What the Fire can learn from recent designated player signings Xherdan Shaqiri and Gaston Gimenez
When he was signed in early 2022 by Fire sporting director Georg Heitz, Xherdan Shaqiri was a worthwhile gamble. A big name, Shaqiri brought in fans from his exploits in Europe and with the Swiss national team, and the Fire hoped his pedigree and skill would lift a struggling franchise.
Shaqiri’s numbers in 75 games (16 goals, 20 assists) would have been adequate for a player signed to a standard deal. But his contract — and, more important, his status as a designated player — held him to a higher standard.
So when Heitz’s replacement is hired and has a chance to fill the designated-player spots of Shaqiri and Gaston Gimenez (currently a DP but can be bought down), there are three lessons the Fire can apply to make their next big acquisitions more successful.
Sign a leading man
Shaqiri’s club teams have won everything worth winning in Europe, including Champions League medals with Bayern Munich and Liverpool. He was also part of Liverpool’s 2019-20 Premier League championship, three Bundesliga wins with Bayern and three Swiss titles during his first tour with Basel that ended in 2012.
Only with Basel and during a three-season run with Stoke City in the Premier League — that ended with relegation — was Shaqiri his team’s leading performer. Though he was a valuable piece for Liverpool and Bayern, those clubs did not look to Shaqiri to be their most important figure.
Ideally, the best designated players have experience in the role as not just parts of a winning team but as a major reason a team wins. The Fire expected Shaqiri to be something he wasn’t, and their next designated players should be used to being focal points.
Pay for the right positions
Signed from Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield before the 2020 season, Gimenez was expected to be a deep-lying midfielder who could link the defense and attack, be responsible when defending and send long passes to forwards.
He generally has done that, but the question is whether that role is worth a designated-player spot under MLS rules.
Gimenez is second among current Fire players at $1,633,333 in guaranteed compensation, according to the MLS Players Association. There’s a belief that designated-player slots are better used on players who score goals and provide assists, something Gimenez has not routinely done. Through last week, he had four goals and 11 assists in 119 MLS appearances.
One example the club’s next leaders can look to is Fire striker Hugo Cuypers. Despite inconsistent service, Cuypers has reached double figures in goals and justified his $3,528,044 in guaranteed compensation.
Don’t play the signing out of position
Shaqiri spent most of his time with the Fire playing centrally, expected to conduct the Fire attack from the middle of the field. The idea made sense because of Shaqiri’s creativity and technical ability, but it was not a space he was used to occupying.
When he played for Switzerland, Shaqiri was used more often as a right wing. His statistics with the Swiss national team (32 goals in 125 games) show the Fire should’ve considered deploying Shaqiri out wide.
The Fire will never know how Shaqiri’s tenure would have unfolded if he had been used on the wing. They can’t have the same questions about whomever they bring in next.