On November 4, the team traded captain
Dax McCarty to expansion side
Nashville SC. Ten days later Homegrown Player Grant Lillard was dealt to MLS's other expansion team
Inter Miami CF. That same day, November 14, Chicago Fire President and general manager Nelson Rodríguez fired head coach
Veljko Paunović and his staff. News that the Chicago Fire would not be renewing the contract of their last-remaining DP,
Nicolás Gaitán, as well as winger
Aleksandar Katai was overshadowed by an even larger organizational unveiling one week later. On November 21, the long-anticipated rebrand of the Chicago Fire franchise was announced. Developed with the help of marketing agency Doubleday & Cartwright, the team revealed changes to its franchise colors, red and white to red, blue, and gold, its name from Chicago Fire Soccer Club to Chicago Fire FC and, most contentiously, its logo. While the Fire organization made their second player acquisition of the offseason in early December, homegrown player Nicholas Slonina, a relatively quiet few weeks had some followers of the team concerned about their organizational progress. However the Fire were busy again in late December with Nelson Rodríguez relinquishing his on-field decision making responsibilities to new Sporting Director Georg Heitz, who swiftly named former
US Soccer Youth National Coach
Raphaël Wicky as head coach and
Sebastian Pelzer as Technical Director. Heitz has previously worked with Wicky at Swiss club
FC Basel and "worked closely" with Pelzer at his management consultancy business Heusler Werthmüller Heitz (HWH). The Fire opened the 2020 campaign with the signings of Argentinian duo
Ignacio Aliseda from
Defensa and
Gaston Giménez from Vélez Sarsfield, looking to bolster their squad after losing DP
Nicolás Gaitán The Fire also announced the signing of
Robert Berić from French outfit
Saint-Étienne, who netted in his debut defeat against the
Seattle Sounders FC (2–1). Ahead of the 2026 Major League Soccer season, the club released an updated version of its official mobile app in partnership with YinzCam. The app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, introduced customizable navigation, an interactive matchday hub, and improved ticket purchasing and scanning features. The update was part of the club's efforts to expand its digital services and improve fan engagement and ticket management. ==Colors and badge==