Robert Lewandowski walked onto the pitch at Soldier Field on Aug. 1 to a standing ovation from nearly 33,000 fans who eagerly waited to welcome the former Barcelona striker to his new home. The 37-year-old Poland international quickly gave supporters more reason to cheer, rewarding their fervent welcome with two goals to seal the Chicago Fire's 2-1 comeback victory over Charlotte FC.
That match marked a new chapter for the club.
Lewandowski has scored three goals in seven matches. He led Chicago to three consecutive Leagues Cup victories to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals, making it the only MLS team to qualify for the knockouts with a perfect phase one record. The Fire also won their fifth consecutive game Sunday, the first time that has happened since 2000.
But making history is nothing new for the Fire. When they joined MLS in 1998, they won the league and the U.S. Open Cup on their first attempt -- lifting two trophies within five days of each other. Chicago became the first expansion team in any major American sports league to win a championship in its inaugural season.
Players celebrated the MLS Cup triumph by jumping into the stands filled with loyal supporters boasting Fire paraphernalia and faces painted red and white. Yet those scenes slowly faded into distant memories in the decades that followed.
The once-record-breaking Fire became synonymous with mediocrity before eventually settling at the bottom of the MLS table. They missed the playoffs just once in their first 12 seasons, adding three more Open Cups to that expansion-season double, the last of which coming in 2006. In the 15 since, though, Chicago has qualified for the postseason just three times and twice took home the Wooden Spoon that the league's supporters bestow upon the club with the worst record.
Owner Joe Mansueto took over in 2019 with the hope of restoring the team to its former glory. Now, Lewandowski's arrival can reignite the smoldering remains in Chicago.
"The way I would define this next phase is: This is not the Chicago Fire you thought you knew," club president Dave Baldwin told ESPN.
Finding the spark to reignite the Fire
It took almost 18 months for head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter to secure the final piece of the puzzle Chicago hoped to build.
Berhalter began the search for the Fire's next designated player upon joining the project after the 2024 season. He sifted through the résumés of world-renowned names, having conversations with Kevin De Bruyne and Neymar before turning his attention to Lewandowski.
"Gregg had had some discussions with representatives for Neymar last year and was pretty public about that," Baldwin said. "That information got out there, and it was around that same time that we started pondering the idea of what would happen if Lewandowski was available a year from then. And there were a variety of pieces that went into that.
"I think like any good recruitment, it's a bit of a roller coaster. There's times where, as you're looking ahead, you're thinking 'OK, we're going to have an opportunity to get them.'"
Berhalter led the operation, consistently holding talks with Lewandowski and his representatives over the course of the ensuing 18 months. While the Chicago manager insisted that persistence convinced Lewandowski, the former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund star revealed it was more of an instant connection with the club that won him over.
"I think from the first day that I was speaking with Gregg, that it was not only the project but the idea [that convinced me]," Lewandowski said to ESPN. "The way that they wanted to go for me was clearly that they are in a good position but still they want to take the next next step."
The Fire's ambition and commitment paid off June 29 when the club finally announced Lewandowski's arrival. He joined as a free agent and signed a designated player deal that runs through the 2027-28 season.
"He's certainly worth waiting for," Berhalter told ESPN. "I think that it's very rare that a person wins every single place he goes, and that's Robert's track record. Not only does the team that he plays for win, but he performs at a very high level. There's no player in the top five leagues that has scored more goals than Robert in the last 15 years. I would call him the best forward of this generation."
Adaptability concerns lingered prior to his debut, but Lewandowski quickly silenced those doubts. It took 127 minutes before he registered his first goal for his new club, but he has averaged a strike every 104 minutes since. Beyond that quarterfinal place in the Leagues Cup, the Fire are in third place in the 15-team Eastern Conference table.
"For me it's sometimes easier to adapt to the new tactics for the new system because I was always the player who could change the system, who could change the tactic of playing in different options during the game," Lewandowski said. "So with my experience and my knowledge about football, I know that if Gregg changes his mind and tries to find a new way to beat our opponent that I will always be ready."
Beyond understanding Berhalter's system, Lewandowski quickly understood how to play alongside his new teammates. The forward built immediate connections with Robin Lod and Philip Zinckernagel, culminating in the two goals against Charlotte, and Zinckernagel was instrumental in the tally vs. Santos Laguna, too.
Star signings are no guarantee of success
Chicago boasted a balanced roster before Lewandowski's arrival, but Berhalter & Co. needed one final push to get them over the hump. And it's not the first time that the club has signed an international superstar in hopes of bringing back the glory days.
In 2017, the Fire signed Bastian Schweinsteiger, who initially succeeded in helping them reach the postseason for the first time in five years, but the team ultimately fell 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs. It missed the playoffs in the former Germany midfielder's other two seasons with the club.
Attacking midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri joined in 2022 from Lyon after successful stints with Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Inter Milan. He recorded just 14 goals in 69 appearances and failed to qualify for the playoffs in any of his two-plus seasons before club and player mutually agreed to terminate his contract.
Baldwin believes Lewandowski can help lead a Fire renaissance, but unlike previous star signings, Lewandowski won't be entirely responsible for turning around the fortunes of a once-great club.
"Under Gregg's leadership, the way that the club is playing, the type of players that he's recruiting and attracting, it's not just about Robert, but in Maren Haile-Selassie and Philip Zinckernagel and some of the other guys that he's been able to attract to the club," Baldwin said. "I think it shows a revised level of seriousness under our owner, under Gregg and under myself to go out and produce a world-class club that can compete for championships.
"The way I would sort of define Robert signing is no one is expecting this to be a silver bullet or the magic solution. I think what it is, is maybe more kind of the final piece to help get us over the hump that we've been in over the last several years."
It's too early to tell Lewandowski's true impact on the field for Chicago, but he has already made a calculable impression away from the pitch.
Building a home in Chicago for player and club
Chicago saw the impact of Lewandowski's arrival almost instantly. The Fire sold 40,000 tickets, a 70.5% increase over the 2025 attendance average, before MLS suspended the game because of climate issues from the wildfires in Canada. Nearly 33,000 supporters then showed up for his actual debut at Soldier Field against Charlotte.
The city has embraced Lewandowski.
The Bulls invited Lewandowski to the United Center and presented him with a customized jersey. The Cubs welcomed the forward to their facilities, where he met several players.
"This decision to bring Robert on board truly was driven by his ability to go out and perform on the pitch. And we're seeing that, even just in his first couple of games," Baldwin said. "We're very excited and we've seen a lot of excitement from our fans who have signed up for season tickets already for this season and next season. We have [seen growth since Lewandowski joined the team].
"The best example is probably what was anticipated to be Robert's first match. Also, these last couple of games have had significantly higher attendance. That's obviously a great testament to the excitement."
The team saw an uptick in followers on social media platforms and an increase in corporate partnerships.
The Fire are in the process of building their own soccer-specific stadium, McDonald's Park, which will boast a capacity of 22,000. Baldwin noted that the arrival of Lewandowski piqued the interest of brands hoping to attach their names and logos to the stadium.
"We've seen it from companies who are looking to partner with us as we head into the new stadium," Baldwin said. "I'm in marketing and working with our local partners or with brands who are looking to be a part of the new experience at McDonald's Park, and when people heard that Robert was joining the club, there obviously was an increase in excitement about potential partnerships with the club."
Baldwin added that the commercial benefits of signing Lewandowski never played a role in chasing the former Barcelona forward. Berhalter initially sought Lewandowski with the sole intention of improving the team on the field, while welcoming any secondary effects his time with the club might bring.
The goal is, and will remain, winning trophies.
"The ideal outcome is that we win trophies. That's first and foremost, we want to deliver for our fans. I think that's a really important piece that we continue to produce," Baldwin said. "The success that we had when we first started as a club was primarily driven by on-pitch success. And there has been a bit of a gap for the better part of the last decade as far as us seriously competing."
With a new stadium on the horizon to make new memories in and Lewandowski leading the line, this is just the start of a Chicago comeback 30 years in the making.