The mediaās man to run to during the first preseason workout each of the past two seasons in Chicago has undoubtedly been Brian McBride. At 38 years old this June, McBride is a gold mine for reporters looking for the obligatory state-of-the-union quote: a new coach, the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, a new custodian sweeping confetti at Toyota Park.
So when new Fire boss Carlos de los Cobos roamed the preseason grounds for the first time in the Chicago suburbs in early February, beat reporters knew where to turn. And there was McBride, suddenly tuned in again to his soccer life after an off-season hibernation where lifeās questions came fast and furious from his three daughters instead of a slew of local reporters.
Nearly every question touched on the subject of āattractive soccer,ā the catch phrase of the past two months in Chicago since Denis Hamlett had parted ways with the club in November. Attractive soccer: a magical ideal that somehow suddenly turns workaday MLS grinders into swift-footed gazelles on the flanks, that clumsy American first touch somehow replaced by grace and patience.
On this day, the reporters had a better chance asking McBride about repaving the parking lot.
āIām not sure what people define as attractive soccer,ā quipped McBride, taken aback and grasping for the one-line definition that would satisfy. āThatās a question for Carlos.ā
The reporters retreated, but the message was clear. Whatever de los Cobos and technical director Frank Klopas had preached about somehow rebranding years of Chicagoās white-knuckled defensive mindset hadnāt resonated just yet, and even the clubās marquee player was wondering what actually came next.
Less than two weeks away from the Fireā season opener on the road against the New York Red Bulls on March 27, Fire players are getting the idea. Itās been a crash course of sorts over the past six weeks for a Fire club thatās honing a new style on the fly and acclimating to new players for their freshly-minted boss, who sums it up soberly: āWe have a long way to go.ā
But this change is invariably what Klopas expected when he scoured the coaching ranks over the winter and zeroed in one someone who could reinvent the Fireās identity. Blame it on Bob Bradley, Chris Armas or C.J. Brown, but the brand of Chicagoās MLS team has never strayed from the characteristics that define the city itself: brawny, blue-collar, headstrong. And while those virtues might play well on an NFL Sunday at Soldier Field or when the White Sox dig in for a pennant race in September, soccer is the beautiful game. Muscle isnāt mandatory.
Enter de los Cobos, the former Mexican pro who piloted El Salvador within shouting distance of the World Cup from the bench and ā more importantly ā spoke Klopasā language. The safer choices were MLS regulars or even Fire brethren of old ā Jesse Marsch and Tom Soehn ā but it was de los Cobos who stepped to the podium in January, promising the attractive brand of soccer Fire fans never knew they were missing.
āIām trying to change the style of the team, the way they played last season,ā de los Cobos said this week. āThe players in this league are very strong, very fast, and very tall. And the teams try to take advantage of these characteristics, and thatās the style is generally the way to play in this league. Iām coming from a different league, and a different style.ā
That means a wealth of changes for the Fire, and de los Cobos starts from the back. He preaches both speed and patience in a style that will involve midfielders as much as ever, and rely less on plodding downfield or falling back on long balls from the back line predictably aimed at McBrideās hairline.
Each of the past three seasons the Fire has bullied its way into the Eastern Conference finals, partly on the might of Blanco but largely on a defense that was ruthless when it counted. Goalkeeper Jon Buschās state line is a prime example ā 20 shutouts over the past two seasons, more than any other keeper in the league.
But for all their brawn on the back line, the Fireās offense had the punch ā and the mindset ā of an aging heavyweight. The team was less about a series of set-up jabs than it was about a haymaker to the jaw, hoping one opportune shot would connect to save the day.
āI donāt think youāll find a player who loves that style of play, of lumping long balls together all the time,ā Thorrington said. āWinning is obviously the most important thing, but thereās a hope that itās done now in a way thatās pleasing to the eye.ā
More touches in the midfield. Better distribution out of the back. More patience with the ball. Far more speed on the outside flanks and room to run for those willing to go. And theyāre going to do it all without Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who made as many plays as anyone on the roster since 2007 but rarely trekked back past the midline and sometimes slowed the teamās forward surge to a crawl.
Said Busch: āIt feels like we have all 11 players on the field now, not just 10 and a half.ā
If the quintessential MLS style truly hinges on bulk and brawn the way de los Cobos sees it, heās not about to tow the company line. Perhaps three of the clubās most integral players in its new system - midfielders John Thorrington, Marco Pappa and Julio Martinez ā are mobile mighty-mites dependent on speed and a deliberate first touch and - in Pappaās case ā flair that resembles the Mexican leagues where de los Cobos carved his niche as a player and coach.
The outside midfielder spots to belong to Pappa and Martinez, the latter of whom was a de los Cobos disciple with the Salvadoran national team in 2009 and is on loan from Club Leon in Mexico. Logan Pause anchors the defensive midfield spot, while Thorrington and youngsters Baggio Husidic and Peter Lowry will compete to fill out the middle of the new 4-1-4-1 formation.
āPeople think the forwards have the only responsibility of finishing the action. But no, the midfielders here will take a huge responsibility,ā de los Cobos said.
And de los Cobos isnāt quite sold on the idea of pairing McBride with his former Fulham teammate Collins John, who signed a multi-year deal with the Fire last week. Praising the speed of third-year forward Patrick Nyarko and how he fits into the clubās new style, de los Cobos admitted it could be difficult to play the two former EPL forwards together at the same time in the new system.
āItās possible that Brian and Collins will fight for that final space,ā de los Cobos said.
McBride battling for a spot? Speed and style over grit and guile? Believe it. Consider the Fire a test tube of sorts in 2010, with as much at stake as any team in the league. For his part, even de los Cobos isnāt sold on the teamās progress so far, admitting that despite weeks of preparation, heās nowhere near where heāll want to be for the first whistle. Heās not about to abandon it now.
But that will is what landed de los Cobos in Chicago, where itās all hands on deck in the eyes of Klopas and a restless fan base tired of cancelling flight plans to the MLS Cup.
āDay by day,ā de los Cobos said, āweāre getting there.ā