Hugo Cuypers Remains Optimistic Despite Fire's Slow Start

Hugo Cuypers came to the Chicago Fire with much fanfare, but the results from his side have not been up to the standard expected from the club coming into 2024.

The Fire currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference, and everyone’s pointing to the team’s inability to find their new No. 9 in attacking areas as their biggest concern after 10 matches. He’s scored two goals, and both of them were the type of clinical finishes Cuypers thrives on when given the opportunity. However, those goals came in successive weeks in March and only one of them helped his side get a win.

Chicago’s been good to him, but at this point, Cuypers desires to see the on-pitch results that he wanted to bring to the Fire when he joined on a club-record fee in February. It isn’t the first time that it’s taken Cuypers a little time to find his goal-scoring form with a new squad. When he joined Belgian side Mechelen for the 2021-2022 season, Cuypers also only had two goals in his first 10 matches with his new club.

It’s a different sort of adjustment in Chicago than it was in the Belgian top flight with Mechelen because the latter had success in the years preceding Cuypers’ arrival.

“Mechelen, when I arrived, was a team that had been doing really well for the past three years, that was on an upward journey,” Cuypers told On Tap Sports Net. “And I fit right into the style of play. The team results were good right away. And it’s a little bit different here. We have been struggling more than we expected.”

The parity in Major League Soccer has been surprising for Cuypers. His side’s performances in Atlanta and at home against Real Salt Lake forced the team to look itself in the mirror.

“From what I see now, the league has a lot of 50/50 games. And apart from the two games we lost, one in Atlanta and one at home, where it was like a wake up call for us. That the basics had to be much better and mentality and attitude in those games.

“But for the other eight games, they were so close that we dropped points we shouldn’t have. And if we didn’t we would be telling a whole different story.”

Chicago is tied with New England for an Eastern Conference-worst 18 goals conceded through 10 matches while only scoring 11. Cuypers, who scored 29 goals in all competitions during his two seasons with Belgium’s Gent, needs the Fire to remain patient as they look to improve their long-term standing. However, Chicago does need to stop conceding goals at its current rate.

“It’s a team effort. When we concede too much it starts from us and when we don’t create enough it’s the whole team as well. So we have to do a better job of that. And we are working on it. I feel and I see every day and every week, a very dedicated staff.

“It’s going to take time compared to what I said about Mechelen. We’re still building up to where we want to be and creating more chances and getting me more involved in the final third as part of that process.”

The on-field adjustments haven’t been the only changes that Cuypers has had to handle since joining the Fire on a long-term deal that will keep him in Chicago through at least the 2026 MLS season.

He’s desperately wanted to build a routine in Chicago and is slowly accomplishing that goal as the temperatures have increased in his new city. That independence is something he’s desired since stepping off the plane at O’Hare a few months ago.

“So I didn’t have to rely on anybody driving me to training or having to go to the bank or having to go to the bank or getting a phone number or getting my Social Security number, get an apartment, all the furniture stuff. All of those things are not part of my routine. So now that all of those things are sorted out, I can just focus on training, on playing games and on living my life away from training."

He’s acquired his own means to get to training every day, a place to call his own while doing his best to focus solely on soccer. His sights are now solely set on improving on the pitch, which also requires his teammates to provide him with ample service in dangerous areas.

Fabian Herbers told reporters in March that the club needed to trust Cuypers more in the attacking areas, which starts with more consistent feeds from his wingers and midfielders. Those comments came in the aftermath of Cuypers scoring in consecutive matches with Herbers being the catalyst of many of the striker’s chances. The Fire’s No. 9 loves what Herbers provides for the Fire.

“I think that physical ability to be able to run back and forth, whereas maybe the other players around could have been stuck more in their specific position and that’s where he was able to create a little chaos coming from the second line.”

Cuypers wants to be scoring goals and winning matches. Frustration is presenting itself, but he’s taken a big-picture look at the season and sees no reason to panic at this early point in his at least three-year commitment to the Fire.

“It does get frustrating but like I said, out of ten games except for those two where we weren’t good, the other eight for sure could have been better but there were a lot of positive things where the results could have been better.

“So I think once we get like the last game against Atlanta: that right attitude, that grind mentality and we can keep that up, I’m sure it’s going to turn around. We’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries and guys not reaching their best form. And I’m thinking once all of those things fall together, we will be much better.”