The Chicago Fire announced on Tuesday that they’ve signed Bastian Schweinsteiger from Manchester United, and it’s a move that’s drawing mixed reactions.
4 ways to look at the Chicago Fire signing Bastian Schweinsteiger
He could reinvigorate a struggling team. Or he could be a bad investment, a bad tactical fit, and reflect poorly on MLS.
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
If you’re a Fire fan, you can choose to be excited. Hot Time in Old Town’s James Bridget Gordon is. “I’m sitting here writing this and thinking about an inverted midfield triangle of Schweini-Dax-Juninho and I keep getting lost in a reverie,” they wrote. “And with his years of experience and leadership qualities, the dressing room will start to stitch itself together in a way we haven’t seen in a long time.”
Your newsletter writer is less optimistic. I think it’s a bad investment for Chicago, and I don’t think he’s a good tactical fit. This is also an organization that has signed a lot of bad DPs and failed to win a playoff game for the last eight years, so they don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
So how will he fit in the team? Top Drawer Soccer’s Will Parchman tried to work it out, and he struggled. “You can’t ask Juninho or Dax McCarty to play as anything other than twin defensive engines and not expect to kneecap your builds,” Parchman says. “And I’m not convinced Schweinsteiger’s heat maps will be all that bloody on the north end of the halfway line. Which means you’re probably asking a lot from your forward to drop in and from your wingers to pinch to find the ball.”
At Fox Soccer, Nate Scott takes the angle that Schweinsteiger’s signing reflects poorly on MLS. “The lessons have been learned, or so we thought,” he wrote. “This is the future. The thing that gets people excited is winning. Play fun soccer, win games, the fans will turn up ... Signing big, known, aging names? That might work for a week or two, but if the soccer is dire, who’s turning up?”
There’s no doubt that Schweinsteiger is one of the best players of his generation, but is he a good signing for the Fire? Time will tell, but most analysts think he isn’t.
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In the news
RSL has fired head coach Jeff Cassar. (RSL Soapbox)
Chris Wondolowski has been added to the USMNT roster. (Stars and Stripes FC)
“I’ve been here for a month and a half, but I am yet to see the sun. It rains practically every day. I really miss pasta, too.” -Andrea Ranocchia, on Hull. (Hull Mail)
Jamie Vardy says he received death threats over Claudio Ranieri’s sacking. (BBC)
Thibaut Courtois said he’d much rather stay at Chelsea than go to Real Madrid. (Guardian)
On Thursday, AC Milan said they expected to get €100 million from Sino-Europe Sports by Monday. That didn’t happen. But they’re insisting the money will come this week. (Football Italia)
You should be reading
Leander Schaerlaeckens on Tobin Heath, one of the USWNT’s most interesting and skilled players. (Yahoo)
James Yorke on Paul Pogba being just fine, and not a huge bust. (Stats Bomb)
Kevin Nolan on the death of Filippo Raciti, one of the worst events in Italian football history. (The Gentlemen Ultra)
