Gregg Berhalter Looking to 'Unleash' Hugo Cuypers in 2025

The Chicago Fire are in the midst of a major organizational overhaul ahead of new director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter’s first season, leaving lots of room for questions about how his side will actually look when they take the field in Columbus, Ohio on February 22.

The former United States Men’s National Team head coach was greeted warmly as he presented a portion of the game model he is using with the Fire for the upcoming MLS season during his talk titled “Developing a Style of Play” at the 2025 United Soccer Coaches Convention at McCormick Place on Friday.

He spoke about his desire to have a team that utilizes a high-press more often than not (Berhalter noted that you have to adjust your system for certain opponents), with the idea that those tendencies will trickle down through Fire II in MLS Next Pro all the way into the Fire Academy.

That pressure Berhalter desires will have to come from his forwards and he thinks club-record signing Hugo Cuypers, an ever-willing runner who led Chicago with ten goals in 2024, is exactly the type of striker that can thrive in what the Fire will do in 2025.

“That's right up his alley, right?” Berhalter said to a small group of reporters after his talk at the convention. “That type of pressing, we came up with our player pool in mind – what we have and what we're looking to bring in. And he's an example of a guy that's comfortable doing it. So we want to unleash him, get him going.”

There was a clear look of excitement on the Fire coach’s face when the topic turned to his club’s offseason additions.

The Fire added veteran forward Philip Zinckernagel earlier this month on a four-year deal that will have him occupy a TAM slot and that type of floor-raising talent is the type of profile that the new coach wanted to bring in.

“He's a quality, quality player. You talk to anyone that's been in contact with him and they say he has an impact everywhere he goes. A true professional. These are the types of players that you need in the league and we expect him to contribute heavily.”

Chicago needed to raise the club’s floor after missing the playoffs again in 2024, extending a playoff-less run for the Fire that goes back to 2017. Center back Jack Elliott was the club’s first outside signing of the offseason and he fits a similar floor-raising profile that Zinckernagel occupies on this 2025 roster.

“If you look at the last five years, he's arguably one of the top five center backs, right? So to get a guy like that is still the prime of his career for a center back. We're really excited about it.

“That was the first piece we actually added and we're really excited about the impact he can have, not only on the field but in the locker room.”