Table Of Content

CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB 2018 FACT BOOK CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Roster ................................................................... 3 Soccer Operations Staff Bios ............................... 4 Chicago Fire Bios ................................................. 9 Chicago Fire Draft History .................................... 30 Chicago Fire Award Winners ............................... 34 All-Time Transactions .......................................... 38 All-Time Player Registry ....................................... 54 Individual Leaders ................................................ 105 Opponent Information .......................................... 112 Coaching History .................................................. 113 All-Time Attendance ............................................ 114 All-Time Postseason Statistics ………………… 115 Chicago Fire Individual Year-by-Year Leaders …. 117 CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 3 CHICAGO FIRE ALPHABETICAL ROSTER No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown College Status 19 Mo Adams MID 5-6 165 09/23/1996 Nottingham, England Syracuse INT 22 Jon Bakero FWD 6-3 165 11/05/1996 Sitges, Spain Wake Forest INT 13 Brandt Bronico MID 5-8 155 06/20/1995 High Point, NC UNC Charlotte 16 Jonathan Campbell DEF 6-1 190 06/27/1993 Greensboro, NC UNC 17 Diego Campos FWD 5-10 170 10/1/1995 San Jose, Costa Rica Clemson INT 30 Stefan Cleveland GK 6-2 185 05/25/1994 Dayton, OH Louisville 28 Elliot Collier FWD 6-4 180 02/22/1996 Hamilton, New Zealand Loyola Chicago INT 18 Drew Conner MID 5-11 165 02/18/1994 Cary, IL Wisconsin HG 25 Jorge Corrales DEF 5-9 150 05/20/1991 Pinar del Rio, Cuba -- GC 8 Michael de Leeuw FWD 5-10 150 10/07/1986 Goirle, Netherlands -- INT 26 Christian Dean DEF 6-3 200 03/14/1993 East Palo Alto, CA UC Berkeley 20 Daniel Johnson MID 5-9 140 09/08/1995 Duluth, GA Louisville 4 Johan Kappelhof DEF 5-11 165 08/05/1990 Amsterdam, Netherlands -- INT 10 Aleksandar Katai MID 6-0 155 02/06/1991 Srbobran, Serbia -- INT 15 Grant Lillard DEF 6-4 195 12/05/1995 Hinsdale, IL Indiana HG 6 Dax McCarty MID 5-9 150 04/30/1987 Winter Park, FL UNC 14 Djordje Mihailovic MID 5-10 153 11/10/1998 Lemont, IL -- HG 23 Nemanja Nikolic FWD 5-11 176 12/31/1987 Senta, Serbia -- INT/DP 2 Matt Polster DEF 6-0 170 06/08/1993 Las Vegas, NV SIU Edwardsville 27 Rafael Ramos DEF 5-7 148 01/09/1995 Seia, Portugal -- GC 45 Richard Sanchez GK 6-3 197 04/05/1994 Little Elm, TX -- 31 Bastian Schweinsteiger MID 6-0 175 08/01/1984 Rosenheim, Germany -- INT/DP 9 Luis Solignac FWD 6-0 171 02/16/1991 Buenos Aires, Argentina -- INT Tony Tchani MID 6-4 185 04/13/1989 Bafang, Cameroon Virginia 3 Brandon Vincent DEF 5-11 175 05/01/1994 Valencia, CA Stanford CHICAGO FIRE NUMERICAL ROSTER AND PRONUNCIATION GUIDE No. Player Pos. Pronunciation Place of Birth Last Team 2 Matt Polster DEF Milwaukee, WI SIU Edwardsville 3 Brandon Vincent DEF Los Angeles, CA Stanford Univ. 4 Johan Kappelhof DEF CAP-ul-hof Amsterdam, Netherlands FC Groningen (Netherlands) 6 Dax McCarty MID Winter Park, FL New York Red Bulls 8 Michael de Leeuw FWD duh leuw Goirle, Netherlands FC Groningen (Netherlands) 9 Luis Solignac FWD sol-en-YAK Buenos Aires, Argentina Colorado Rapids 10 Aleksandar Katai MID kah-tie Srbobran, Serbia Deportivo Alaves (ESP) 13 Brandt Bronico MID brah-nih-koh High Point, NC Univ. of North Carolina Charlotte 14 Djordje Mihailovic MID georgie me-HI-lo-vich Jacksonville, FL Chicago Fire Academy 15 Grant Lillard DEF Chicago, IL Indiana Univ. 16 Jonathan Campbell DEF Greensboro, NC Univ. of North Carolina 17 Diego Campos FWD San Jose, Costa Rica Clemson Univ. 18 Drew Conner MID Cary, IL Univ. of Wisconsin 19 Mo Adams MID Nottingham, England Syracuse Univ. 20 Daniel Johnson MID Duluth, GA Univ. of Louisville 22 Jon Bakero FWD Sitges, Spain Wake Forest Univ. 23 Nemanja Nikolic FWD Senta, Serbia Legia Warsaw (POL) 25 Jorge Corrales DEF Pinar del Rio, Cuba Tulsa Roughnecks (USL) 26 Christian Dean DEF Alvin, Texas Vancouver Whitecaps FC 27 Rafael Ramos DEF Seia, Portugal Orlando City SC 28 Elliot Collier FWD kah-lee-yer Hamilton, New Zealand Loyola Chicago 30 Stefan Cleveland GK STEF-in Dayton, Ohio Univ. of Louisville 31 Bastian Schweinsteiger MID Kolbermoor, Germany Manchester United 45 Richard Sanchez GK Mission Hills, CA Tampico Madero (MEX) Tony Tchani MID CHA-knee Bafang, Cameroon Vancouver Whitecaps FC President and General Manager: Nelson Rodriguez Senior Manager of Team and Soccer Operations: Alex Boler Head Coach: Veljko Paunovic Head Athletic Trainer: Steven Purcell Assistant Coach: Marko Mitrovic Assistant Athletic Trainer: Reade Whitney Assistant Coach: Eric Gehrig Licensed Massage Therapist: Steven Burrows Goalkeeper Coach: Aleksandar Saric Head Equipment Manager: Brian Sauer Senior Dir. Soccer Operations: Eddie Rock Assistant Equipment Manager: Juan Arreola Head Scout: Matt Pearson Video Analyst: Nenad Babic Strength and Conditioning Coach: Petar Milcanovic CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 4 NELSON RODRÍGUEZ PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER | THIRD YEAR Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced on Sept. 20, 2015 the hiring of General Manager Nelson Rodríguez, who officially began his tenure on Oct. 19. Using his deep experience in leading both the technical and business sides of soccer, as GM, Rodríguez oversees all sporting operations, including technical staff management, scouting, player personnel, player development systems and the Academy. Rodríguez joins the Fire most recently from U.S. Soccer, where he served as Managing Director of National Team Advisory Services. His U.S. Soccer post came after 14 years of experience working in various senior roles in Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing. His last position within MLS was as Executive Vice President of Competition, Technical and Game Operations, where he was responsible for all on-field competition. Following his arrival to the club, Rodríguez directed the club's search for a head coach and soccer operations staff, ultimately naming Veljko Paunovic as the eighth head coach of the Men In Red on Nov. 24, 2015. Paunovic, who enjoyed a lengthy playing career in Europe's top leagues as well as Major League Soccer, came to the Fire after leading the Serbian U-23 National Team to the 2015 FIFA U-23 World Cup title. During his tenure with MLS and SUM, Rodríguez held a variety of posts including serving as President of Chivas USA during the club’s transitional year. At MLS Rodríguez initiated and supervised the League's technical committee, expanded the League's scouting and analytics capabilities and was also instrumental in the creation of the Professional Referees Organization (“PRO”). In addition, he supervised supporter relations, safety and security, team travel and the League’s growing sports medicine initiatives. In previous roles within MLS, Rodríguez served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Development where he worked closely with the Commissioner’s Office in areas such as business planning, new business development and strategic alliances and also served as Senior Vice President of SUM International. Before joining MLS in 2000, Rodríguez served as Director of Soccer Operations for the MetroStars from 1998-1999. CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 5 VELJKO PAUNOVIC HEAD COACH | THIRD YEAR | TWITTER: @VPAUNOVIC Veljko Paunovic was named the Chicago Fire Soccer Club’s head coach on Nov. 24, 2015. He joined the Men in Red after leading Serbia to a FIFA U-20 World Cup championship in 2015. The young, rising star in the coaching ranks took over Serbia’s U-18, U-19 and U-20 squads in August of 2012, one year after retiring from a 16-year playing career that spanned several top leagues, including one season in Major League Soccer. Paunovic’s Serbian squad was noted for its resiliency during the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. They defeated Mali and Mexico 2-0 to finish atop Group D. Paunovic then navigated the knockout phase with four-consecutive extra-time wins. They opened with a 2-1 result against Hungary and then polished off the United States in penalty kicks before advancing to the final 2-1 over Mali. In the final, Serbia upset powerhouse Brazil 2-1 to earn the country its first world title at any level as an independent nation. On Dec. 21, 2015, the Serbian Football Association honored Paunovic as Serbia's 2015 Coach of the Year. In addition to his World Cup successes, Paunovic guided Serbia to third at the 2014 UEFA U-19 European Championship. His squad finished on top of both of its qualification groups to reach the final tournament. Serbia then drew with Ukraine and Germany and beat Bulgaria to reach the knockout round. Paunovic’s team gave eventual runners-up Portugal a match, but ultimately bowed out in penalty kicks in the semifinals. Quickly recognized as a dynamic leader and strong strategist, Paunovic was also brought on to work with the senior national team in 2015, assisting with their organization and communication across all levels. Paunovic holds a UEFA PRO coaching license as well as a Sporting Director degree from the Royal Spanish Football Federation. He speaks six languages, including: English, Spanish, Serbian, Macedonian, Russian and German. Paunovic also spent nine months as a UEFA Champions League analyst for TVE in Spain. As a player, Paunovic enjoyed a long, successful career with 11 teams in Serbia, Spain, Germany, Russia and the United States. He racked up 76 goals in 358 appearances over that time, and earned two caps with the Serbia and Montenegro national team. A loan in 1998 led to another milestone moment, as Paunovic won the Spanish Super Cup with Mallorca, besting FC Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate. After seven more seasons in Spain, as well as stops in Hannover (Bundesliga) and Rubin Kazan (Russian Premier League, Paunovic ultimately returned to where it all began in 2008. He made nine appearances for Partizan to close the season, helping them to a league championship and Serbian Cup. Paunovic retired following the 2008 season, but returned in 2011 as a member of the Philadelphia Union. CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 6 MARKO MITROVIC ASSISTANT COACH | THIRD YEAR | TWITTER: @4MITROVIC Marko Mitrovic was introduced as Chicago Fire assistant coach on January 24, 2016. Mitrovic most recently served as an assistant coach under Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic as Serbia were crowned 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup champions. He began his coaching career in June 2010, serving as the first assistant for FK Banat in the Serbian First Division. In 2013, Mitrovic took over as the head coach of the Red Star Belgrade Under-16 side and led them to first place in their division for the 2013-14 season. In August of 2012, Mitrovic joined the Football Association of Serbia as the first assistant to the U-18, U-19 and U-20 youth sides. A midfielder by trade, Mitrovic’s professional career spanned 14 years and included stops in the top flight in Serbia, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Mitrovic holds a UEFA A license and serves as a UEFA Official Lecturer for both the A and B coaching licensing courses. ERIC GEHRIG ASSISTANT COACH | SECOND YEAR | TWITTER: @eGehrig16 Gehrig joined head coach Veljko Paunovic’s coaching staff on Feb. 15, 2016 after announcing his retirement from a professional playing career that spanned six seasons. The Harvey, Ill. born defender joined the Fire on Dec. 10, 2014 in a trade with Orlando City SC, who had acquired his rights in the MLS Expansion Draft. The 2015 Fire Defensive Player of the Year, Gehrig appeared in 30 games and tallied one assist in regular season matches for the Men in Red from 2015-16. Gehrig began his professional career when he joined Columbus Crew SC as a Discovery Signing prior to the start of the 2011 season. Gehrig made his MLS debut on June 26 against the Colorado Rapids and started four of eight appearances in his rookie season. Gehrig appeared in a total of 46 regular season matches for the Black & Gold, and also made two postseason appearances, starting the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the New England Revolution in 2014. A four-year standout at Loyola University Chicago, Gehrig was also a member of the Fire PDL squad that reached the PDL Championship game in 2009. Gehrig holds his USSF B license. ALEKSANDAR SARIC GOALKEEPER COACH | THIRD YEAR | TWITTER: @SARKE29 Saric was named the club’s goalkeeper coach on January 24, 2016. Saric also served with Paunovic on the Serbian U-20 coaching staff. Under Saric’s tutelage, Serbia earned three shutouts and conceded just four goals in seven games in their title run. Saric’s coaching career includes stints with FC Arema of the Indonesian Super League, Dunajska Streda of the Slovakian Premier League, SC Varzim of the Portuguese Segunda Liga and Austria’s SC Austria Lustenau. Saric’s 24-year professional playing career began in 1986 with FK Crvena Zvezda of the Serbian SuperLiga and included stops in Germany, Portugal, Israel, Romania, Austria and Slovakia. Saric holds his UEFA A coaching license and is also a licensed goalkeeper coach by the Spanish and Austrian football federations. CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 7 ADDITIONAL SOCCER OPERATIONS STAFF Petar Milcanovic Matt Pearson Strength and Conditioning Coach | First Year Head Scout | Third Year Eddie Rock Alex Boler Director of Soccer Operations | Second Year Senior Manager, Team and Soccer Operations | Third Year Nenad Babic Video Analyst | Second Year CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 8 Steven Purcell Reade Whitney Head Athletic Trainer | Third Year Assistant Athletic Trainer | Second Year Steven Burrows Brian Sauer Licensed Massage Therapist | Second Year Head Equipment Manager | Third Year Juan Arreola Assistant Equipment Manager | Third Year CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 9 MO ADAMS MIDFIELDER | #19 Height: 5-6 Weight: 165 lbs. Born: Sept. 23, 1996 Hometown: Nottingham, England Citizenship: England Last Club: Syracuse University How Acquired: Signed as a Generation adidas player with MLS on Jan. 5, 2018, and selected by the Chicago Fire in the first round (No. 10 overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. COLLEGE (SYRACUSE): Two-year starter for Syracuse with one goal in 35 total appearances as a defensive midfielder. Adams was recognized as a Second Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference player in 2017. As a freshman in 2016, Adams received several honors: USC Second Team All-South Region, Third Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team, and Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Team. Adams helped Syracuse earn a No. 8 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, where the Orange defeated Dartmouth 3-0 in their opening match before falling 1- 0 against No. 9 North Carolina in the third round. PDL (READING UNITED AC): Adams made five appearances for Reading United AC in 2017. YOUTH (DERBY COUNTY FC & NOTTINGHAM FOREST FC ACADEMY): Played for Derby County FC U-18 team and scored 15 goals. Prior to making the move to Derby County, he competed for his hometown team, Nottingham Forest FC Academy. Adams was a Nottingham Schools Football Association U-16 All-Star. He led his team with 11 goals, helping them to a County Cup Championship. JON BAKERO MIDFIELDER | #22 Height: 6-2 Weight: 165 lbs. Born: Nov. 5, 1996 Hometown: Sitges, Spain Citizenship: Spain Last Club: Wake Forest University How Acquired: Selected by the Chicago Fire in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. COLLEGE (WAKE FOREST): Bakero had 37 goals and 26 assists in 88 career games for the Demon Deacons. He won the MAC Hermann Trophy as a senior with 16 goals and 14 assists during the 2017 campaign. In addition to the nation’s top college honor, Bakero racked up a laundry list of accolades in his senior year: Senior CLASS Award, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American, and First Team All-ACC. He helped lead Wake Forest to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his four years with the Demon Deacons, including a trip to the national championship game in 2016 where they fell to Stanford in penalty kicks. PDL (CAROLINA DYNAMO): Bakero played two seasons for the Dynamo. He had one goal and two assists in six games in 2016, then racked up five goals in seven games in 2017. YOUTH (CF BLANCA SUBUR): Helped CF Blanca Subur win Preferente Group 3 league titles in 2013 and 2014. CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB – 2018 FACT BOOK 10 BRANDT BRONICO MIDFIELDER | #13 Height: 5-8 Weight: 155 lbs. Born: June 20, 1995 Hometown: High Point, NC Citizenship: USA Last Club: University of North Carolina Charlotte How Acquired: Third-round draft pick (No. 47 overall); signed on Feb. 27, 2017 2017 (CHICAGO FIRE): Made his MLS debut on 3/11 vs. RSL in the Fire’s home opener. Totaled three appearances in his rookie season. Tulsa Roughnecks FC (USL): Made eight appearances, six of which were starts, while on loan. COLLEGE (UNC CHARLOTTE): Bronico appeared in 74 collegiate matches for the 49ers, scoring 25 goals and adding 23 assists. The Conference USA Player of the Year, Offensive MVP and Golden Boot winner his senior season, Bronico scored nine goals in 2016, including four game-winners. In 2015, he led Conference USA with 10 assists. PDL (CAROLINA DYNAMO): Appeared in 32 games between three seasons – 2013-14 and 2016 – for the Dynamo. He had eight goals and seven assists over that span. PDL (SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC): Recorded four goals and three assists in nine games for Sounders FC in 2015. YOUTH (NC FUSION): Helped lead NC Fusion to the national finals in 2013, and to a third-place finish in 2012. Also helped NC Fusion to a sixth-place finish in 2011. JONATHAN CAMPBELL DEFENDER | #16 Height: 6-2 Weight: 190 lbs. Born: June 27, 1993 Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina Citizenship: USA Last Club: University of North Carolina How Acquired: Selected in the first round (12th overall) of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft 2017 (CHICAGO FIRE): Made 24 appearances, eight of which were starts. U.S. Open Cup: Played every minute in the Fire’s two matches, a 1-0 win at St. Louis FC on 6/15 and a PK-shootout loss at FC Cincinnati on 6/29. 2016 (CHICAGO FIRE): Had one goal and one assist in his rookie season. Campbell set rookie season records for the Fire in minutes played (2,832) and games started (30), and tied for the rookie club mark in games played (33). Campbell debuted off the bench on 3/6 against NYC. He made his first start on week later on 3/11 against ORL. Campbell’s first career MLS goal came on 4/30 vs. DC, and his first assist came on 10/16 vs. NE. U.S. Open Cup: Campbell started each of the club’s four matches. COLLEGE (NORTH CAROLINA: Four-year starter with three goals and seven assists in 74 games during his career with the Tar Heels. Campbell was an NSCAA First Team All-American as a senior and received conference recognition in each of his four seasons. Helped North Carolina reach the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons with the university, including trips to the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2014. PDL (CAROLINA DYNAMO): Played for the Dynamo from 2011-13, featuring in 20 games, scoring one goal and recording one assist.