Chicago Fire: Who is the Weakest Link Right Now?

Case 2: Jorge Bava

Jorge Bava’s reflexes have been dulled by age. He’s a decent shot stopper when he doesn’t have to move, but beyond that, he’s a glorified scarecrow. What I’ve seen so far from Bava’s 7 goals allowed is a slow, aging goalie extremely reluctant to exert himself anymore than he has to.

He’s resistant to aerial acrobatics, never throwing his body across goal, preferring to fall in place over actually diving. When he does go to ground it’s so slowly you’d think he was wearing a parachute.

Unfortunately, the issues don’t stop there. He has a hard time communicating clearly with his entire back line, and his vaunted distribution, which was praised upon his signing, has never materialized.

On Chicago Fire squads of years past, perhaps Bava would not be out of place. On this Fire team, though, he’s not even close to good enough. That said, if his play and age are any indicator, Bava will not be here next season. Continually trotting out an inferior goalie is a not recipe for long-term success in MLS. Last Saturday is a prime example of this.