MLS Season Preview: Chicago Fire

By: Bob | March 27th, 2007

The MLS season is fast approaching and what a season it will be. Our MLS team bloggers have been staying on top of the latest happenings and now it is time to turn up the attention on the top league in the US and Canada. Today we look at the Chicago Fire. Your tour guide is Tom Dunmore, who in addition to piloting the Chicago Fire Offside pens the excellent If this is Football blog. His season preview is after the jump.

The Nuts and Bolts

When a franchise begins its history by winning the MLS Cup and the Open Cup in its inaugural season, it could be argued there is nowhere it could go but down. Whilst the Fire have not won the MLS Cup since that glorious 1998 season, they have finished as runners-up twice (2000, 2003). But the losses of the key men behind that first five years of success in recent times has slowly taken their toll – the departures of long-time captain Peter Nowak, the first coach Bob Bradley and the popular GM Peter Wilt have not been compensated for by strong enough replacements thus far.

Under Coach Dave Sarachan, 2006 was a solid but mediocre campaign with the exception of another victory in the Open Cup. The Fire did take the New England Revolution to penalties in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, but were more about perspiration than inspiration, and the crowds were a bit disappointing given it was the Fire’s first season in their new stadium, Toyota Park.

The stars

Chris Armas, the current captain, has been a rock in midfield since the team was founded in 1998. But Armas will be 35 this season, and the Fire will look to youth instead. It should all be about Justin Mapp this season – the 22 year-old midfielder broke out last season, and with a great deal of experience for his age, should be ready to handle an even larger burden this season. He will have to as the departures of Nate Jaqua and Andy Herron leaves a heavy burden on Mapp to create goals for an inexperienced forward line. If Mapp can bring the best out of the young forwards Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett, the Fire might surprise a few people.

The newcomers

Considering the owners of the Fire, AEG, also own the Los Angeles Galaxy, it’s a source of some disappointment to many Fire fans that they have not signed a designated player at all for the Fire – let alone a player comparable to David Beckham. Rumours that they will sign the Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco have refused to go away, but at the time of writing nothing is certain.

In the 2007 Superdraft, the Fire had two first round picks, and chose University of Virginia defender Bakary Soumare, who is very raw but blessed with great athletic ability, and the University of Alabama’s Angolan forward Jerson Monteiro, who has plenty of promise as a goalscorer. The Fire also picked up Erik Hort recently, a 5′5 US U-20 right-back released by Sparta Prague. Each adds needed depth and each also has considerable promise, so the odds are one works out really well for the Fire.

Keep an eye on

MLS isn’t exactly suffering from overexposure, so this is a tricky question, but young forward Chad Barrett has had a nice preseason so far and will get plenty of playing time unless the Fire sign Blanco or another experienced forward. Barrett was apparently once courted by Real Madrid, and best of all, according to Wikipedia (!) “He is known for his current imagary of wayne rooney.” I have no idea quite what this means, but it ought to scare the crap out of opponents on a number of levels.

We’ll win the league if…..

We sign Blanco and he scores consistently.

We’ll be in trouble if….

We sign Blanco and he is consistently crazy.

The Beckham factor

As I’ve already mentioned, this is a bit of a sore spot for the Fire – AEG have signed two marquee names for their “other” team, the LA Galaxy, in recent times with the additions of Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Meanwhile, the Fire have added no-one liable to raise an eyebrow outside of MLS devotees or fans of short footballers who played in the Czech Republic. This has not done much to sell the team in Chicago, but the Fire really need to build consistent crowds in their second season at Toyota Park. The Fire hope to do so by leveraging Beckham’s presence in Chicago on October 21, as fans have to buy a five-game pack of tickets to see the Galaxy game. This could be construed as either really good or really bad marketing: it might put off some casual fans, but it might also make a fan out of some of those who actually go to all five games. I’m personally gutted the Galaxy failed to sign the former Brighton and Hove Albion star Darren Currie for the season, and will be boycotting the Beckham game in protest.

You might not know…

1. The Fire, with 4 U.S. Open wins, have more than any other MLS team but still trail five-time winners Bethlehem Steel F.C., Maccabee S.C. and Fall River F.C.

2. A dead goose was recently found on the Fire’s practice field by a fan.

3. Some think the Fire are named after the famous 1871 Great Chicago Fire (a myth foolishly encouraged by the Fire’s announcement of their founding on the 126th anniversary of the date), but I firmly believe they owe their origins to this almost as tragic fire that has left the city haunted.

Follow the ups, downs and all arounds of the Chicago Fire this season on the Chicago Fire Offside.

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Tomorrow’s preview: LA Galaxy