CHGO Chicago Fire Podcast

Hugo Cuypers is living up to the ‘Hugoal’ nickname, as the Fire striker has now scored in a team record six straight games! His goals weren’t enough to get better than a frustrating draw in Cincinnati, but they did aid in an absolute demolition of former Fire head coach Rafaeal Wicky’s MLS-worst Sporting Kansas City team. The Fire now sit in third place in the Eastern Conference only behind Nashville and Miami as they get set for the Open Cup Round of 16 vs St. Louis on Wednesday and a quick opportunity for another go at Cincinnati on Saturday. We’ve got plenty of games and plenty of goals to talk about today on CHGO Fire! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Following a second straight clean sheet and third straight win, the Chicago Fire find themselves in 2nd place in the MLS Eastern Conference only trailing Nashville SC who they deal their first loss of the season between victories in Philadelphia and against Atlanta. What’s changed to get the Fire into this rhythm? Who has stood out? Is winning games 1-0 sustainable for this team? Does this make us less worried about the health of Hugo Cuypers? How excited should fans be getting about this team as we look ahead to what feels like a softer stretch of the schedule? Also, the Fire begin their 2026 Open Cup journey tonight in Detroit! Where should the tournament rank as a priority for Gregg Berhalter? John Thornton of Men In Red 97’s ‘The Bonfire’ joins Alex for an exciting edition of the CHGO Fire Podcast An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

The Chicago Fire split their last two matches since the last show. First, in a deja vu of last year, they blew at late lead at home vs DC United and came up empty in a frustrating performance. Then, on the road in Philadelphia, they took the lead twice and held it the second time to take 3 points from the hapless Union in a game that saw the return of Andrew Gutman but an early exit for Philip Zinckernagel. One thing that was the same: Hugo Cuypers of course scored in both games! What have we learned about the 2026 Fire so far? How do we feel about this team that is so consistently inconsistent? Alex and Joe Chatz of WLS/On Tap Sports net discuss on this edition of CHGO Fire Podcast!

The Chicago Fire Football Club broke ground today for their new stadium site at The 78! CHGO Fire host, Alex Campbell attended the event and will discuss this historic day for Chicago Soccer! An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

Somehow, the 2026 Major League Soccer Season is upon us! After looking back last episode at the Fire’s offseason, we recap and look for takeaways from their preseason trips to Florida and Coachella. How does the Fire’s depth chart shake out with meaningful games less than a week away? Who will be the Fire’s top performers this year? Where do/will they stack up in MLS? Can anybody reasonably compete with Messi’s Miami? We’re building up to First Kick weekend and the Fire’s opener in Houston on this edition of CHGO Fire! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At long last, the Chicago Fire return to warm up Chicago soccer fans from this brutally cold winter and they’ve hoping to build on a strong 2025 season! Brian Gutierrez and Kellyn Acosta are gone, but there’s several exciting arrivals including Mbekezeli Mbokazi from South Africa and Anton Saletros from Sweden. Will Robert Lewandowski join them this summer? Lots to catch up on as winter break ends with the start of the 5th season of the CHGO Fire Podcast An ALLCITY Network Production Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

From Wooden Spoon ‘winners’ to returning to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, 2025 was a year of substantial improvement for the Chicago Fire. In Gregg Berhalter’s first season as sporting director and head coach, the team made huge strides as returning players found new life, new additions shined, and young players were given the opportunity to prove their worth. Off the field, the new Endeavor Health Performance Center opened and the team secured all approvals needed to begin construction on a new downtown stadium.  While the season ended in a tough home playoff loss, there were certainly more positives than  negatives. Now the Fire head into the offseason, which is already underway with the permanent signing of Andre Franco and acquisition of Swedish international midfielder Anton Saletros. What do those moves mean for the Fire, and where else do they need to add to the squad to continue this year’s upward trajectory? Alex is joined by Joe Chatz and Tim Hotze to cover all that and more, as well as handout some superlatives, on this season finale of CHGO Fire

📬 Chicago sports in your inbox: https://allchgo.com/newsletter Saturday night’s 3-0 loss at home to the Philadelphia Union was not at all how the Chicago Fire would have liked for their season to end. After battling back to a draw in Game 2 in Philadelphia, the Fire were flattened in the opening minutes at SeatGeek Stadium as stand-in goalkeeper Jeff Gal made two crucial errors that led to Union goals. Brian Gutierrez missed a penalty, the game had to be halted due to homophobic chanting, and it was generally a miserable evening in Bridgeview. We recap the bad and the worse of it, then try to find some silver linings. Also, the offseason just started and the Fire might have already made their first signing of the winter?! Alex is joined by Chicago Fire Radio’s Max Anderson on this final game of the season episode of CHGO Fire       An ALLCITY Network Production PARTY WITH US: https://bit.ly/3SRS03z  ALL THINGS CHGO: https://linktr.ee/chgosports  WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS: https://www.fubotv.com/chgo  Empire Today: Schedule a free in-home estimate today! All listeners can receive a $350 OFF discount when they use the promo code CHGO. Restrictions apply. See https://empiretoday.com/chgo for details. Ray Auto Group: Get into your next vehicle with Ray Auto in Fox Lake!  Ray Chevy: https://www.raychevrolet.com/ Ray CDJR: https://www.raycdjr.com/ Presented by Coors Light. Official Domestic Beer Partner of Chicago Fire FC. Chicago, Choose Chill. Go to https://coorslight.com/CHGOSoccer  to get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Celebrate Responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CHGO for $20 off your first purchase. Check out FOCO for merch and collectibles here https://foco.vegb.net/CHGO and use promo code “CHGO10” for 10% off your order on all non Pre Order items. When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions.  Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #ChicagoFire #cf97 #VamosFire #ReturnToRed

📬 Chicago sports in your inbox: https://allchgo.com/newsletter It’s the hope that kills you. After going down 2-0 in Chester, PA on Sunday night in a game they played without star man Philip Zinckernagel the Chicago Fire fought back to equalize and force penalties in Game 1 of their Round 1 series with the Philadelphia Union. After he scored against his old club in stoppage time to send the game to a shootout, Jack Elliott was one of two Fire players to miss their spot kicks and Philly escaped with the win. Next Saturday’s Game 2 at SeatGeek Stadium is now a must win for the Fire to force a decisive Game 3. Alex is joined by John Thornton, host of Men In Red 97 Media’s ‘The Bonfire’ to break down the emotional rollercoaster of last night and set the scene for Saturday’s suburban showdown. An ALLCITY Network Production SUBSCRIBE TO THE EIGHTY FIVE WITH COLE KMET: https://www.youtube.com/@The85WithColeKmet ALL THINGS CHGO: https://linktr.ee/chgosports BUY MERCH: https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/chgo-locker FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Sports Instagram: @CHGO_Sports WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS: https://www.fubotv.com/chgo Empire Today: Schedule a free in-home estimate today! All listeners can receive a $350 OFF discount when they use the promo code CHGO. Restrictions apply. See https://empiretoday.com/chgo for details. Hall of Fame App: Get a 7-Day Free Trial + 50% Off your first month with code CHGO. Just download the HOF app on iOS and Android or visit www.hofbets.com, enter code CHGO, and you’re all set. #ad Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CHGO for $20 off your first purchase. Check out FOCO for merch and collectibles here https://foco.vegb.net/CHGO and use promo code “CHGO10” for 10% off your order on all non Pre Order items. When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

They did it! The Chicago Fire won their first postseason game since 2009, defeating Orlando City 3-1 on Wednesday night at SeatGeek Stadium thanks to goals from homegrown Brian Gutierrez and star striker Hugo Cuypers. Alex is joined by Alex Calabrese of MLSsoccer.com and Men In Red 97 to recap a fun night in the suburbs and a game the Fire completely dominated. But there’s not much time to relax, as the Fire now prepare for a best-of-three series with Supporters Shield winners the Philadelphia Union beginning on Sunday. Do the Fire have any chance to upset the top seed? How might they do it? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.