2012 Chicago Fire season
Chicago Fire Soccer Club 2012 soccer season
The 2012 Chicago Fire season was the club's 14th year of existence, as well as their 15th season in Major League Soccer and their 15th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer.
The Fire began the regular season with a 1–1 tie on March 17, 2012 when they were hosted by the expansion team Montreal Impact in their first Major League Soccer home game. The Men in Red concluded the regular season hosting D.C. United at the Toyota Park on October 27, 2012.
The Fire qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the twelfth time in their fifteen competitive seasons and for the first time since 2009. The team was eliminated from the playoffs after a 1–2 home loss to Houston Dynamo in the Knockout Round match on October 31, 2012.
At the end of the season, Chicago Fire's defender, Austin Berry , has been awarded the 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year Award , while the club's captain Logan Pause has won the 2012 MLS Fair Play Award .
Squad at the end of the season
As of October 31, 2012. Source: Chicago Fire Official Roster
No.
Name
Nationality
Position
Date of birth (aged)
Previous club
Goalkeepers
1
Jay Nolly
GK
(1982-01-02 ) January 2, 1982 (aged 30)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
25
Sean Johnson
GK
(1989-05-31 ) May 31, 1989 (aged 23)
Atlanta Blackhawks
70
Paolo Tornaghi
GK
(1988-06-21 ) June 21, 1988 (aged 24)
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Defenders
3
Dan Gargan
RB
(1982-12-14 ) December 14, 1982 (aged 29)
Toronto FC
5
Cory Gibbs
CB
(1980-01-14 ) January 14, 1980 (aged 32)
New England Revolution
6
Jalil Anibaba
CB
(1988-10-19 ) October 19, 1988 (aged 24)
Carolina Dynamo
13
Gonzalo Segares
LB
(1982-10-13 ) October 13, 1982 (aged 30)
Apollon Limassol
20
Tony Walls
RB
(1990-01-16 ) January 16, 1990 (aged 22)
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay
22
Austin Berry
CB
(1988-06-06 ) June 6, 1988 (aged 24)
Louisville Cardinals
23
Arne Friedrich
CB
(1979-05-29 ) May 29, 1979 (aged 33)
VfL Wolfsburg
28
Steven Kinney
RB
(1987-10-28 ) October 28, 1987 (aged 25)
Carolina Dynamo
99
Hunter Jumper
LB
(1989-02-28 ) February 28, 1989 (aged 23)
University of Virginia Cavaliers
Midfielders
4
Álvaro Fernández
M
(1985-10-11 ) October 11, 1985 (aged 27)
Seattle Sounders FC
11
Daniel Paladini
M
(1984-11-11 ) November 11, 1984 (aged 27)
Carolina RailHawks FC
12
Logan Pause
M
(1981-08-22 ) August 22, 1981 (aged 31)
North Carolina Tar Heels
15
Wells Thompson
M
(1983-11-25 ) November 25, 1983 (aged 28)
Colorado Rapids
17
Pável Pardo
M
(1976-07-26 ) July 26, 1976 (aged 36)
Club América
19
Corben Bone
M
(1988-09-16 ) September 16, 1988 (aged 24)
Carolina Dynamo
21
Michael Videira
M
(1986-01-06 ) January 6, 1986 (aged 26)
AC St. Louis
27
Victor Pineda
M
(1993-03-15 ) March 15, 1993 (aged 19)
Chicago Fire Academy
71
Alex
M
(1988-12-15 ) December 15, 1988 (aged 23)
FC Wohlen
Forwards
7
Sherjill MacDonald
F
(1984-11-20 ) November 20, 1984 (aged 27)
Beerschot AC
8
Dominic Oduro
F
(1985-08-13 ) August 13, 1985 (aged 27)
Houston Dynamo
10
Guillermo Franco
F
(1976-11-03 ) November 3, 1976 (aged 35)
Pachuca
14
Patrick Nyarko
F
(1986-01-15 ) January 15, 1986 (aged 26)
Virginia Tech Hokies
18
Chris Rolfe
F
(1983-01-17 ) January 17, 1983 (aged 29)
Aalborg BK
94
Kellen Gulley
F
(1994-04-06 ) April 6, 1994 (aged 18)
Chicago Fire Academy
Player movement
Transfers
In
Date
Player
Position
Previous club
Fee/notes
Ref
December 5, 2011
Orr Barouch
F
Tigres de la UANL
Purchased rights after loan, terms not disclosed
[ 1]
December 5, 2011
Jay Nolly
GK
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Acquired in exchange for a first round selection in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft
[ 2]
December 6, 2011
Logan Pause
M
Chicago Fire
Extended the contract through 2013, terms not disclosed
[ 3]
January 9, 2012
Rafael Robayo
M
Millonarios
Signed, terms not disclosed
[ 4]
January 11, 2012
Federico Puppo
M
Danubio F.C.
Signed, terms not disclosed
[ 5]
January 12, 2012
Austin Berry
D
University of Louisville
Selected ninth overall in 2012 MLS SuperDraft, signed with MLS
[ 6]
January 18, 2012
Pável Pardo
M
Chicago Fire
Re-signed for a two-year contract, terms not disclosed
[ 7]
January 24, 2012
Kheli Dube
F
New England Revolution
Signed on as free agent after being selected in Stage Two of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft on December 12, 2011
[ 8]
March 6, 2012
Hunter Jumper
D
University of Virginia Cavaliers
Signed after being selected 28th overall in 2012 MLS SuperDraft, terms not disclosed
[ 9]
March 7, 2012
Arne Friedrich
D
VfL Wolfsburg
Signed, terms of the deal not disclosed
[ 10]
March 7, 2012
Paolo Tornaghi
GK
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Signed, terms of the deal not disclosed
[ 11]
March 15, 2012
Tony Walls
D
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay
Signed after being selected 47th overall in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, terms not disclosed
[ 12]
April 5, 2012
Patrick Nyarko
F
Chicago Fire
Re-signed, terms and length not disclosed
[ 13]
April 17, 2012
Chris Rolfe
F
Aalborg BK
Reacquired, signed as a free agent, terms not disclosed
[ 14]
April 26, 2012
Alex Monteiro de Lima
M
FC Wohlen
Signed on a free transfer, terms not disclosed; was added to the roster upon the opening of the summer transfer window on June 27
[ 15]
July 24, 2012
Sherjill MacDonald
F
Beerschot AC
Signed as a Designated Player, terms not disclosed
[ 16]
July 27, 2012
Álvaro Fernández
M
Seattle Sounders FC
Acquired as a Designated Player in return for allocation money, terms not disclosed
[ 17]
September 10, 2012
Wells Thompson
M
Colorado Rapids
Acquired in exchange for a conditional draft pick, terms not disclosed
[ 18]
September 14, 2012
Guillermo Franco
F
Pachuca
Signed on a free transfer, terms not disclosed
[ 19]
Out
Date
Player
Position
Destination club
Fee/notes
Ref
December 2, 2011
Alec Dufty
GK
None
Placed on Re-Entry list, was not selected in the Re-Entry Draft, became a free agent
[ 20]
December 7, 2011
Cristian Nazarit
F
Deportivo Cali
Released
[ 21]
December 7, 2011
Gabriel Ferrari
F
None
Released
[ 21]
December 12, 2011
Jon Conway
GK
Los Angeles Galaxy
Selected by Los Angeles Galaxy in the Re-Entry Draft; retired on January 10, 2012
[ 22]
December 12, 2011
Baggio Husidić
M
Hammarby IF
Selected by Colorado Rapids in the Re-Entry Draft, declined and signed with the Swedish Hammarby IF
[ 22]
January 15, 2012
Diego Cháves
F
C.D. Palestino
Out of contract, signed with the Chilean C.D. Palestino
[ 23]
January 23, 2012
Mike Banner
M
None
Waived
[ 24]
January 26, 2012
Josip Mikulić
D
None
Returned to Croatia due to family issues
[ 25]
January 26, 2012
Yamith Cuesta
D
UB Conquense
Loan expired, loan agreement is not presently allowing to re-sign
[ 25]
January 30, 2012
Wilman Conde
D
New York Red Bulls
Free transfer after MLS rights were acquired by New York Red Bulls for allocation money
[ 26]
March 11, 2012
Pari Pantazopoulos
D
None
Waived
[ 27]
June 26, 2012
Kheli Dube
F
None
Waived
[ 28]
June 27, 2012
Kwame Watson-Siriboe
D
Real Salt Lake
Traded to Real Salt Lake in exchange for 4th round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft
[ 29]
August 30, 2012
Marco Pappa
M
SC Heerenveen
Transferred effective immediately, terms not disclosed; previously announced on Aug 13 Pappa would be transferred at the end of the MLS 2012 season
[ 30]
Loans
In
Date
Player
Position
Loaned from
Fee/notes
Ref
Out
Club staff
Position
Staff
Head Coach
Frank Klopas
Assistant Coaches
Leo Percovich Mike Matkovich
Goalkeeper Coach
Aron Hyde
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Tony Jouaux
Vice President of Soccer Operations
Guillermo Petrei
Director of Soccer & Team Development
Paul Cadwell
Director of Team Operations
Ron Stern
Head Equipment Manager
Charles Raycroft
Assistant Equipment Manager
Allan Araujo
Head Athletic Trainer
Bo Leonard, MS, ATC, PES-NASM
Assistant Athletic Trainer
Matt Zalewski, ATC
Massage Therapist
Jake Bronowski, LMT
Team Medical Director
Dr. Gilberto Munoz
Standings
Eastern Conference Table
Western Conference Table
Overall table
Source:
MLS Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored
(C) MLS Cup Champion;
(S) Supporters' Shield
Results summary
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
Pts
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
34
57
17
11
6
46
41
+5
11
3
3
27
18
+9
6
8
3
19
23
−4
Last updated: October 27, 2012
Source: MLSsoccer.com standings
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference
Results by round
Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Stadium A H A H A H A H H A H A A H H A A H H A A H A H A H A H H A H A A H Result T W L T W L W T W L W L L W W W T L W L T W W W L W W W W L L W L T Conference 3 3 7 7 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 3 4 3 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 Overall 11 10 13 15 12 12 11 11 9 9 7 9 10 9 8 6 7 8 7 7 10 7 6 5 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 3 6 6
Match results
Win
Tie
Loss
Pre-season
Kickoff times are in CST .
Major League Soccer
Kickoff times are in CDT .
MLS Cup Playoffs
Kickoff times are in CDT .
U.S. Open Cup
Kickoff times are in CDT .
International friendlies
Kickoff times are in CDT .
Recognition
Kits
Type
Shirt
Shorts
Socks
First appearance / Info
Home
Red / White lettering
Red
Red
Away
Navy / White lettering
Navy
Navy
Away Special[ 35]
Navy / Pink lettering
Navy
Pink
MLS , October 27 against D.C. United
Leading scorers
Updated to match played on October 27, 2012. Source: MLSsoccer.com statistics - 2012 Chicago Fire
MLS Team of the Week
MLS Player of the Week
MLS Save of the Week
MLS Goal of the Week
MLS Fair Play Award
Chicago Fire's midfielder and captain, Logan Pause , has been awarded the league's 2012 Fair Play Award . Over the course of 32 matches played this season, Pause has accumulated only 11 fouls and no yellow or red cards.[ 36]
MLS Rookie of the Year
Chicago Fire's defender Austin Berry , selected number nine overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft , has been awarded the league's 2012 Rookie of the Year Award . Berry has started in 28 games and scored three goals, one in his debut match. Berry collected the most votes in all three categories: players, media and club management.[ 37]
Miscellany
Allocation ranking
Chicago is in the #9 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking . The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.[ 38]
International roster slots
Chicago has 8 MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots. No slot trades involving Chicago have been reported.
Future draft pick trades
Future picks acquired: *2014 MLS SuperDraft round 4 pick from Real Salt Lake .
Future picks traded: *2013 MLS Supplemental Draft round 1 pick to Vancouver Whitecaps FC . At the time of the trade, this pick was equivalent to a round 3 SuperDraft selection.
MLS rights to other players
It is believed Chicago maintains the MLS rights to Carlos Bocanegra and Freddie Ljungberg , as each of these players declined contract offers by the club and signed overseas on free transfers[citation needed ] .
References
^ "Signed, sealed, delivered: Barouch back for Fire" . MLSsoccer.com. December 2, 2011. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011 .
^ "Fire acquire Jay Nolly" . chicago-fire.com. December 2, 2011.
^ "Fire resign Logan Pause" . chicago-fire.com. December 6, 2011.
^ "Fire sign Rafael Robayo" . chicago-fire.com. January 9, 2012.
^ "Fire sign Federico Puppo" . chicago-fire.com. January 11, 2012.
^ "Fire select University of Louisville defender Austin Berry" . chicago-fire.com. January 12, 2012.
^ "Fire resign Pavel Pardo" . chicago-fire.com. January 18, 2012.
^ "Fire sign Zimbabwean striker Kheli Dube" . chicago-fire.com. January 25, 2012.
^ "Fire sign defender Hunter Jumper" . chicago-fire.com. March 6, 2012.
^ "Fire acquire German World Cup veteran Arne Friedrich" . chicago-fire.com. March 7, 2012. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012 .
^ "Fire sign goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi" . chicago-fire.com. March 8, 2012.
^ "Fire sign defender Tony Walls" . chicago-fire.com. March 15, 2012.
^ "Fire re-sign forward Patrick Nyarko" . chicago-fire.com. April 5, 2012.
^ "Fire reacquire forward Chris Rolfe" . chicago-fire.com. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2012 .
^ "Fire sign midfielder Alex Monteiro De Lima" . chicago-fire.com. April 26, 2012.
^ "Chicago Fire Sign Dutch Striker Sherjill MacDonald" . chicago-fire.com. July 24, 2012.
^ "Chicago Fire Acquire Midfielder Alvaro Fernandez from Seattle" . chicago-fire.com. July 27, 2012.
^ "Chicago Fire Acquire Wells Thompson From Colorado Rapids" . chicago-fire.com. September 10, 2012.
^ "Fire Sign Guillermo Franco" . chicago-fire.com. September 14, 2012.
^ "Offseason transactions" . chicago-fire.com. December 29, 2011.
^ a b "Fire release Cristian Nazarit and Gabriel Ferrari" . chicago-fire.com. December 7, 2011.
^ a b "Stage 2 of Re-Entry Draft highlighted by busy Galaxy" . MLSSoccer.com. December 12, 2011.
^ "Thanks Diego" . chicago-fire.com. January 15, 2012.
^ "Fire, Banner part ways" . chicago-fire.com. January 23, 2012.
^ a b "Chicago's defensive corps unexpectedly downsized" . MLSSoccer.com. January 26, 2012. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2012 .
^ "New York signs defender Wilman Conde" . newyorkredbulls.com. January 29, 2012.
^ "Fire waive Pari Pantazopoulos" . chicago-fire.com. March 11, 2012.
^ "Fire waive forward Kheli Dube" . chicago-fire.com. June 26, 2012.
^ "Fire trade Kwame Watson-Siriboe to Real Salt Lake" . chicago-fire.com. June 26, 2012.
^ "Marco Pappa Transferred to SC Heerenveen" . chicago-fire.com. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012 .
^ "Fire Loan Federico Puppo to Defensor Sporting Club" . chicago-fire.com. July 24, 2012.
^ "Fire Loan Rafael Robayo to Club Deportivo Millonarios" . chicago-fire.com. July 26, 2012.
^ "Fire Loan Sebastian Grazzini to Atlético de Rafaela" . chicago-fire.com. August 17, 2012.
^ "Fire Loan Orr Barouch to Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C." chicago-fire.com. September 13, 2012.
^ "Fire Kicks Cancer Going Pink" . October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012 .
^ "Fire's Pause, New England claim Xbox Fair Play awards" . mlssoccer.com. November 19, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012 .
^ "Fire defender Berry wins 2012 Rookie of the Year award" . mlssoccer.com. November 19, 2012.
^ 2011 MLS Roster Rules | Major League Soccer Archived 2011-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
Club Stadiums Affiliated clubs Culture Key personnel
Major honors (6)
MLS Cup (1) Supporters' Shield (1) U.S. Open Cup (4)
Major League Soccer
Seasons (24)
International
Club competitions
CONCACAF Champions League
National teams
Team seasons
Men
Women
Indoor