Over the past few weeks, the Chicago Fire have been linked
with numerous attacking players that would be coming to Toyota Park with
Finnish striker Juho Makela, Mexican attacking midfielder Sinha and Colombian
Cristian Nazarit all being rumored to being wear Fire red in the near future.
One of the swirling rumors became reality Wednesday as the
Chicago Fire announced the signing of the former Colombian youth international
Nazarit, 20, joining the club on a free transfer from Independiente Santa Fe
in his home land.
“He’s a pure number 9 striker that plays very high up,” said
Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas. “A very strong player that has good pace
and can play with his back to goal but also has good depth. When you provide
service to him he’s very good in the air and has a very strong ability to shoot
from distance.”
Perhaps unknown to most Fire supporters, the 6-1 striker
made a name for himself in South America for his play with los Cafeteros youth sides, specifically the U17 age group that qualified
for the 2007 FIFA U17 World Championships in South Korea.
During the 2007 CONMEBOL qualifying tournament in Ecuador,
Nazarit bagged six goals, finishing third in the tournament in scoring while
helping Colombia finish second behind only Brazil, helping the nation to just
its fourth appearance in the U17 World Cup.
While at the tournament in South Korea, Nazarit led his
team again, scoring three goals in four matches as Colombia fell 2-1 in the
Round of 16 to eventual tournament champions Nigeria.
Following the tournament then national team boss Jorge Pinto
Flores invited Nazarit to train with the Colombian Men’s National Team but the
Cali product did not appear in any matches.
Spurred by his play for Colombia at the U17 World
Championships, Nazarit moved to Bogota-based Independiente Santa Fe to start
2008, playing there intermittently while again playing a role in his nation’s
qualification for the 2009 U20 World Cup.
Playing with current Fire defender Yamith Cuesta during the
CONMEBOL qualifying tournament in Venezuela, Nazarit bagged an all-important
penalty kick against the host nation in the final match of the first group
stage which helped put Colombia into the final qualifying round. It was there that
they missed out on the World Championships in Egypt, falling one point short of
the final qualifying spot.
Nazarit returned to Independiente Santa Fe where he’s
appeared in 42 matches and scored 16 goals from 2008-10.
His signing is yet another product of an expansive and
unprecedented scouting mission which the club’s technical staff embarked on
shortly after the end of the 2010 regular season.
Though results haven’t necessarily gone to plan so far, many
of the players uncovered during the offseason trips have largely been
improvements over their counterparts from last season.
Croatian defender Josip Mikulic has added strength to the
back line while the Uruguayan tandem of Diego Chaves (currently tied for second
in the league in goals) and Gaston Puerari have added far more danger to a Fire
attack that left a lot to be desired in 2010.
As for where he fits into the scheme of things in an
ever-increasingly crowded attack, Klopas thinks there’s a spot for him among
the likes of Chaves and Puerari.
“For me Diego and Gaston are both players that like to come
underneath and receive the ball,” Klopas said. “Cristian is more of a player
that stays high up and gives us a very good point of reference. He’s also a
player you need to provide service to in order to be effective.”
Given that quote, the 4-1-4-1 formation head coach Carlos de
los Cobos put out in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Colorado which saw Puerari pushed
back into midfield, may be a sign of things to come if the idea is to keep
Chaves, Puerari and 2010 Fire Golden Boot winner Marco Pappa all on the field
along with Nazarit.
“He gives us a different dimension because his strength and
ability to play with his back to goal and also to get behind the back line, I
think it’s going to give us a different way to attack and also a person with
which we can be more direct in our attack.”
Another formation that could come about is Chaves and
Puerari playing as supporting strikers to Nazarit in a Christmas tree
formation at the top.
Either way, the signing indicates the Fire’s desire to
continue to press the attack and I’ve yet to even mention the likes of Patrick
Nyarko and Dominic Oduro…
Jeff Crandall is the Team
Writer for the Chicago Fire. Follow him on Twitter @JefeCrandall.
