Chicago Fire Names Zinckernagel MVP in 2025 Awards
Chicago Fire FC has announced its 2025 Team Award winners, recognizing Philip Zinckernagel as Most Valuable Player, Jack Elliott as Defensive Player of the Year, and Hugo Cuypers as the Golden Boot recipient for the second straight season. The awards were presented by Torres Omar.
Head Coach and Director of Football Gregg Berhalter praised the players’ contributions, saying, “Our 2025 season has certainly been one of growth for the Club in many areas, and each of these players is an example of how we are approaching our on-field and off-field performance. Each of these players brings intensity, diligence, and a competitive drive to every training session and every game, and we are happy to celebrate their success in 2025 and excited to see what they do in 2026.”
Zinckernagel, who arrived from Club Brugge at the start of the season, appeared in 32 regular-season matches (31 starts) and became the first player in club history to record at least 15 goals and 15 assists in a single campaign. He contributed to goals in ten straight matches, tying an MLS record set by Josef Martínez. He was also named to the 2025 MLS All-Star Roster by coach Nico Estévez, becoming Chicago’s first All-Star since Kei Kamara in 2023. Zinckernagel assisted Brian White’s goal in the All-Star Game—the first assist by a Fire player in the event since Cuauhtémoc Blanco in 2008.
Cuypers finished his second MLS season with 17 goals and three assists. With back-to-back Golden Boots, he joins a select group of Fire standouts—Robert Berić, Nemanja Nikolić, David Accam, and Ante Razov. His scoring runs included key stretches early in the season against clubs such as Columbus Crew, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Cincinnati, Nashville SC, CF Montréal, and the New York Red Bulls.
Elliott, who joined the Fire as a free agent from Philadelphia Union, started all 33 regular-season matches he played while wearing the captain’s armband. He led the team with 2,939 minutes, adding four goals and three assists from the back line. One of his standout moments came in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Best-of-3 opener, when he scored a stoppage-time equalizer against his former club.
