Chicago Fire: Will they regret letting Aleksandar Katai go?

A controversial figure during his time with the club, the Chicago Fire will now be left to wonder if they made the right call by letting Aleksandar Katai go

The 2020 Chicago Fire roster rebuild continues to take place this offseason as it’s been confirmed that former Designated Player Aleksandar Katai has signed for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The winger spent two years with the Men In Red. His time at the club was filled with brilliant highs and disappointing lows. He was a player that divided opinion during his time in the Windy City, with the Fire fanbase still unsure on how they feel about his departure. For the front office, they will just have to make sure that this is a decision they won’t eventually regret.

At his best, Katai was one of the most dangerous attackers in all of MLS. A certified match-winner, his dribbling ability made him a nightmare for opposing defenders. The winger could get it done in the final third as well, able to both finish off chances or set up his teammates for easy goals.

The stats for his debut season proved just how good he can be. Grabbing 13 goals while dishing out six assists in all competitions, Katai was crucial for the Chicago Fire going forward. His impact went beyond the box score as well. Since teams made stopping him the emphasis, space opened up across the field for his fellow teammates. Nemanja Nikolic benefitted the most from this, getting open in the penalty area time and time again.

Katai brought something different to Chicago as well. A certain intangible swagger that can’t really be put into words. When he was on the field, fans were forced to sit on the edge of their seats in eager anticipation of what was next to come. On his day, the winger was a bonafide star.

However, those good days just did not happen enough, especially in his second season. After a slow start to the campaign, Katai was no longer a guaranteed name in the starting lineup. He was forced to settle for minutes off the bench and the winger never really did much in those short appearances.

It was around this time that issues between the player and head coach Veljko Paunovic began to arise. Although details of the situation never became public information, something clearly happened behind the scenes to ruin the relationship between the two. After that happened, Katai got fewer chances to star.

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Things were bad off the field. And they were not much better on it. Katai may be brilliant when he is on form, but when he is not, he actively hurts the team. Constantly on the ball, he forces things down the sidelines. That leads to him being dispossessed quite often, killing any attacking moves for Chicago. When he does get anywhere near the goal, he decides to act selfishly and shoot from any angle, often blasting the ball miles away from the target.

Katai’s biggest problem is his refusal to track back and defend. As a wide midfielder, he is responsible for helping out the defense and covering any overlapping runs from opposing full-backs. That does not happen as Katai prefers to stay up-field, hoping to capitalize on the counter. More pressure is put on the backline as a result, which both worsens the team’s defensive effectiveness and shackles the control they can have in matches by offering little passing options from deep.

No matter what you thought of the player, the Fire will now have to figure out how to adequately replace him. A DP slot has been opened up due to Katai’s departure, which is helpful, for sure, but Chicago need to make sure they bring in someone who can match his previous production. If the team wants to prevent a disastrous season back at Soldier Field, they cannot afford to mess this whole thing up.

Unfortunately, it seems that only time will tell whether or not the Chicago Fire will regret letting Katai go. There is a chance he shines bright in LA, but there is also a chance he flops harder than a bad Hollywood film. And for the Chicago Fire, they will be hoping for the latter.