2023 Chicago Fire in Review: Fabian Herbers

Fabian Herbers spent the 2023 Major League Soccer season reminding everyone that positional versatility is the best way to find consistent minutes on the pitch.

The Herbers routine with the Chicago Fire included the Ahaus, Germany native starting a match at one of the winger positions in the attack before dropping into a defensive midfielder role when substitutions were made in the second half. That resulted in Herbers’ most league appearances (32) since his rookie season in 2016 with Philadelphia while setting a career-high in league starts (24). His four goals tied him for fourth-most on the Fire while contributing two assists as well.

Herbers’ on-pitch highlight during the 2023 season was split between his performances in back-to-back matches against Portland and Sporting Kansas City in June. Herbers opened the scoring in the Fire’s 2-1 win against the Timbers, snapping a four-match winless streak for Chicago in the process, before scoring the lone goal against SKC days later. Both goals were a result of Herbers being in the right place at the perfect time while remaining calm enough to pass the ball into the opposition’s net.