2014 Chicago Fire season
The 2014 Chicago Fire season was the club's 19th year of existence, as well as their 17th season in Major League Soccer and their 17th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer.
Chicago Fire began the regular season on March 9, 2014, with an away match against Chivas USA. The Men in Red concluded the regular season on October 24, 2014, with a home match against Houston Dynamo. Chicago finished the season with a 6-10-18 record and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five seasons. With 18 drawn matches, the Fire set a new MLS record for most ties in a season, beating the previous record of 16 ties set in 2011 by Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls.
After 12 years with the team, midfielder Logan Pause retired at the end of the season. Pause spent all of his professional career playing for Chicago Fire. On November 3, 2014, he was named Vice President of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club.
Squad at the end of the season
As of October 24, 2014. Source:Player movement
In
Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.Date | Player | Position | Previous Club | Notes | Ref |
December 13, 2013 | Lovel Palmer | D | Real Salt Lake | Acquired in exchange for allocation money | |
December 18, 2013 | Chris Rolfe | F | Chicago Fire | Re-signed with the club after initially having his contract option declined and later opting out of Stage Two of the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft | |
January 6, 2014 | Kyle Reynish | GK | New York Cosmos | Signed via free transfer | |
January 9, 2014 | Harry Shipp | F | University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Signed as a Homegrown Player | |
January 13, 2014 | Chris Ritter | M | Northwestern University Wildcats | Signed as a Homegrown Player | |
January 15, 2014 | Jhon Kennedy Hurtado | D | Seattle Sounders | Acquired together with the 13th overall selection in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Jalil Anibaba, the 8th overall selection in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional third round selection in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft | |
January 15, 2014 | Patrick Ianni | D | Seattle Sounders | Acquired together with the 13th overall selection in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Jalil Anibaba, the 8th overall selection in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional third round selection in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft | |
January 24, 2014 | Logan Pause | M | Chicago Fire | Re-signed with the club after having initially having his contract option declined and later opting out of Stage Two of the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft | |
January 24, 2014 | Giuseppe Gentile | F | University of North Carolina Charlotte 49ers | Acquired via the Waiver Draft | |
February 14, 2014 | Orr Barouch | F | Bnei Yehuda | Returned from loan | |
February 25, 2014 | Marco Franco | D | University of California-Irvine Anteaters | Signed after being selected 13th overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft | |
February 28, 2014 | Greg Cochrane | D | Los Angeles Galaxy | Traded for a conditional 2016 MLS SuperDraft pick | |
March 5, 2014 | Matt Watson | M | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Traded for a 2014 MLS International Roster Slot | |
July 5, 2014 | Matthew Fondy | F | Chivas USA | Signed as a free agent | |
July 14, 2014 | Răzvan Cociș | M | FC Hoverla Uzhhorod | Signed as a free agent | |
July 29, 2014 | Sanna Nyassi | M | Montreal Impact | Acquired in exchange for Dilly Duka | |
August 15, 2014 | Robert Earnshaw | F | Blackpool | Signed via free transfer | |
August 28, 2014 | Collin Fernandez | M | Chicago Fire Academy | Signed as a Homegrown Player, will not be added to the first team roster until 2015 | |
September 9, 2014 | Florent Sinama Pongolle | F | FC Rostov | Signed as a free agent |
Out
- Players selected in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, but ultimately not signed by the club: midfielder Zach Bolden, midfielder Kadeem Dacres and midfielder Bryan Ciesulka.
- Trialists released in the preseason: defender Rafael Alves, forward Vini Dantas, goalkeeper Kyle Renfro, defender Andrae Campbell, forward Daniel Jackson, midfielder Freddie Braun, defender Tim Ward goalkeeper David Meves defender Parker Walsh and forward Grant Ward.
Loans
In
Out
Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.Date | Player | Position | Loaned To | Notes | Ref |
July 9, 2013 | Álvaro Fernández | M | Nacional | Was initially loaned for the 2013 season; current status not yet announced by the club | |
June 6, 2014 | Alec Kann | GK | Charlotte Eagles | Loaned for the rest of the season with the option to recall | |
June 13, 2014 | Victor Pineda | M | Indy Eleven | Loaned with the option to recall | |
July 3, 2014 | Juan Luis Anangonó | F | LDU Quito | Six-month loan | |
September 12, 2014 | Marco Franco | D | Indy Eleven | Loaned through end of 2014 NASL season with option to recall |
Technical staff
Standings
Conference tables
Eastern ConferenceWestern Conference
Overall table
Results summary
Results
Match results
Preseason
Kickoff times are in CSTMajor League Soccer
Kickoff times are in CDTU.S. Open Cup
Kickoff times are in CDTFriendlies
Kickoff times are in CDTStatistics
Appearances and goals
Leading scorers
Updated to match played on October 24, 2014.Source:
Recognition
MLS Player of the Week
MLS Team of the Week
Team annual awards
Forward Quincy Amarikwa won the Golden Boot award for scoring the team-leading eight goals this season. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Johnson was also named the team's Most Valuable Player. The winners were selected by the local media members.First-year defender Lovel Palmer was voted Section 8 Chicago Supporters Player of the Year.
Patrick Nyarko's strike in the match against New York Red Bulls on May 10 was voted the team's 2014 Goal of the Year.
Kits
Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Info |
Home | Red / Navy | Red | Red | |
Home Alt. | Red / Navy | Navy | Red | MLS, March 23 against New York |
Away | Navy | Navy | Navy |
Primary kit
The club unveiled its new 2014 primary kit on March 4, 2014. According to the release, the jersey design was inspired by the City of Chicago fire trucks which feature a dark top, a band and red throughout the bottom half. The light blue represents the primary color of theChicago flag.
Third kit
On October 8, 2013 the club unveiled the third kit to be worn in the 2014 season. The municipal-themed design named "Heart on Your Sleeve" incorporated the city flag as well as the iconic Chicago skyline. The winning design was selected via a fan vote online.Miscellany
Draft pick trades
Picks acquired:- 2014 MLS SuperDraft 13th overall pick, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni from Seattle Sounders in exchange for Jalil Anibaba
- 2014 MLS SuperDraft fourth round pick from Real Salt Lake in exchange for Kwame Watson-Siriboe
- 2014 MLS SuperDraft fourth round pick from Columbus Crew in exchange for Daniel Paladini
- 2014 MLS SuperDraft second round pick and allocation money to Philadelphia Union in exchange for defender Bakary Soumaré
- 2014 MLS SuperDraft third round pick to Toronto FC in exchange for Quincy Amarikwa
- 2014 MLS SuperDraft 8th overall pick, a 2015 MLS SuperDraft conditional third round pick and Jalil Anibaba to Seattle Sounders in exchange for Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni
- 2016 MLS SuperDraft conditional pick to Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for Greg Cochrane