FIRE’S LATEST MOVE LEAVES YOU WONDERING
NEW COACH WICKY IS CURIOUS HIRE IN ODD OFFSEASON, HAS SAME LACK OF MLS EXPERIENCE THAT HURT PAUNOVIC
“THIS IS A POSITION THAT COMES WITH A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY, AND I CAN PROMISE THE FANS AND EVERYONE AT THE CLUB THAT I WILL WORK HARD AND GIVE MY ALL.” RAPHAEL WICKY, FIRE COACH
Raphael Wicky might end up being the coach the Fire need. But like his new team, he has questions to answer. The Fire announced Friday that they’ve hired Wicky, the U.S. men’s under-17 coach, to replace Veljko Paunovic. Wicky, who was named the under-17 boss in March, worked with Fire sporting director Georg Heitz at Swiss club FC Basel from 2013 to 2017, when Wicky led teams in the club’s youth system.
His contract runs through 2021 with a team option for 2022.
“This is a position that comes with a lot of responsibility, and I can promise the fans and everyone at the club that I will work hard and give my all,” Wicky, 42, said in a news release. “During conversations with [owner] Joe Mansueto and Georg Heitz, I felt that we all shared a similar vision for the club and how to move it forward. That was important to me. Chicago is a world-class sports city, and this club has a bright future, both on and off the field. I can’t wait to get started.”
Wicky rose to become the FC Basel coach in 2017-18 but experienced mixed results. Though the club beat Manchester United in the Champions League and reached the last 16 of that competition, Basel’s run of eight straight domestic championships ended and Wicky was fired in July 2018.
The necessary quickness of this choice — one week after Heitz’s appointment — raises more questions about the Fire’s pace earlier this offseason. Heitz inherited a thin 17-man roster with no designated players. He came aboard two months after president Nelson Rodriguez said the Fire would be adding a new soccer executive. The team also waited a month after the season to fire Paunovic.
Whether Wicky was picked because of his ability or because of his connections to Heitz also will be pondered. U.S. Soccer is also based in Chicago.
Wicky was a key part of Basel’s development machine before rising to the senior team. However, under his watch, the U.S. under-17 team was eliminated from this year’s Under-17 World Cup after finishing last in its group.
And though their résumés are not identical, Wicky shares a similarity with his predecessor, Paunovic: little experience coaching senior professionals when tabbed by the Fire. Paunovic’s career before the Fire consisted of stints with the Serbian under-18, under-19 and under-20 teams. Though he led the Serbia under-20 team to the 2015 World Cup title, he was unsuccessful in MLS.
As a player, Wicky was a defensive midfielder who made 75 appearances for the Swiss national team and was on the squad for the 2006 World Cup and Euro 96 and Euro 2004. He spent most of his career with Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen.
Wicky ended his playing days in 2008 with five appearances for Chivas USA. That stint is his only time in MLS, giving the Fire an executive/coach combo that has little experience in the league.
Heitz said Wicky has become a “student” of MLS since arriving in the U.S.
“I know Raphael very well from our time together at FC Basel in Switzerland,” Heitz said in a news release. “He is a man of high character who fits the philosophy and vision of this club. He has a fresh, modern approach to football. Raphael has a great appreciation and respect for the sport, and because of his time on the pitch, including representing his country at a World Cup, he is able to communicate extremely well with players.” ✶