Chicago Fire Vs San Jose Earthquakes: 3 things we learned – San Jose soar
By Adnan Bašić
2. The curious case of Aliseda
One of the most interesting moments of the contest came in the final few minutes. Ignacio Aliseda, one of Chicago’s three Designated Players, was finally substituted into the game to make his club debut. He was only given a few minutes to make his mark and, unsurprisingly, he didn’t do much with the time given to him. Even Elliot Collier, who’s admittedly USL quality, came on way before the DP.
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However, Fire fans weren’t too surprised to see the situation unfold the way it did. According to various reports on social media, Aliseda hasn’t been too impressive in training ever since coming to the club, with the coaching staff yet to put their faith in him.
Foreign players often have issues acclimating to MLS, sure, but there is reason to believe there are more issues at play. Some rumors state Aliseda lazy, while others think he just doesn’t fit into head coach Raphael Wicky’s system.
Either way, the situation needs to change if Chicago wants to maximize their potential. Aliseda is talented and the Fire need to get the best out of him to compete. For that, he needs to play. He could provide a much-needed spark for the attack with his pace in behind adding a new dynamic to the side.
There’s still plenty of time to fix things, of course, but Fire cannot afford to have such a marquee signing flop. Fans will just have to hope Aliseda can come good before it’s too late.