In case you missed it, the Chicago Fire defeated Real Espana 3-1 in Saturday night's
international exhibition. Video highlights, goal scorers, and Fire starters are after the break.
The team has a recap with some quotes from Klopas up on the website. The local paper, The
Times-Picayune, had a good recap too.
The Chicago Fire had no trouble dispatching Florida Gulf Coast University 3-0 in their second
game of the 2012 preseason. Marco Pappa scored a goal in the 7th minute and assisted on Dominic
Oduro's goal in the 21st minute. Orr Barouch made it 3-0 in the 60th minute of the game on a Corben
Bone corner kick.
The Fire have made official the signing of Kheli Dube, their lone pick in the 2011 MLS re-entry
draft. This builds on the busy offseason the Fire have had, with Dube becoming their fifth player
added to the Fire roster this offseason. Follow me after the break for a couple of comments and
some info on Dube.
Tyler Polak could fill the Revs need at left back. (Photo Credit: Andy Mead / MLSsoccer.com)
With the 2012 MLS SuperDraft now in the books, the writers at New England Soccer Today handed
out their grades for the New England Revolution's 2012 draft performance. The Revs selected UCLA
midfielder Kelyn Rowe with the third overall pick and Creighton defender Tyler Polak with the 22nd
overall pick.
The signing of Rafael Robayo is now official but still very surprising. Most club observers,
including myself, assumed that the top priorities for Chicago's 2012 off-season were finding an
elite strike partner for Dominic Oduro and a backup fullback for Gonzalo Segares and Dan Gargan.
Robayo can not be confused as an option for either of those roles.
This hat trick/QOTD is going to be a bit more succinct than I normally am (but it will probably
still end up a bit longer than I intend it to be), but I found a few nuggets to share with everyone
for my Wednesday piece. I am shooting for a longer Fire related piece for next Wednesday. It's been
a while since I have had a lengthy Fire story, but with the draft coming up and the always
interesting offseason transfer window, business should start to pick up soon.
Chicago ended the year as potentially the best non-playoff team in MLS. They caught "fire" and
had a winning record for the final third of the season, almost stealing the tenth playoff spot from
New York. The same team that ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.
A big one in Europa League today for Americans to watch.
No, not Tottenham.
Wisla Krakow is nipping at the Cottagers heals. A win for Krakow and loss for Fulham rules
Damien Duff's dudes out of Europa.
While American media will be all over Dempsey playing at home after eating at the Swansea
gaffe-ateria, Nigerian Peter Utaka is a proficient "B movie" European striker with 99 goals in 246
club matches in his career.
Dan Gargan -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The Chicago Fire and other Major League Soccer teams submitted their 11-player protected lists
Monday in preparation for Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft for the Montreal Impact.
Among some of the Fire's noteworthy players left unprotected are forward Diego Chaves, midfielder
Daniel Paladini, and defenders Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic and Yamith Cuesta.
BY ADAM SERRANO
CARSON, Calif. -- Long derided for being injury prone, Calen Carr is used to be written off, but
for Carr, redemption could be only 90 minutes away.
Since returning to from a concussion suffered in preseason while he was with the Chicago Fire,
Carr has earned a starting spot alongside Dynamo captain Brian Ching, with his fast paced play
adding a cutting edge to the Dynamo attack.
Image via WikipediaDavid Beckham has been named the
MLS Comeback Player of the Year after
helping the LA Galaxy into this weekend's title decider against the Houston Dynamos. He got 59.8
per cent of votes cast by media, players and club officials, and won over the other finalists,
Charlie Davies (D.
Leave it to MLS to miss a slam dunk. As part of their daily unveiling of award winners leading up
to the MLS Cup (an idea that I like that they do), the league announced the winners of the Comeback
...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.
David Beckham has always been known as a fierce competitor and for his ability to return from
the injury that cost him a chance at the World Cup, he was awarded with the 2011 MLS Comeback
Player of the year.
The 36-year-old midfielder has enjoyed an MVP-caliber season, battling back from a potentially
career-ending Achilles injury that cost Beckham a spot on England's 2010 World Cup spot and caused
him to miss six months of the 2010 MLS season.
The 2011 Major League Soccer season was arguably the best in league history, from both a
competition and entertainment standpoint, and as a result, it made for some tough calls when
deciding on the league's Best XI.
MLS commissioner Don Garber will announce the league's official Best XI later today, but based
on the voting of the SBI editorial staff (Ives Galarcep, Avi Creditor, Adam Serrano, Mike Nastri,
Jose Romero, Thomas Floyd, Joey Samuel), we came up with a first, second and third team to honor
those who put forth standout performances this season.
Now that the finalist for the 2011 MLS Awards are out, it's time I share how I voted with
everyone. I'm a firm believer in the need for transparency in award voting if for no other reason
that if you submit a crazy ballot, you should be accountable for your choices.
We were allowed by MLS to select two choices for each category from a pre-selected list.
The ballots have been tallied and we now know the finalists for the various end-of-season awards
for Major League Soccer.
Last year it was easy to find some fault in the various finalists but this year, every award was
fairly open enough.
2011 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists (Listed in alphabetical order by
last name within each award category) Rookie of the Year Finalists –
Winner to be announced Nov.
Calen Carr -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Former Chicago Fire and current Houston Dynamo forward Calen Carr has had his share of injury
spells over the past several years. This year it was a concussion that he suffered during the
Fire's preseason in February when the team was training in Ave Maria, Fla.
Frank Klopas helped a struggling Chicago Fire transform from league laughing stock to legitimate
playoff contender in less than a season and has been rewarded with a chance to keep doing the job
he did so well this past season.
The Fire will remove the interim tag from Frank Klopas' interim head coaching position and make
him the team's head coach for the 2012 MLS season, sources told Fox Soccer on Tuesday.
No more games in hand, no more disparity between games played at home and on the road, no more
asterisks denoting games that didn't really count because the opposition was bad. With the regular
season over and playoffs under way, we can finally look back on the MLS regular season and compare
statistics through 34 games, where every team played every other team twice.
Chicago came very close to the post season, now they have to focus on saving the right 11 for
the expansion draft. (Getty Images)
I took a day or so off from writing these lists, but I hope to get to at least two today.
Today, we are focusing on the Chicago Fire. Frank Klopas' team struggled out of the gate due to
injuries and youth but once former manager Carlos de los Cobos was shown the door, the Fire turned
things around in the summer and ended up being a decent team for 2012.
Fire's Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The Houston Dynamo thought that Dominic Oduro was so much of a liability after missing a sitter in
the season opener that they immediately cast him off to the Chicago Fire, trading him for Calen
Carr.
Houston's misstep was Chicago's offensive answer, particularly in the final two thirds of the
season, as Oduro received ESPN Chicago's vote for being the team's most valuable player in 2011.
Fire's Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The Houston Dynamo thought that Dominic Oduro was so much of a liability after missing a sitter in
the season opener that they immediately cast him off to the Chicago Fire, trading him for Calen
Carr.
Houston's misstep was Chicago's offensive answer, particularly in the final two thirds of the
season, as Oduro received ESPN Chicago's vote for being the team's most valuable player in 2011.
The last weekend of the regular season featured playoff-bound teams looking foolish against
opponents who have only the 2012 campaign to look forward to. In some cases those losses were
suffered by reserve squads, as playoff teams rested starters, but in other cases the playoff teams
just looked over-matched.
Fire's Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The Chicago Fire were eliminated from postseason contention on Thursday when the New York Red Bulls
defeated the Philadelphia Union, 1-0, at Red Bull Arena.
Though the official ruling was an own goal by Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon in the eighth
minute, it was the Red Bulls' Dane Richards who put his header on frame to lead to the game's only
goal.
The Portland Timbers just didn't do enough with their many chances on Friday in their 2-0
bruising by the thuggish Houston Dynamo. Kenny Cooper's gotta get more on that header, Jorge
Perlaza's gotta take that shot, Jack Jewsbury and Lovel Palmer gotta keep their shots down, and
Darlington Nagbe's gotta stop hesitating in front of goal.
I was at RFK Stadium last night. I was at RFK Stadium last year when the Fire won on the backs
of two goals after the 80th minute. I certainly did not expect to see a repeat two-late-goal
performance after Dwayne De Rosario converted his 89th minute penalty kick. A fairly blah game
turned into a story for the ages when Sebastian Grazzini scored a scorcher of a goal and Diego
Chaves finished D.
Well, this is truly a tough day and match for Fire fans. As Merwin lamented in his post game
recap of the Dallas match, not only is the door pretty much slammed on the Fire's playoff hopes,
but they played a pretty poor game Wednesday night to boot. While the Men in Red certainly have the
talent to beat DC United tonight, one has to wonder how much is left in the tank and if they can
overcome the heartbreak that has been the past 11 days or so.
This game oh man this game. This one beat me. Right now I'm just glad there are only two games
left to go over. Join me after the break as we go over this game. Not a whole lot of good things to
talk about here so I'm going to make this quick.
After the game there was a lot of talk about how the team wasn't "trying" or lacked effort.
Time is running short for D.C. United and the Chicago Fire, and an accelerated level of stress
is put on each of the remaining regular season games for two teams with postseason aspirations.
As two of the three teams on the outside of the current playoff picture but within striking
range, United and the Fire need to pile on the results beginning with tonight's matches against the
Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Dallas, respectively.
Chicago faces Dallas in a must-win game tonight. (Getty Images)
It is coming down to the nitty-gritty in Major League Soccer. Week 31 kicks off tonight with two
matches that have a lot on the line in terms of playoff implications. One is a rivalry game while
the other could go a long way in determining possibly the number 2 pick in January's SuperDraft or
whether or not DC United gets into the playoffs this season.
James Grossi covers MLS with a focus on the Eastern Conference for
TSG
The Preamble
MVP candidate Dominic Oduro has le....wait Dominic Oduro! Yes, MVP candidate Dominic Oduro has
led the Fire to the cusp of the playoffs....
A cursory glance at the MLS standings could give the impression that there is an imbalance of
power between the Western and Eastern Conferences.
Dominic Oduro has turned heads this season with his incredible form. Since arriving in Chicago, the
mercurial striker has scored twelve goals and is in the running for the league's Golden Boot race.
Oduro has turned his speed and tactical awareness into a deadly weapon that many teams in MLS are
taking notice of.
Dominic Oduro has turned heads this season with his incredible form. Since arriving in Chicago, the
mercurial striker has scored twelve goals and is in the running for the league's Golden Boot race.
Oduro has turned his speed and tactical awareness into a deadly weapon that many teams in MLS are
taking notice of.
The DeRo for Dax trade was one of the biggest in 2011. (Getty Images)
Each year I do season predictions and nearly every year I boldly state that a trade will shake
up the season (take that with a hint of sarcasm if you will). Well, this season is just like many
of the past where teams wheel and deal in hopes of bettering their playoff hopes.
Look I know. I've put this off for far to long. Can you blame me? Who wants to relive last
Tuesday night? The time has come to put some thoughts to html (otherwise Tweed may murder me). So
join me after the break as we discuss what went right and what went wrong.
Pavel Pardo owned this game for the Fire.
The Seattle Sounders won their third consecutive US Open Cup and were the first MLS team to do so.
The Sounders defeated the Chicago Fire by a score of 2-0 but don't let the scoreline fool you, the
game was competitive and entertaining. The Fire were looking to become on the third team in history
of the tournament to win the competition five times, they failed in that endeavor but not without a
valiant effort.
Seattle had an answer for the few riddles Chicago threw at it. The Fire could have given up 3 or
4 goals as the Sounders hit the post twice on offense. That isn't to say Sean Johnson had a poor
night. In fact, he made six saves overall including some lightning fast reflex moves we have come
to expect but are still extraordinary.
This is Championship Soccer tonight. This is why teams are put together. This U.S. Open Cup
tournament is what the Chicago Fire are about. Over 6 months have passed since Chicago started the
journey and either way it will end tonight on CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Chicago must vanquish a
foe they have never done so in 6 attempts to get their hands on the trophy.
Previewing this match it is clear that the Chicago Fire are a different team than they were
during the last meeting. Both teams certainly have injury concerns to key players, but the facet of
the game that will be most effected is different. One can consider that there are four portions of
any game, in ways these are what determined the old three band nomenclature of formations.
Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com
Either way, history is going to made in Seattle Tuesday night.
Should the host Seattle Sounders defeat the Chicago Fire in the U.S. Open Cup final (10 p.m.,
Fox Soccer Channel), then they'll put the finishing touches on a three-peat, something that has
never been done in the Major League Soccer era and hasn't been accomplished since Greek American AA
did so in 1967-1969.
