Brian Gutiérrez Embracing New Position, Talks First Pitch at Sox Game

“The guy right now is at a different level.”

That’s how recently-appointed Chicago Fire head coach Frank Klopas described the play of his 19-year-old midfielder Brian Gutiérrez after the club’s 1-0 win over St. Louis City last weekend.

Klopas isn’t wrong. Gutiérrez is becoming a mainstay in the Fire lineup. 

Doing this while learning another position due to Xherdan Shaqiri’s full return to the starting lineup in Nashville on May 6. Shaqiri and Gutiérrez are valuable on the pitch together, so it forces Klopas to put Gutiérrez at left winger.

Gutiérrez spoke with me about the change of position after training on Friday and how he has embraced the need to adapt in order to play alongside Shaqiri.

“It’s a position that I’ve played a good amount of and it’s a position that I’m really adapting to right now because I’ve been playing the 10 this season. Honestly, it’s more running than a number 10 [laughs].”

Despite the jokes about increased running, Gutiérrez said he struggled with initially managing when to make runs at his new position.

“You’ve got to manage it. Manage the runs you do and honestly just managing the game. For me, I like to come inside a lot as a winger because I like to be in the middle of the park than more out wide. But sometimes you have to be wide to stretch the field out and give space for the other people.

“When to cut in, when not to, it’s honestly, the first few games it was really hard for me because I’m so used to going inside. But I’m adapting to it and I’m giving my best and trying to work for the team and myself.”

The workload has increased for Gutiérrez in 2023. He’s on-pace to eclipse his career-high of 21 starts in MLS by early July and he’s made an emphasis on ensuring he is recovering properly for this increased workload. The club only played in one competitive non-MLS match from 2020-2022 (2022 U.S. Open Cup vs. Union Omaha) and there wasn’t the new Leagues Cup tournament to manage alongside the Open Cup.

Gutiérrez sounds like an elder statesman and not someone who won’t be able to buy a beer for another 13 months when he talks about the increased match-load in 2023.

“It’s really hard but this is what we signed up for. Nowadays you have three games in a week, back in the day it was one game every weekend. And everybody would wait for that game on the weekend. Obviously you have to adapt to it, recover well, eat well and sleep as much as you can. Honestly, just recover physically and mentally.

“My first few years, obviously now that I'm in my fourth season, I feel like I know my body more than what I knew when I came into the league, for sure. I know what I need to do to recover and to be ready for the game. Honestly, throughout the years I’ve adapted well and I see what I have to do to recover.”

The adjustments aren’t always physical, either. Gutiérrez noted his willingness to change his cleats at halftime on Wednesday in Charlotte due to the conditions the turf at Bank of America Stadium provided.

His team-leading four assists and countless other chances have fans excited, but Gutiérrez showcased his arm-talent earlier this month when he threw out the first pitch at a White Sox game.

He said his friends told him he had to throw from the actual mound. He saw that teammate Rafael Czichos was in the house too, so he had to represent himself well. Here is Gutiérrez’s self-assessment on the first pitch:

“A little high but I didn’t have any warmups. Supposedly they were going to give me a warmup but I never got a warmup. So that’s the first pitch I threw that day. I did a little practicing here and there with a buddy who plays baseball. You try to not overthink it because if you overthink it you’re going to go and screw it up.”

One thing’s for sure, Gutiérrez adapted well to zero warmup and avoided a 50 Cent moment on the mound.

What’s On Tap Next?

The Fire (3-5-4, 14 points, 13th in Eastern Conference) host Atlanta United at Soldier Field on Saturday. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Central and will be broadcast on Apple TV+’s MLS Season Pass. 

Follow @soccer_ontap on Twitter for more Chicago Fire news and updates!