The Chicago Fire defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago, 3-0, on Tuesday during a charity match at Flames Field. The match raised $5,300 for the Chicago Fire Foundation.
Former UIC standout Baggio Husidic (left) played on the opposite side this year with his new role with the Fire. The Libertyville native said afterward to MLSnet.

Remember that fabulous Parma team that lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999?

Led then by manager Alberto Malesani the team was made up of superb talent from the back to the front. A young Gainluigi Buffon kept goal, protected by a back three of Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Nestor Sensini.

Who to protect and who to expose is the guessing game for the Fire. (Getty Images)

This year unlike the last couple the expansion draft caught up with me here. I almost feel like I am a little late getting these lists out for the draft which is a couple days after MLS Cup. Starting today I will release a team-by-team list of who I think will be protected and who I think will be left exposed.

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USL-2's Wilmington Hammerheads edge Chicago, 1-0
Kenny Bundy of the United Soccer Leagues Second Division's Wilmington Hammerheads once again came through for his squad in this 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Bundy (pictured, right) scored a goal in the 37th minute as the Hammerheads upset Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire, 1-0, on Tuesday night in the third round of the U.

Terry deals with his demons as Chelsea get lucky. Things you should have noticed from Sunday's big encounter:

Ain't that just the way that life goes down down down

Well, it was bound to happen. As sure as eggs is eggs, the sky is blue and that Mrs. Marlon King will be enjoying a nice relaxing few months, John Terry was bound to score the winner against Man Utd sooner or later.

First off,England won a game on penalties. Bravo.You've gotten over the hump.We Italians understand your pain all to well.See Italia 90 Semi Finals lost on Penalties to Argentina.USA 94 Lost on penalties in Finals to Brazil.Poor Baggio.France 98 quarter finals lost on penalties to France. So i can relate to your pain.

Here is a link to another article from the New York Times, which describes John Foot's Ultimate Italian starting team. Its a great insight in the history of Italian soccer and includes many players from years gone past. The modern era is recognized with players like Baresi, Maldini, Baggio, and Buffon.

With all of my recent interest in the Italian game I thought that it was only right that I should post the great goal from Roberto Baggio against Czechoslovakia from the 1990 World Cup, which of course was held in Italy. It was a timeless goal that really introduced Baggio to the world stage. Prior to the tournament he was considered a real up and coming player, but for those who remember correctly, it was Gianluca Vialli aka the Viper who was considered to be the leading forward of the Italian team.

Monta sempre più la protesta dei tifosi nei confronti della dirigenza viola. La cessione, sempre più reale, di Felipe Melo alla Juventus, anche se nelle ultime ore la trattativa ha subito un brusco rallentamento (perchè, in sostanza, Marchionni, inserito nell'operazione, non accetta la destinazione) sta provocando la reazione furiosa degli ultras toscani.

Last week I took a look at five key questions that would play a role in determining the winner of Game 1 of the Fire-Revolution Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. Now, with the 2-1 Revolution win in the books, it's time to take a second look at those five questions and see how they played out.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Almost eleven months ago, during a sunny week in South Florida, you could tell the 2009 MLS Draft Class had the potential to be special.

During the rough days of the MLS Combine, even as player struggled with fitness and playing with their new teammates, there was a sense that this year's crop of talent had the potential to provide MLS with a serious infusion of talent.

Since this weekend is the derby, I thought I'd make the Great Serie A Games post a derby. We go back to the 2001-2002 season, Roma are the defending champions and take on Lazio in March of 2002. Roma wanted a second consecutive scudetto, and were fighting on top with Juventus and Inter all season.

In the 2009 season, 114 players made their competitive debuts for an MLS team. Over the past 14 years, the total number has now risen to 1,369. There's a possibility we could see the 1,500th player next year. The 1,000th player was Houston's Paul Dalglish in late 2006.
So where did all of these players come from?

Getting off the topic of the "Hauptman Letter Debate" for a minute, some important info came out today regarding next Wednesday's MLS expansion draft. Here's the info, per Steve Goff (and NaperSteve -- who provided the tip):

Philadelphia will select 10 players; current clubs must submit their 11-man protected list by Monday afternoon; no club will lose more than one player, which means five teams won't lose anyone; Generation Adidas and home-grown players [(for the Fire that means Baggio Husidic and Patrick Nyarko] need not be protected; developmental players claimed must be offered a senior contract; clubs must protect designated players that have no-trade clauses.

2009 Recap: I must come clean. I loved the Gals in 2009. I had hated them so long, I thought I could never love them again, but, sure enough, Bruce Arena won me back. The Gals had 16 new players on the roster, but once again the only two anyone ever talked about were LD and Becks.