After a rather quiet month following the 2011 MLS Regular Season, Fire, like a number of MLS clubs, began the annual offseason transaction process early last week with the release of the MLS Re-Entry Draft list.
The club placed three players on the overall league list: goalkeepers Jon Conway and Alec Dufty and midfielder Baggio Husidic and as Stage One of the league’s form of free agency came and went Monday morning, none of the trio were selected, though only three players league-wide were.
If the 2010 Re-Entry process is an example, it’s next Monday’s Stage Two draft that will see more movement, as teams are able to negotiate current player salaries. Though none of the three are officially gone from the Fire, it is at the very least likely that both Conway and Dufty won’t be with the club in 2012.
Monday’s acquisition of 29-year-old goalkeeper Jay Nolly from Vancouver in exchange for the Fire’s first round selection in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft (essentially a third round pick) brings in additional depth at the position behind Sean Johnson.
The transaction looks to be a good for a number of reasons: Nolly started nearly half of Vancouver’s matches in 2011 and was their bon-a-fide number one for three seasons prior at the Division Two level. The Indiana University product won the USL First Division Championship with the Whitecaps in 2008, led them back to the final in 2009 and was named USSF Division Two Goalkeeper of the Year in 2010.
Nolly comes at a decent price and provides veteran cover for Johnson who is anticipated to be gone from the team for U.S. U23 duty intermittently throughout 2012.
As far as the third goalkeeper slot, though not a black and white developmental position, it’s almost certain to be filled by an “off-budget” player, who must be 25 years or younger. January’s MLS Super and Supplemental Drafts will provide an opportunity to fill the space, while a free agent signing also remains possible.
Purchasing a Contract
Later on Monday the club announced it had bought the rights to 20-year-old striker Orr Barouch from Mexican Primera side Tigres UANL. The Israeli-born, California-bred striker spent 2011 on loan to the Fire and did well to earn his transfer.
The youngest player to receive first team action in 2011, Barouch served almost exclusively in a super-sub role for both Frank Klopas and Carlos de los Cobos, appearing in 31 competitive matches while starting just two. The Israeli youth international tallied five goals across all competitions and led the team with three in the run to the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.
Though he came up in Chivas USA’s Academy, Barouch has been adamant in his loyalty to the club, saying, “The Fire are my team, I debuted here with the first team and that’s what means the most to me,” when asked about the prospect of facing the club in which he came up with back in September.
Having a young talent that openly expressed a desire to be with his club is any coach’s dream and a good basis to build on in the future.
Barouch parlayed his fine play into call-ups with the Israeli U21 side earlier this year and has earned two assists in three appearances for his country as they prepare to host the 2013 UEFA U21 Championships.
Re-signing el Capitan
After locking up youth on Monday, the Fire re-signed captain and longest tenured member of the current team, Logan Pause with a deal that will keep the veteran midfielder at Toyota Park through 2013. Considered one of the fittest players in Major League Soccer, Pause joins New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph as the only two players in league history to appear in a minimum of 20 matches for the same club over nine consecutive seasons.
A veteran who can play in the center or either side of the midfield, Pause has also filled in at right back when needed since joining the Fire in 2003. Named captain of the side to start 2011, Pause moved into second on the club’s all-time regular season appearance list last year, finishing the campaign with 227 games played and as he heads into his 10th season in Chicago, the U.S. international is the second-longest tenured Fire player ever, sitting behind only C.J. Brown in both categories (296 games played and 13 seasons).
Both signings of Barouch and Pause are stabilizing moves as the team moves towards 2012.
More Today
Wednesday afternoon the club released strikers Cristian Nazarit and Gabriel Ferrari.
Nazarit scored two goals in 12 league games for the Fire, including the game-winning tap-in at Columbus on June 12 but didn’t feature for the side since coming on as a late sub August 21 vs. Toronto.
Ferrari, a former U.S. youth international made three substitute appearances in June but had the 2011 campaign come to an early end after tearing his ACL in a reserve match vs. Colorado on August 28.
As Klopas mentioned to Fire Confidential’s Guillermo Rivera last week, the team is in search of “one or two forwards” that could be had either through next Monday’s Stage Two Re-Entry Draft or found during his and the rest of the Technical Staff’s offseason scouting trips.
With just 41 days until players return from their offseason break on January 18, the roster and plans for 2012 are beginning to take shape.
Jeff Crandall is the Team Writer for the Chicago Fire. Follow him on Twitter @JefeCrandall.
