The midfield. Currently viewed as the strength of the team. But is it really set right now? Let's break it down:

Defensive Midfielders: Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause, Daniel Paladini, Mike Videira

This is clearly the strength of the midfield. Pavel Pardo is in a class by himself.

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.

By DAVID GUBALA

The Chicago Fire are now a good two weeks into their first phase of preseason camp and have been making all of the necessary adjustments as the start of the new 2012 campaign nears. Part of the preseason activity, though, has included shooting down rumors of a superstar Designated Player acquisition.

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.

Thursday's big event at Quaker Plaza, 555 W. Monroe, Chicago, IL marked the first live presentation of the partnership between Quaker Oats and the Chicago Fire. Chicago Fire Soccer Club owner Andrew Hauptman, Chicago Fire players, Quaker Foods and Snacks North America president Jose Luis Prado and Quaker Oats Company employees were all on hand in addition to some other civic leaders, curious fans, and members of the media.

Rumored to be the case for about a week now and never really in doubt, the Chicago Fire announced Wednesday that they had re-signed midfielder Pavel Pardo. The press release had the usual 'per league and team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed' boilerplate. However, team writer Jeff Crandall stated that Pardo signed a two-year contract.

photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

A day after unveiling Quaker Oats as its jersey sponsor, the Chicago Fire made another big announcement.

The Fire re-signed midfielder Pavel Pardo on Wednesday, the club announced on its website.

Fire fans have certainly had an exciting week already. From the rumored signing of Rafael Robayo becoming a concrete reality, to the report of Pavel Pardo re-signing with the Fire, there has been a lot of news, and it's only Wednesday. Well, the news will keep on coming Fire fans, as business is about to pick up even more with the MLS draft on Thursday.

Chicago Fire Rumor Mill: Pavel Pardo Re-Signs

Iván Cañada is reporting that the Chicago Fire have re-signed Pavel Pardo and he will be playing with the team next year.

"Pável Pardo permanecerá en el Chicago Fire al menos para la siguiente campaña. El mexicano apenas renovó su contrato con el club de la MLS.

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.

Frank Klopas -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
In the coming weeks, the Chicago Fire should be announcing an abundance of player options that they are picking up heading into 2012. The Fire have yet to officially state the return of midfielder Pavel Pardo or comment on other players' contract status, but in all likelihood a large portion of the 2011 squad should be on board next season.

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.

When Frank Klopas took over as interim head coach of the Chicago Fire back at the end of May, it appeared as if he would only be leading the club until a permanent solution was found at the end of the season.

Turns out that permanent solution was him.

On Thursday afternoon, the Chicago Fire took that interim label off of Klopas, making him the sixth head coach in club history.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cory Gibbs -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Now that the playoffs are more or less out of the picture, the Chicago Fire are simply looking to finish out their final two matches on a positive note.
But the Fire (7-9-16, 37 points) will be dramatically shorthanded when they face Eastern Conference foe D.

Pavel Pardo -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Two games remain for the Chicago Fire, but midfielder Pavel Pardo will be limited to Chicago's home finale on Oct. 22 against the Columbus Crew. Pardo picked up a red card during the Fire's 2-1 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday and is suspended for Saturday's match at D.

Pavel Pardo -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Two games remain for the Chicago Fire, but midfielder Pavel Pardo will be limited to Chicago's home finale on Oct. 22 against the Columbus Crew. Pardo picked up a red card during the Fire's 2-1 loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday and is suspended for Saturday's match at D.

Chicago 1 - Dallas 2 Two teams going different directions at Toyota Park in suburban Chicago. For the Fire, it's a realistic end to their playoff chances. For Dallas, it's the playoffs. Dallas led 2-0 with goals from Jackson in the 41st minute and Daniel Cruz in the 52nd. After Chicago's Pavel Pardo was ejected in the 78th, Sebastian Grazzini ruined Kevin Hartman's shutout attempt in the 85th minute.

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.

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.

Peter Nowak may be rooting for the Chicago Fire to get their fifth US Open Cup title (10pm, Fox Soccer), but the rest of the Union might want to pull for Seattle.

"I've been through the scenario where they tried to position it a week after MLS Cup and one year we lost in the final at Columbus, we played the MLS final on a Sunday in New England and we had to play the Open Cup final on a Thursday in Columbus.

With the possible absence of both teams' playmakers, the personnel and tactics chosen by coaches Sigi Schmid and Frank Klopas are particularly important factors for the U.S. Open Cup final (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer.)
Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America reports on the coaches and teams that will be on display in tonight's US Open Cup Final.

The two MLS sides with the strongest historical connections to the US Open Cup meet Tuesday night. Both Chicago and Seattle played non-ideal XIs in their weekend matches to prepare for their opportunity to lift the Cup. For the Chicago Fire this is their chance to reawaken the team, to renew their history and claw back into the discussion as a solid team with a bright future.

Chicago Fire (7-8-16) vs. Houston Dynamo (10-9-13) October 1, 2011 -- Robertson Stadium Attendance: 17,544

Scoring Summary:

HOU -- Colin Clark 4 (unassisted) 33
CHI -- Dominic Oduro 12 (Baggio Husidic 2) 43

Chicago Fire -- Sean Johnson, Michael Videira, Jalil Anibaba, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares, Logan Pause, Daniel Paladini, Baggio Husidic (Pavel Pardo 67), Corben Bone (Marco Pappa 73), Dominic Oduro (Patrick Nyarko 51), Diego Chaves.

Chicago tied 1-1 with Houston in a fairly ho-hum game of soccer this afternoon. Colin Clark opened the scoring for Houston on some corner kick madness in the 33rd minute. Ten minutes later, Dominic Oduro burned Bobby Boswell on defense and got the ball past goaltender Tally Hall on a shot that required a lot of skill.

What in Hristo Stoichkov is going on around here? So the Fire walk in to Salt Lake City and punk the uh Royals (?) at their once impenetrable fortress. Against their first choice eleven even. That happened without the midfield's security blanket Sebastian Grazzini. Wait a second do we actually have a good squad now that can win anywhere?

Mid-week MLS action saw the race for the Eastern Conference get even tighter. It also saw a heated exchange between Daniel Paladini and Kyle Beckerman which saw Beckerman walk off with a red. Pedro Gomes has your recap.
Sporting Kansas City 2, Columbus Crew 1
Kansas City hosted the Columbus Crew with a chance to take first place in the extremely tight Eastern Conference.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The MLS playoff race in the Eastern Conference just became a little more intense, and we can thank the Chicago Fire for that.

Midfielder Marco Pappa snapped a personal three-month scoring drought in dramatic fashion, delivering a hat-trick to help the streaking Fire pulled off a stunning 3-0 victory over 10-man Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday night.

Marco Pappa scored a hat trick starting with a goal in the 9th minute of play. Less than a minute after his first goal, Daniel Paladini provoked Kyle Beckerman into a vicious headbutt that lead to Beckerman receiving a red card. The quick Fire score and Beckerman red card gave the game the same momentum as a red card/penalty kick scenario.

Frank Klopas is going with a heavy lineup for tonight's game:

Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares; Marco Pappa, Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause; Daniel Paladini; Patrick Nyarko, Dominic Oduro

The U.S. Open Cup Final isn't until Tuesday so there's no reason to worry about overextending these guys.

Chicago Fire: Sean Johnson; Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic, Jalil Anibaba, Gonzalo Segares; Marco Pappa, Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause ©; Sebastian Grazzini (Baggio Husidic 25'); Patrick Nyarko (Diego Chaves 66'), Dominic Oduro (Orr Barouch 77')

Substitutes not used: Jon Conway, Yamith Cuesta, Corben Bone, Daniel Paladini
New England Revolution: Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Franco Coria, Darrius Barnes, Chris Tierney; Ryan Guy, Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph ©, Kenny Mansally (Kheli Dube 57'); Milton Caraglio, Zach Schilawski (Diego Fagundez 71')
Substitutes not used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Otto Loewy, Zak Boggs, Pat Phelan, Ryan Kinne
Scoring Summary
CHI - Sebastian Grazzini (penalty kick) 5'
CHI - Dominic Oduro (Sebastian Grazzini) 9'
CHI - Patrick Nyarko (unassisted) 30'
NE - Ryan Guy (unassisted) 90'
NE - Ryan Guy (Milton Caraglio, Diego Fagundez) 92'+
Misconduct Summary

NE - Franco Coria (Caution; Reckless Foul) 27'
NE - Darrius Barnes (Caution; Dissent) 46'+
CHI - Dan Gargan (Caution; Delaying a Restart) 76'

CHI - Baggio Husidic (Caution; Tactical Foul) 86'

Referee: Michael Kennedy

Referee's Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry, Paul Scott

4th Referee: Jasen Anno

Attendance: 14,567

Highlights and quotes after the break

Highlights

Quotes

Frank Klopas, Chicago Fire interim head coach
On the result:
"In the second half, being up 3-0 and tough stretch ahead of us, I had the opportunity to give some guys a break and get everyone involved in the game.

This team has some fight left in them. After last week's rather embarrassing effort against San Jose, the Fire showed heart and determination during Saturday afternoon's game. Chivas USA is a fairly similar team to San Jose. A good striker (Juan Pablo Angel), paired with a somewhat slow yet effective creative midfielder (Nick LaBrocca) to go along with an above average keeper (Dan Kennedy) make up the core of their side.

By DAVE GUBALA

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill – After watching a two-goal lead in the second half disappear in the span of two minutes, the Chicago Fire looked destined for yet another late-game disappointment. Dominic Oduro had other plans however, as he and Patrick Nyarko combined to give Chicago a sorely-needed win and the Fire continued hope of an improbable run at the playoffs.

The Major League Soccer Players Union has released their end of summer update on players' salaries. If you have wondered how much Sebastian Grazzini and Pavel Pardo are making, we have the answer and a full update to the Chicago Fire salary picture below. At least, we kind of/probably do. Let me explain after the break.

Source: Getty Images

By JOSE M. ROMERO

For three months, the San Jose Earthquakes either lost or drew in 13 consecutive MLS matches.

The cherished three points were not to be had, time after time.

If the Chicago Fire's playoff hopes were an actual fire, they would be down to a couple of glowing embers after a night's sleep. Things don't look good but the light isn't out just yet. Sebastian Grazzini and Pavel Pardo have added a flicker of hope here and there. As the team hits the last stretch of games in the 2011 season, we will find out if we are just dealing with some fast lighting newspaper or have some real burning going on.

Chicago Fire Setup: Frank Klopas' side continued to show how much they have upgraded in this dominating victory over the Defending MLS Champion Colorado Rapids. The speed in the partnership of Oduro and Nyarko up top was too much for the Colorado back line to handle. Without Marvel Wynne's speed to cover for the rest of the 3 defenders, Colorado would have conceded quite a few more goals.