Chicago Fire Notebook: Tobias Salquist, Frank Klopas, More

Tobias Salquist hasn’t had the prettiest of starts to his MLS career throughout his first two appearances for the Chicago Fire.

The defender played well in his first appearance but Chicago ended up losing 2-1 in Columbus before conceding a penalty and getting subbed off in the Fire’s 4-3 comeback victory over CF Montréal at Soldier Field. The contests have been tough, but Salquist is remaining confident, particularly after seeing his side win against Montréal.

“We are training a lot and we are training hard,” said Salquist. “It's not a problem to go down. We know that we have to keep going. We need to get some points. So nice with a win but yeah, it should just give us the drive to reach for more.”

Salquist has now lined up twice with Allan Arigoni to his right and Rafael Czichos on his left patrolling the Fire’s backline. He commended them both for helping him adjust to his new side despite some early hiccups and urged patience as everyone adjusts to the 2024 roster.

“They’re really good football players, or should I say soccer players? The first game I was playing in Columbus was a bit unlucky. We were not aware in the last few minutes. Then I got subbed in the second game at half… It takes time to get to know the players, that when Allan does this, I do that. When Rafa does that, I will have to do that. It will take time.

“We have a lot of new players and especially the defense it’s a lot of structure, a lot of things that you need to know. You come from something really different than here, so I have to get to know a lot of things. When you’ve been playing with [a different] system for a long time, you need time.”

Frank Klopas on Spencer Richey

The Fire will be without starting goalkeeper Chris Brady in New England, and it appears Spencer Richey will get the start on Saturday. Klopas is confident that Richey will be ready after hopefully getting minutes in Chicago Fire II’s U.S. Open Cup match.

“Spencer’s an experienced goalkeeper. He always has to be ready because you never know. There’s an opportunity with the Open Cup match today with our second team that he’s going to get 45 minutes to get some kind of rhythm in the match. But he’s an experienced player and I have confidence that he can step in and do a good job.”

Andrew Gutman Remains Out

Klopas told the media that Andrew Gutman was still working individually at training, and the Fire are waiting on an update as to when the left back can return to the pitch.

Chris Brady Call-Up

Chris Brady received the call-up to the United States Men’s Olympic Soccer Team for their camp after Gabriel Slonina was ruled out due to injury. Brady and the Olympic team will face Guinea on March 22 before facing France on March 25, keeping him away from the Fire when they play New England on March 23.

Victor Bezerra to Detroit

The Fire announced on Tuesday that they’d loaned homegrown forward Victor Bezerra to Detroit City FC of the USL Championship for the remainder of the season. Bezerra, 24, had no clear path to first-team soccer with the Fire and will now get the chance to prove himself on a team with expectations in a competitive league. The former Indiana Hoosier has made 26 appearances for Chicago Fire II and scored nine goals for the reserves squad.

Kellyn Acosta at USMNT Camp

Kellyn Acosta has spent the first portion of this week training with the United States Men’s National Team as they prepare for their Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. Similar to Chicago Red Stars’ forward Mallory Swanson ahead of the W Gold Cup, Acosta is only listed as a training player and should be eligible to play for Chicago in New England.

What’s On Tap Next?

The Chicago Fire travel to Massachusetts to take on the New England Revolution on Saturday. The match kicks off at 1:00 PM CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.