Carlos de los Cobos out as head coach, Frank Klopas in as interim head coach
by Tweed Thornton on May 30, 2011 4:58 PM CDT
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Carlos de los Cobos is out as head coach and Frank Klopas is in as interim head coach for the Chicago Fire. The team made it official today with a press release stating:
[Frank] Klopas, in his fourth season as the club’s Technical Director, will now serve as the Interim Head Coach through the 2011 season, while the Fire search for a permanent replacement.
"Since the Fire has elected to move in a new direction with its coaching staff mid-season, we wanted to ensure a seamless transition by naming Frank Klopas interim head coach," said Javier Leon, Managing Director, AndellSports. "Frank's wealth of knowledge and experience as a player, scout, technical director and coach provide an extraordinary background for him to manage the team successfully as we work towards a MLS Cup playoff spot."
Carlos de los Cobos leaves a mixed mark on the Chicago Fire at best with an overall record of 10-16-15 'good' for 45 points in 41 games. His best stretch was between April 17, 2010 and August 18, 2010 when the team went 6-3-5. It was all downhill from there as frustration turned to anger in many fans when the team finished 2010 going 3-7-3. Some more thoughts after the break.
When I first heard the news, I immediately thought of Peter Wilt's article in Pitch Invasion last January.
The fear I have for "my team" is that, while there are certainly SHADES OF GRAY one of two things is likely going to happen with the new coach:
1) He will fail to win more than he loses, as has been the case with EVERY single other foreign coach without MLS experience in the history of the League. As the saying goes, "Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it."
That sounds about right. Carlos de los Cobos brought in two players at the beginning of his regin, Julio Martinez and Deris Umanzor. Julio Martinez made $126,000 and Deris Umanzor made $72,000 in 2010. Both were quickly determined to not be good enough to play in Major League Soccer. CDLC advocating that they be signed and at their high dollar value suggests just a little bit of the adjustment he had to make if he wanted to be successful in MLS. The 2011 off-season signings have been pretty successful in their individual performance but CDLC has failed to turn that into a successful team result to date. As I stated earlier today, the team is stuck in neutral. Something has to kick start the club.
Chicago will hope that Frank Klopas is the man to do just that as he takes over as interim head coach. Klopas' head coaching experience is limited to coaching Major Indoor Soccer League's Chicago Storm between 2004-2006. He also served as an assistant coach to Chicago Fire head coach Bob Bradley in 2000. I can't imagine that Klopas's reign on the sidelines will last very long. The cynic notes that Chicago Fire owner Andrew Hauptman is coming into town next week. It is possible Hauptman has been looking to make a change at coach and this way he does not have to address several questions about team performance next week. I wouldn't blame Hauptman for wanting it that way. Perhaps we'll have big news on the sponsorship instead. Frank Klopas might not do a bad job because after all he was the one that brought a lot of these players in. Let's hope his vision can translate into tactics. The Chicago Fire needs Frank Klopas more than ever.
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Adios muchaco!
In a season without much to celebrate, seeing CDLC go is phenomenal! Now, I’m not so delusional as to expect the team to go on a tear and make the playoffs, but hopefully Klopas can steady the ship, sign some new players this Summer and start making our club great once again.
A good start would be to bring CJ Brown back as an assistant, maybe even Armas if he wants it. Stability is the name of the game now.
by chicagofire1871 on May 30, 2011 8:32 PM CDT reply actions
There are enough assistants already so someone else would have to go.
Chris Armas seems happy enough in Long Island. He may only be tempted by being head coach. Either way, I think you are suggesting moves for 2012 or would you like to see that happen now?
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
by Tweed Thornton on Jun 1, 2011 8:58 AM CDT up reply actions
Well the cdlc experiment is over...
I really do hope Klopas does well. I honestly could see him staying interim until the end of the season. Or, as Tweed pointed out, maybe we do bring some one in soon. Personally I would like to see Klopas get a chance through the end of the year. Hopefully he rights the ship, if not then it could be an interesting off season for him too.
And maybe this is that catalyst that Tweed is searching for as mentioned in his last article. Maybe the players need this change to get going.
All I know is that, if a new coach is hired as I think will eventually happen, it needs to be the right person. No experimenting like with cdlc. We need a legit candidate. I will be getting a piece up soon looking at a few names if someone other than Klopas is appointed. Either way, it’s a relief that the cdlc monkey is off our backs. Constant rumors of him getting fired can’t have been helping team morale any.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
Tradition. Honor. Passion.
Well now constant rumors about who will replace Frank Klopas as interim coach could arise… this should be interesting.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
by Tweed Thornton on Jun 1, 2011 9:01 AM CDT up reply actions
So long CDLC!
Thanks for giving us Jon Busch and Tim Ward!
Win or lose, we'll always be there for you.
by johnjahafanclub on May 31, 2011 2:07 PM CDT reply actions
How much of that was on CDLC and how much was on Klopas, I don’t think we’ll ever really know.
Glad to hear the San Jose fans think they play well. I think Sean Johnson (although that is a situation) and Gonzalo Segares make the moves a toss up on our end.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
by Tweed Thornton on Jun 1, 2011 9:00 AM CDT up reply actions
I think the point is
you should have gotten more in a trade for those guys as opposed to outright releasing Busch and getting only a 3rd round draft pick for Ward
Johnson had the second worst keeper error I’ve seen in MLS all season against SJ in the open cup match (behind Weber’s error in the same game), so not sure how ready he is. Busch had a much better season than him last year (admittedly that had a lot to do with the play in front of them).
Win or lose, we'll always be there for you.
by johnjahafanclub on Jun 1, 2011 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Johnson has had a couple of howlers...
but I would put Conway’s recent goal up there too in the Toronto FC game. Yeah it was wet, but the ball skipped right beside him into the goal. Either way, it needs to stop, we already are having trouble giving up goals without making things worse.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
Tradition. Honor. Passion.
I think the point is
you should have gotten more in a trade for those guys as opposed to outright releasing Busch and getting only a 3rd round draft pick for Ward
Johnson had the second worst keeper error I’ve seen in MLS all season against SJ in the open cup match (behind Weber’s error in the same game), so not sure how ready he is. Busch had a much better season than him last year (admittedly that had a lot to do with the play in front of them).
Win or lose, we'll always be there for you.
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