Chicago Fire have been on a very poor run of form at the start of the new MLS season. The manager of the club, Frank Klopas has stated that the team is definitely missing the presence of Arne Friedrich at the back. The club recently lost their match against Philadelphia Union by a 1-0 scoreline. Even though they have been playing decently enough at the start of the season, errors by the team late in the matches have been extremely costly. Klopas has praised Friedrich by saying that his presence at the back makes a significant change to the team.
One of the main differences between Friedrich been present in the team and not being present is the lack of communication. Friedrich is extremely vocal on the pitch, which has certainly made a difference. In his absence, the team have collected just seven points from the 10 matches played so far. As a result, they sit in the ninth position. Pressure is certainly on manager Klopas to deliver the results, and he is resting his hopes on Austin Berry and Jalil Anibaba to hold out the defence until the return of Friedrich.
“We are missing Arne Friedrich in the back for sure, 100 percent. His ability to communicate and over 90 minutes his ability to dictate the backline when to move up and stay connected with the team. He is really good with his feet and plays the right balls at the right time out of pressure. It is huge. We are making some mistakes that are hurting us. We miss Friedrich’s leadership on a play like today,” said Klopas.
Chicago Fire have managed to win just one out of the last five matches, which has been partly responsible for their slide down the table. They are several points away from the play-offs right now.