The Fire has announced that they will hold their second annual open tryout for the team this year. Registration for the tryouts, which will take place on December 8-9 at the The MAX Indoor Soccer Center in McCook Ill., closes at 3 p.m. central time this Friday (December 4th). There is a $150 sign up fee that includes a ticket to April 10th's home opener against San Jose.

Chivas USA became the second of five teams to fill their hole at head coach yesterday, when they hired former Chivas USA, L.A. Galaxy and Bayern Munich Assistant Martin Vasquez to lead the squad.

Vasquez (who is on the far right in the adjacent photo) replaces former Chivas USA and current Toronto FC Head Coach Preki at the helm of the Los Angeles club.

Here are a few links to get your day started...

Former Fire defender Diego Gutierrez may have retired as a player at the end of the 2008 season, but he didn't leave the world of soccer when he hung up his cleats, as Charlie Corr points out here. Check out the article to learn about Diego's budding career as an agent (he represents Wilman Conde, Marco Pappa and Bakary Soumare, among others), his philanthropic work and more.

Christmas is only a week away and I have yet to start my shopping. I know, I'm bad news (and a bit of a procrastinator... just look at the time I posted this...) and I'm feeling a little guilty over my late start. So, to alleviate some of that guilt, I've decided to make a little list of gifts I would buy for certain Fire players.

I've learned that Eric Wynalda, the 2nd all time leading scorer in U.S. National Team history and current co-host of Fox Football Fone-in on FSC, is strongly interested in the Fire's head coaching position.
I would be very surprised if the Fire hired Wynalda, who was notorious for his brashness both on the playing field and in the broadcast booth throughout his career.

I first met Gonzalo Segares this June while covering a Fire training session. Gonzalo was playing through a calf injury at the time and left the practice field early to enter the locker room to receive some extra treatment on his leg. But before he could escape I jogged over to introduce myself to him.

There will be a couple of notable returns to old stomping grounds in the Champions League round of 16. With Jose Mourinho going back to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea and David Beckham facing off against Manchester United, some old passions will be renewed and a couple of old grudges brought to the surface.

The Fire and Marco Pappa have come to terms on a new deal to keep the 21-year-old winger at Toyota Park through 2012.

Pappa, who had been on loan to the Fire from Guatemalan team CSD Municipal, had his league option exercised and will join a growing group of out-of-contract players returning to Bridgeview for the 2010 season.

So, due to some unforeseen circumstances I will be unable to make it to the Globe this morning. However, I wanted to let all of you know of my plans for the day. I'll be posting a piece after the World Cup Draw is over and possibly a Fire related column after that so be sure to check back throughout the day.

Manchester City and Chelsea face off today in the Premier League's bi-annual battle for the title of "Wealthiest team in Britain." City has lost 8 straight to Chelsea and Mark Hughes's boys will be hoping that they'll be able to cash in a victory against Didier Drogba and the Blues.

For a full list of games you can click here.

The best of today's games feature Fulham-Sunderland (9 a.m. on Setanta Sports), Everton-Tottenham (10 a.m. on FSC), and one of the most intense rivalries in the world, Roma-Lazio (1:45 p.m. on FSC). Hopefully the Roma-Lazio game doesn't end with any rioting this time around, but you never know what will happen when the two Roman sides go at it.

Always stylish former Fire defender Bakary Soumare has graciously agreed to answer some questions from you guys.

I'm guessing the 24-year-old Soumare, who transferred from the Fire to French Ligue 1 side Boulogne back in August, will have a good deal to say about his time at Boulogne (where he has become entrenched in the starting lineup), the dismissal of Denis Hamlett (who he infamously fought with at halftime of his final game with the Fire), and much more, so ask away.

I'll be talking with Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas later on this morning and posting a story about the remainder of the Fire's offseason after the interview. Until then I'll leave you with a couple of MLS/USA related links.
The Red Bulls officially named Norwegian Erik Soler as their new General Manager and Sporting Director yesterday.

It goes without saying that it's been a busy first three weeks of the offseason for Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas.

Parting ways with former head coach Denis Hamlett, seeing Chris Rolfe and Cuauhtemoc Blanco leave the team, and retaining Brian McBride, C.J. Brown and Marco Pappa for 2010 (and beyond in the case of Pappa) are only some of the moves that Klopas has made this offseason.

Former Fire defender Bakary Soumare was kind enough to take some time to answer some of your questions. Here are his responses:

First, we miss you and it's no surprise that you are starting now. What do you miss most about Chicago and your teammates? What are the most fun and most challenging parts of being with your new squad?

Depth.

You could call it "the" word of 2009 for the Chicago Fire. Whether it was Technical Director Frank Klopas, a coach, a player, or a regular staffer, you couldn't get out of Toyota Park without having to sit through yet another explanation of just how important - and strong - the depth of the team was.

L.A. Galaxy and U.S. National Team forward Landon Donovan is close to signing a short-term loan deal that would send him to Everton of the English Premier League. Soccer By Ives is reporting that the deal is already done, despite the Galaxy issuing a statement last night that no deal has been made and Everton manager David Moyes saying it's not quite done yet.

Here are a few updates to close out your week with...
Fire interview Fraser
According to Steve Goff, the Fire had an interview with Real Salt Lake assistant Robin Fraser this past week.
Fraser, who will turn 43 in a week, played 10 years in MLS, winning the defender of the year award in 1999 and 2004.

Manchester United take on Aston Villa (12 p.m. Fox Sports Espanol) and Valencia takes on Real Madrid (3 p.m. ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com) in two of the day's better games. The Barcelona derby is also today, with Messi, Ibrahmovic and co. taking on Espanyol (1 p.m. on GolTV).

On a complete side note, Fire forward Brian McBride was interviewed for SI.

I started watching soccer - seriously watching soccer - in the summer of 2002. I was 12 years old, living in Florida and already nutty about playing the game. But I had never paid any attention to the actual professional product on the field. I had heard of Zidane, Ronaldo and some of the bigger American names but I couldn't begin to tell anyone what club team they played for, let alone the what traits they possessed on the field.

I wrote yesterday about my desire to see the Fire transform from a team that relies on the long ball to one that can use a more possession based buildup while attacking.

It appears (wink, wink) that Frank Klopas was reading...

"First of all, the goal of the organization is to win a championship.

I'll be back later on today with a full post, but here are some links to kick start your day.

The US Soccer Federation announced yesterday that the team will conclude its annual January training camp with a friendly against Honduras at the Home Depot Center. The match will take place on January 23rd -- which is a non-FIFA fixture date.

Yesterday afternoon was a busy one in the world of soccer. I didn't update then, so we're getting caught up now...

In an announcement that certainly surprised me (just take a look at yesterday's morning links for proof...), Landon Donovan has signed a new deal with the L.A. Galaxy which will keep him at the club through 2013.

Yesterday, Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America came out with a report that stated -- amongst other things -- that the Fire's head coaching search is nearing its end. Citing a source within the Fire organization, the report stated that the search is down to two former Fire players: ex-D.C. head coach Tom Soehn and current Chivas USA player Jesse Marsch.

Sunday isn't the biggest day in the world of European soccer. The Premier League has little to offer (though Saturday was a big day in England, read about it here), Italy's landscape is relatively barren and Spain doesn't have either of its big boys in action (though Deportivo La Coruna v. Valencia -- on at 2 p.

In the 7 full months that this blog has been up and running, I'm not sure if I've taken a single weekday off. Sure I may have been 'light' (ahem, it wasn't that good, cough) on the content a couple of times or forgotten to post until 2 in the afternoon on occasion, but I still don't know if I've ever taken a weekday completely off.

You knew I couldn't stay away didn't you?

Mexican newspaper Record is linking Carlos De los Cobos, current head coach of El Salvador's National Team, with the Fire.

De los Cobos, 51, said that he will be leaving the Salvadoran "selection" when his contract expires at the end of the year.

It's been a week but I'm back and better than ever. My batteries are recharged and I'm raring to go. My fire is lit.

"The point is that soccer clubs, prompted by media and fans, are always making financially irrational decisions in an instant. They would like to think long term, but because they are in the news every day they end up fixating on the short term.

D.C. United has put an end to its head coaching search, announcing this morning that Curt Onalfo will lead the club in 2010. Onalfo previously was the head coach at Kansas City, where he lead the Wizards to two playoff berths in two seasons prior to be fired midway through 2009.

Onalfo's hiring means that only the Fire and the New York Red Bulls have vacancies at the head coaching position.

At the beginning of September, Chris Rolfe announced that he would be leaving the Fire in January to join Danish club Aalborg BK. Rolfe, who tried to negotiate an extension with the Fire for two years before signing with Aalborg, said his decision to leave MLS was motivated by a few things - one of which was money.