Gregg Berhalter has no doubt that Robert Lewandowski can transform the Chicago Fire into a team worthy of competing for titles.
Lewandowski has joined the Fire after leaving Barcelona at the end of his contract.
The striker has scored 629 goals in 869 club games. He has also scored 89 goals for Poland.
Lewandowski scored 120 goals in 193 games for Barça, after arriving there from Bayern Munich in 2022.
The 37-year-old holds the record for most goals in a single Bundesliga season, scoring 41 goals in 29 top-flight appearances in the 2020-21 campaign for Bayern, and Chicago head coach Berhalter believes he will prove to be a difference-maker for the Fire.
“Robert has scored over 700 goals in his career; he has the most goals in the top five leagues in the last 15 years,” Berhalter said.
“He is third on the all-time scoring list in the Champions League, behind [Cristiano] ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, and has 13 league titles and countless more titles.
“We have a good team right now. I think Robert is a piece that can help us get to the top.”
The Fire return to action with the return of MLS this week. They face the Vancouver Whitecaps, who have Lewandowski’s former Bayern Munich teammate Thomas Müller on their roster.
Chicago entered the World Cup break on the back of three straight wins, leaving them third in the Eastern Conference.
“When I start playing for a new club, I always have [the goal] to win some titles. it’s the same [here]”Lewandowski said.
“I know it won’t be easy, but still, in football you want competition, and there is something. Here, ‘something’ means winning some titles.”
Coming soon to a stadium near you pic.twitter.com/KtAM9ZM0fZ
-Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) July 15, 2026
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers
Cuypers scored 13 goals in 11 appearances in the first part of the season, the most any player has scored in his first 11 games of a season in MLS history.
The 2–1 victory over Toronto FC on May 23 was the first time all season that Cuypers did not score in a match in which he participated.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
White had two goals and two assists in his final game before the break, his second four-goal game for the Whitecaps (April 2025).
He has scored double-digit goals for the Whitecaps for the fifth consecutive season, while no other player in club history has more than two 10-goal seasons in MLS.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Chicago has scored 26 points in 14 games this season, the second most at this point in a season in club history (27 in 2001).
The Fire won their last three league games before the break and are seeking their first four-game winning streak in the league since June-July 2017.
Chicago has also won two of its last three games against Vancouver (L1), including a 3-1 road win in the last meeting in March 2025.
The Fire have never won consecutive meetings against the Whitecaps, as the only two-game winning streak in the series was against Vancouver in 2015-16.
Vancouver has 32 points in 14 games this season, its most at this point in the season. Five of the previous six teams to reach 32 points in the first 14 games of a season won the Supporters’ Shield.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Chicago Fire: 35.3%
Tie – 24%
Vancouver Whitecaps: 40.7%
