On Friday, the Fire announced the hiring of Georg Heitz as the club’s sporting director. Heitz will report directly to owner Joe Mansueto and will oversee all aspects of the soccer operation while leading the search for a new head coach.



The Swiss-born former journalist was part of a club that won eight consecutive Swiss championships (2010-2017) and three Swiss Cup trophies during his tenure at FC Basel 1893. He served as their sporting director from 2012 until 2017.



Heitz sat down with The Athletic to give some insight into his plans for the Fire and how he landed in Chicago.



Why the Fire and what led you to Chicago? How did the connection to the Fire and MLS come about?



The talks I had with the owner and Nelson (Rodriguez) were surprisingly very special. The league is booming. The MLS is booming. In the end it was an easy decision for me taking all this into account. As always, in football you have to network.



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