2022 MLS season: Fire captain Rafael Czichos leading from the back line

Captain Rafael Czichos had a simple but poignant explanation for why the Fire have pitched three shutouts to begin the season for the first time in club history.

“It’s the mentality,” Czichos told the Sun-Times. “When we’re on the pitch, we want to defend. The first three games, we were defending like warriors.”

Much of that mentality is due to Czichos.

Signed over the offseason from German Bundesliga side FC Koln to replace erratic defender Francisco Calvo, Czichos has made an immediate impact on the Fire. A left-footed center back, Czichos’ steadiness and veteran leadership has been hard to miss, providing ingredients the team has lacked for years in the middle of their back line.

“He’s a very motivating guy. He’s very quiet, like away from the pitch, but once you get him on there, he has got this fight in him, and I really, really like that,” defender Jonathan Bornstein said. “I feed off of that, and you know, we’ve had conversations, him and I, about what this team really needs to succeed, and we’re always on the same page about most of that stuff.”

Through three games, the Fire and coach Ezra Hendrickson have been difficult to play against. They’re the only team in the league not to concede, and have a noticeably different posture than last year when they gave up 54 goals in 34 matches. Games that felt like inevitable losses in 2021 haven’t resulted in defeats in 2022, bringing points that could be valuable when the playoff race takes shape this fall.

They’ve done that despite not having Carlos Teran, projected to be Czichos’ partner in central defense, due to injury. Federico Navarro was expected to be a stout defensive midfielder, but hasn’t started yet.

So far, that hasn’t hurt the Fire, who have given their fans reason for legitimate optimism after the first three matches. And much of that is due to Czichos, who has formed a successful pairing with Wyatt Omsberg but is still learning the quirks and challenges that are unique to the league.

Named to the most recent MLS team of the week, Omsberg said Czichos’ arrival immediately shifted the mentality of the defense.

“I feel really comfortable next to him,” Omsberg said. “I feel like we communicate really well together. We kind of understand each other and work well with one another. That’s been great for both of us and yeah, three clean sheets is an awesome start but again it’s just a start so we’ll have to keep going.”

Named the captain because of his experience and presence, Czichos said it’s not hard to lead this team because of the help he gets from his teammates and how easy they are to handle. He said he doesn’t even have to lead goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, 17, because of his maturity and how he already knows everything.

“At the end, I enjoy being with the team,” Czichos said. “Hopefully, the team enjoys being with me as the captain.”

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