As the curtain closed on the Chicago Fire’s disappointing 2015 season, newly installed GM Nelson Rodriguez and COO Atul Khosla cut forlorn figures, deep in discussion, behind Toyota Park’s South goal.
By contrast, just yards away by the corner flag, jubilant fans of the New York Red Bulls celebrated their side’s unlikely Supporters’ Shield success, a spectacular turnaround given the vocal protests those very fans staged after an offseason filled with many unpopular decisions.
Twelve months after the Red Bulls did so, it is the Fire who stand on the precipice of a new campaign having endured a turbulent offseason, which has left just 10 members of last year’s roster on the books as the Men in Red host New York City FC at Toyota Park on Sunday (1 p.