Training Update
The Chicago Fire found what they were looking for when they shifted preseason training from Chicago to Tampa this week; that is, warm temperatures, well-manicured grass fields and further opportunity to bond as a unit. The week began with challenging double sessions on Monday and Tuesday designed to emphasize a variety of core fundamentals including strength and endurance, aerobic fitness, tactical and technical work -- as well as a bit of finishing work that brought out the best in some of the squad:
Having acclimated to their new surroundings, the Fire hit the field Wednesday morning for an intrasquad scrimmage. Head coach Veljko Paunovic and his coaching staff divided their roster into Team Gray and Team Blue and periodically paused play to give instruction over the course of the 50-minute scrimmage.
Team Gray nearly took the lead in the first half when Gilberto got on the end of a pass from Collin Fernandez, but the Brazilian’s chip went just wide of the post. Following a scoreless regulation period, goalkeeper Patrick McLain saved the final penalty of the shootout to lead Team Grey to victory.
The team will train on Thursday and Friday before taking on hosts University of South Florida at 4 p.m. CT Saturday evening in a friendly. The game will be available to watch via live web stream at Chicago-Fire.com.
Quotable
Veljko Paunovic recently provided some insightful thoughts as to where his team stands through approximately 10 days of preseason training:
"We are working progressively. We're working on all aspects of integrated methods. What we are doing so far the best is on the physical level. So players are very motivated, they're doing their best, but still we need more time to understand how we want to play, our style, concepts and recognition of those situations during the game in order to take advantage of our good preparation.
"We're working on improving our anaerobic threshold, which is very important for a high-intensity style of play that we want to develop. On the technical and tactical level, it's always continued improvement of our technique and of our understanding of the style of play, which we want to be the team who controls the game."
New Arrival
Goalkeeper coach Aleksandar Sarić arrived in Tampa Wednesday, joining the team in time for a pre-dinner introduction (pictured below). The Fire currently have two ‘keepers in camp: Patrick McLain and trialist Matt Lampson. Sean Johnson, along with midfielder Matt Polster and rookie defender Brandon Vincent, will travel to Tampa following the U.S. Men’s National Team’s upcoming match vs. Canada (Feb. 5) and the conclusion of January Camp in Carson, Calif.
Saint Louis FC
Members of the Fire’s USL affiliate were in town as Saint Louis FC head coach Dave Schilly and general manager Jeremy Alumbaugh were on hand to observe training and meet with the Fire coaching staff.
Currently in camp is STLFC midfielder Parker Maher. Fire defender Patrick Doody and midfielder Kingsley Bryce spent a majority of their 2015 rookie season on loan in St. Louis.
And finally...
As he presses toward the finish line of regaining full fitness, Eric Gehrig nicely summed up his thoughts on training camp ahead of his sixth Major League Soccer campaign:
