| Club: | Chicago Fire Soccer Club |
| Season: | 2012 |
| Chairman: | Andrew Hauptman |
| Manager: | Frank Klopas |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Stdtitle: | Stadium |
| Stadium: | Toyota Park (capacity: 20,000) |
| League: | MLS |
| League Result: | 6th overall (4th in the Eastern Conference) |
| League2: | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| League2 Result: | Knockout round |
| Cup1: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2: | Carolina Challenge Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Runners-up |
| Cup3: | Brimstone Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Winners |
| League Topscorer: | Chris Rolfe (8 goals) |
| Highest Attendance: | 20,533 vs Los Angeles Galaxy (July 8) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 10,489 vs Houston Dynamo (April 15) |
| Average Attendance: | (regular season) |
| Largest Win: | CHI 3-1 NY (6/17) PHI 1-3 CHI (8/12) CHI 3-1 HOU (9/2) |
| Largest Loss: | DC 4-2 CHI (8/22) |
| Pattern La1: | _FIRE_12h |
| Pattern B1: | _FIRE_12h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _FIRE_12h |
| Pattern Sh1: | _FIRE_12h |
| Pattern So1: | _3_stripes_white |
| Leftarm1: | FFFFFF |
| Body1: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm1: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts1: | FF0000 |
| Socks1: | FF0000 |
| Pattern La2: | _FIRE_12a |
| Pattern B2: | _FIRE_12a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _FIRE_12a |
| Pattern Sh2: | _FIRE_12a |
| Pattern So2: | _3_stripes_white |
| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | 000040 |
| Socks2: | 000040 |
| American: | true |
| Prevseason: | 2011 |
| Nextseason: | 2013 |
The 2012 Chicago Fire season was the club's 14th year of existence, as well as their 15th season in Major League Soccer and their 15th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer.
The Fire began the regular season with a 1–1 tie on March 17, 2012 when they were hosted by the expansion team Montreal Impact in their first Major League Soccer home game. The Men in Red concluded the regular season hosting D.C. United at the Toyota Park on October 27, 2012.
The Fire qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the twelfth time in their fifteen competitive seasons and for the first time since 2009. The team was eliminated from the playoffs after a 1–2 home loss to Houston Dynamo in the Knockout Round match on October 31, 2012.
At the end of the season, Chicago Fire's defender, Austin Berry, has been awarded the 2012 MLS Rookie of the Year Award, while the club's captain Logan Pause has won the 2012 MLS Fair Play Award.
As of October 31, 2012. Source: Chicago Fire Official Roster
See also: List of Major League Soccer transfers 2012.
| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 5, 2011 | F | Purchased rights after loan, terms not disclosed | [1] | ||
| December 5, 2011 | GK | Acquired in exchange for a first round selection in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft | [2] | ||
| December 6, 2011 | M | Extended the contract through 2013, terms not disclosed | [3] | ||
| January 9, 2012 | M | Signed, terms not disclosed | [4] | ||
| January 11, 2012 | M | Signed, terms not disclosed | [5] | ||
| January 12, 2012 | D | Selected ninth overall in 2012 MLS SuperDraft, signed with MLS | [6] | ||
| January 18, 2012 | M | Re-signed for a two-year contract, terms not disclosed | [7] | ||
| January 24, 2012 | F | Signed on as free agent after being selected in Stage Two of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft on December 12, 2011 | [8] | ||
| March 6, 2012 | D | Signed after being selected 28th overall in 2012 MLS SuperDraft, terms not disclosed | [9] | ||
| March 7, 2012 | Arne Friedrich | D | Signed, terms of the deal not disclosed | [10] | |
| March 7, 2012 |  Paolo Tornaghi | GK | Signed, terms of the deal not disclosed | [11] | |
| March 15, 2012 |  Tony Walls | D | Signed after being selected 47th overall in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, terms not disclosed | [12] | |
| April 5, 2012 | F | Re-signed, terms and length not disclosed | [13] | ||
| April 17, 2012 | F | Reacquired, signed as a free agent, terms not disclosed | [14] | ||
| April 26, 2012 | M | Signed on a free transfer, terms not disclosed; was added to the roster upon the opening of the summer transfer window on June 27 | [15] | ||
| July 24, 2012 | F | Signed as a Designated Player, terms not disclosed | [16] | ||
| July 27, 2012 | M | Acquired as a Designated Player in return for allocation money, terms not disclosed | [17] | ||
| September 10, 2012 | M | Acquired in exchange for a conditional draft pick, terms not disclosed | [18] | ||
| September 14, 2012 | F | Signed on a free transfer, terms not disclosed | [19] | ||
| Date | Player | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2, 2011 | GK | None | Placed on Re-Entry list, was not selected in the Re-Entry Draft, became a free agent | [20] | |
| December 7, 2011 | F | Released | [21] | ||
| December 7, 2011 | F | None | Released | ||
| December 12, 2011 | GK | Selected by Los Angeles Galaxy in the Re-Entry Draft; retired on January 10, 2012 | [22] | ||
| December 12, 2011 | M | ||||
| January 15, 2012 | F | [23] | |||
| January 23, 2012 | M | None | Waived | [24] | |
| January 26, 2012 | D | None | Returned to Croatia due to family issues | [25] | |
| January 26, 2012 | D | Loan expired, loan agreement is not presently allowing to re-sign | |||
| January 30, 2012 | D | Free transfer after MLS rights were acquired by New York Red Bulls for allocation money | [26] | ||
| March 11, 2012 | D | None | Waived | [27] | |
| June 26, 2012 | F | None | Waived | [28] | |
| June 27, 2012 | D | Traded to Real Salt Lake in exchange for 4th round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft | [29] | ||
| August 30, 2012 | M | Transferred effective immediately, terms not disclosed; previously announced on Aug 13 Pappa would be transferred at the end of the MLS 2012 season | [30] | ||
| Date | Player | Position | Loaned to | Fee/notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 24, 2012 | F | For the remainder of the season; terms not disclosed | [31] | |||
| July 26, 2012 | M | For the remainder of the season; terms not disclosed | [32] | |||
| August 17, 2012 | M | For the remainder of the season; terms not disclosed | [33] | |||
| September 13, 2012 | F | For the remainder of the season; terms not disclosed | [34] |
Kickoff times are in CST.
See main article: 2012 Major League Soccer season. Kickoff times are in CDT.
See main article: 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs. Kickoff times are in CDT.
See main article: 2012 U.S. Open Cup. Kickoff times are in CDT.
Kickoff times are in CDT.
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Info | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Red / White lettering | Red | Red | ||
| Away | Navy / White lettering | Navy | Navy | ||
| Away Special[35] | Navy / Pink lettering | Navy | Pink | MLS, October 27 against D.C. United |
| Rank | Scorer | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Rolfe | 8 | 3 |
| 2 | Marco Pappa | 6 | 5 |
| 3 |  Dominic Oduro | 6 | 3 |
| 4 | Patrick Nyarko | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Sherjill MacDonald | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Gonzalo Segares | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | Austin Berry | 3 | 0 |
| 8 |  Sebastián Grazzini | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | Daniel Paladini | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Álvaro Fernández | 2 | 1 |
| 11 |  Alex | 2 | 0 |
| 12 |  Pável Pardo | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Jalil Anibaba | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Arne Friedrich | 1 | 0 |
| Logan Pause | 1 | 0 | |
| 16 | Sean Johnson | 0 | 1 |
| Federico Puppo | 0 | 1 | |
| Dan Gargan | 0 | 1 |
| Week | Player | Position | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Marco Pappa | MF | Report | |
| 7 | Patrick Nyarko | FW | Report | |
| 9 | Austin Berry | DF | Report | |
| Marco Pappa | MF | |||
| 16 | Sean Johnson | GK | Report | |
| 17 | Sean Johnson | GK | Report | |
| Arne Friedrich | DF | |||
| 19 | Austin Berry | DF | Report | |
| 23 | Arne Friedrich | DF | Report | |
| Chris Rolfe | FW | |||
| 24 | Chris Rolfe | FW | Report | |
| 26 | Arne Friedrich | DF | Report | |
| Patrick Nyarko | MF | |||
| 28 | Jalil Anibaba | FW | Report | |
| Álvaro Fernández | MF | |||
| Frank Klopas | Coach | |||
| 29 | Chris Rolfe | FW | Report | |
| 31 | Arne Friedrich | DF | Report | |
| Sherjill MacDonald | FW | |||
| 33 | Patrick Nyarko | MF | Report |
| Week | Player | Save | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Paolo Tornaghi | 65' | SOTW | |
| 10 | Sean Johnson | 43' | SOTW | |
| 21 | Sean Johnson | 59' | SOTW |
Chicago Fire's midfielder and captain, Logan Pause, has been awarded the league's 2012 Fair Play Award. Over the course of 32 matches played this season, Pause has accumulated only 11 fouls and no yellow or red cards.[36]
Chicago Fire's defender Austin Berry, selected number nine overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, has been awarded the league's 2012 Rookie of the Year Award. Berry has started in 28 games and scored three goals, one in his debut match. Berry collected the most votes in all three categories: players, media and club management.[37]
Chicago is in the #9 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.[38]
Chicago has 8 MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots. No slot trades involving Chicago have been reported.
Future picks acquired: *2014 MLS SuperDraft round 4 pick from Real Salt Lake.
Future picks traded: *2013 MLS Supplemental Draft round 1 pick to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. At the time of the trade, this pick was equivalent to a round 3 SuperDraft selection.
It is believed Chicago maintains the MLS rights to Carlos Bocanegra and Freddie Ljungberg, as each of these players declined contract offers by the club and signed overseas on free transfers.
