Final Record: 11-7-12 (45 pts)
Goals:
10) Chris Rolfe
9) Marco Pappa
8) Cuauhtemoc Blanco
7) Chris Rolfe
6) Peter Lowry
5) Patrick Nyarko
4) Brian McBride
3) Peter Lowry
2) Chris Rolfe
1) Brian McBride
Note: Only goals scored in the 2009 regular season were considered. Click to continue reading...

Why is this man not in the All XI?

Its the numbers you produce and not the little things that you do on the pitch to improve your team which seems to drive the MLS All XI. Even when you factor in stats it does not seem to add up to why Cuauhtemoc Blanco was left out.

Blanco played 21 matches, started in 15 of them and in 1452 minutes of playing time he scored 5 goals and 8 assists.

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Expect a new look Fire in 2010. (Getty Images)

The 2009 season for the Chicago Fire was expected to be a big one. Talks of MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield were all the rage to begin the season. Early on this year it looked like the expectations were being met as the Fire lost a single game in the first three months of the season.

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It goes without saying that Saturday night's playoff elimination at the hands of Real Salt Lake was an incredibly gut-wrenching defeat for the Fire. It's tough any time a team bows out of a competition due to penalty kicks, but this one was especially painful for Chicago - who has now been eliminated from the Eastern Conference Final in three consecutive seasons.

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The Major League Soccer 2009 Eastern Conference Final was on Saturday with Real Salt Lake traveling to face the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. The winner would move onto the MLS Cup Final next Sunday against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Real Salt Lake beats Chicago Fire 0-0 (5-4 on penalty kicks) Video Highlights

It was a close match on Saturday but Real Salt Lake found a way to advance and continue their improbable run to the MLS Cup Final.

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Will Real Salt Lake and Yura Movsisyan be celebrating at Toyota Park Saturday night? Most agree that such an accomplishment is possible, yet a Chicago Fire win seems more probable. No matter what, it should be an entertaining encounter in front of a sellout crowd in Bridgeview.

A lot of the Fire's fortunes will come down to the health of two of their defensive players.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

Club soccer takes a break around the world (save for the USA and Mexico) which means international fixtures take center stage this weekend.There are crucial World Cup qualifiers and high-profile friendlies headlining this weekend's action.

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After up and down regular seasons that saw one team consistently dissatisfied with its results and one team barely scrape its way into the playoffs, it's only fitting that the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake take each other on. Both teams will enter the Eastern Conference Final feeling that they have something to prove - Chicago wanting to live up to the hype that built up prior to and during the season and Salt Lake wanting to prove they're first round win over Columbus was more than merely a fluke.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are probably not the teams most observers would have pegged to be playing for the Eastern Conference title and berth in MLS Cup, but these two teams earned their places in the Final Four by virtue of strong first-round performances that should lead into a memorable East Final on Saturday night (8pm, FSC).

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake are probably not the teams most observers would have pegged to be playing for the Eastern Conference title and berth in MLS Cup, but these two teams earned their places in the Final Four by virtue of strong first-round performances that should lead into a memorable East Final on Saturday night (8pm, FSC).

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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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After aggressively challenging New England keeper Matt Reis for a ball in the 52nd minute of Saturday night's decisive Game 2 victory over the Revolution, Fire forward Brian McBride had to be taken off of the field due to injury.

McBride, who missed 8 weeks earlier this year with a torn right labrum, picked up a knock on his IT band in the collision, stiffening his leg to the point that he wasn't able to effectively run.

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The second batch of Major League Soccer playoff games saw some tense football, great goals and short tempers. At the end of it, four teams progressed to the two conference finals. But did David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco make it?
On the 5th November, the King was dead. Columbus Crew were behind 1-0 on aggregate against Real Salt Lake and, despite quickly setting about overturning the deficit, the champions were ejected from the playoffs at the first hurdle. Click to continue reading...

Seattle Sounders FC v. Houston Dynamo
As Kevin Calabro might say, the magic-carpet ride is over. The inaugural season for the Sounders FC is over after an overtime strike by Brian Ching gave the Dynamo a 1-0 aggregate win.
Can't say Seattle didn't turn heads in their first year. Click to continue reading...

MLS Playoff Wrap Up

Real Salt Lake (4-2) Columbus

The first game between the 1 and 4 seeds in the East went to Salt Lake thanks to a late goal by Robbie Findley. Knowing that they were playing against the defending MLS champions Salt Lake knew the importance of getting a result at home.

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MLS Playoff Wrap Up

Real Salt Lake (4-2) Columbus

The first game between the 1 and 4 seeds in the East went to Salt Lake thanks to a late goal by Robbie Findley. Knowing that they were playing against the defending MLS champions, Salt Lake knew the importance of getting a result at home.

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A little something flaring up at Toyota Park

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If you need any more evidence of why continued stadium development is the most important element in professional soccer's domestic development, go watch Saturday's match from Chicago.

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A nifty second half goal by Cuauhtemoc Blanco gave the Chicago Fire the goal it needed to advance past the New England Revolution in a hard fought Eastern Conference semifinal at Toyota Park Saturday. With the victory Chicago advances to the Eastern Conference final for the second straight year where they will host Real Salt Lake next week. Click to continue reading...

The Major League Soccer 2009 Playoffs continued on Saturday, November 7, 2009 with the second leg between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution. The Revolution were up 2-1 after the first leg but the Fire hosted the second leg on Saturday. The winner would go on to face Real Salt Lake next weekend, who earlier beat the Columbus Crew 4-2 on aggregate.

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After losing the first-leg 2-1, the Chicago Fire will be playing for the Eastern Conference title. Chicago beat New England 2-0 at Toyota Park on Saturday night, taking the series 3-2 on total goals. The Fire will now face Real Salt Lake for a spot in the 2009 MLS Cup. Chicago got a 35th-minute goal from John Thorrington to even the series. Click to continue reading...

What a night at Toyota Park.

After losing the first leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with New England 2-1, the Fire stormed back in dramatic fashion tonight, getting a 2-0 victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals on a 3-2 aggregate score.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco and John Thorrington scored the goals for the Fire, who will take on fourth seeded Real Salt Lake in the Conference Final next Saturday at Toyota Park.

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Nery Castillo ha expresado su deseo de regresar a la Selección mexicana mediante la red social de Twitter.

Después de que en los dos últimos encuentros eliminatorios no fuera convocado por Javier Aguirre, Nery ve poco a poco como el mundial se le escapa de las manos. Ahora si dice que aceptaría venir a Chivas, pero cuando el rebaño de verdad lo necesitaba, el simplemente rechazo la oferta de jugar en el futbol mexicano.

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A storm of off-season change is coming. I just have this feeling that this is going to be a real shape shifter as off-seasons go, with more flux than usual in MLS management and personnel.

Today I learned that this season of significant winter movement will begin on Nov. 25, when manager Peter Nowak and his Philadelphia Union will cherry-pick off 15 MLS rosters.

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Tal vez para muchos no sea una sorpresa porque casi creo que autoadjudicamos a "Temo" como niño héroe moderno, pero me causa sorpresa que haga análisis simplones y decidan premiar a un jugador que trae la porra de su lado y que indudablemente tiene calidad pero no ha hecho suficientes meritos para ganarse limpiamente su premio.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of the year again. The regular season is over, so now we can look at the official numbers for fouls committed and fouls suffered and put them in the context of "per 90 minutes" rather than just raw totals. Which players will lead in the eight categories below?
1. Click to continue reading...

Eastern Conference Semifinals - First Leg
New England Revolution vs Chicago Fire
Sun., Nov. 1, Gillette Stadium (2 p.m. ET; FSC/FSE)

DF Chris Albright (L lateral meniscus tear); MF Steve Ralston (R ACL tear); FW Taylor Twellman (concussion)

That is pretty much the meats and bones of the team gone there.

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_________________Photo by ISIphotos.com

If familiarity breeds contempt, then the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution hate each other on a level no two teams in MLS can match.

The Eastern Conference foes have made meeting in the playoffs a rite of passage, having done so for five of the past six years.

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_________________Photo by ISIphotos.com

If familiarity breeds contempt, then the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution hate each other on a level no two teams in MLS can match.

The Eastern Conference foes have made meeting in the playoffs a rite of passage, having done so for five of the past six years.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com____

With Cuauhtemoc Blanco set to leave MLS this winter, and his return far from certain, the Chicago Fire will be left with a big decision to make this off-season. How will the Fire replace Blanco?

Chicago has a promising young midfielder in Baggio Husidic who is already getting playing time, but Husidic can't place Blanco's star power or overall impact.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com____

With Cuauhtemoc Blanco set to leave MLS this winter, and his return far from certain, the Chicago Fire will be left with a big decision to make this off-season. How will the Fire replace Blanco?

Chicago has a promising young midfielder in Baggio Husidic who is already getting playing time, but Husidic can't place Blanco's star power or overall impact.

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Big Story
MLS looks like it will kick off next season without its two biggest stars, David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco, with the former set for a return to Milan and the latter returning to Veracruz.

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After three consecutive years suffering playoff heartbreak against the Revolution, the Fire will try to extend their playoff winning streak against the Revs to two series this Sunday, when the two sides meet at Gillette Stadium for Game 1 (1 p.m. on FSC) of their two game Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup.

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My recent posts on ESPNChicago.com:
• Oct. 29: Mike Banner's versatility pays off
• Oct. 28: Fire's, Rev's depth put to test this season
Also in the news:
• Cuauhtemoc Blanco: Blanco to leave Fire for Mexico
• U.S WNT: U.S. tops Germany, 1-0 / Local focus: Red Stars forward Ella Masar came into the game in the 73rd minute for Amy Rodriguez. Click to continue reading...

Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco will join Mexican second-division club Veracruz when the international transfer window opens in January. The Fire will hold an option if he chooses to return to Major League Soccer following the 2010 World Cup. Blanco has spent three years in MLS, joining Chicago on April 2, 2007. Click to continue reading...

Hey everyone, just wanted to clear a few things up in regards to the Blanco situation.
A source close to the situation told me that Blanco and Veracruz agreed to a one year deal -- which will begin in January -- with an opt out clause for any point in the year. This means that Blanco can choose to leave Veracruz at any point during the one-year deal and either return to the Fire (who will continue negotiating with Blanco and his agent), join another team or retire. Click to continue reading...