Sixteen matches to be on national television.

by Dan Gaichas

 

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--The Chicago Fire released their fixture list for the 2010 season. We already knew that the Fire will open against the New York Red Bulls at their new Red Bull Arena on Saturday, March 27 at 6pm CT. That match will be on ESPN--one of 16 Fire matches that will be on national television. There will also be four matches each on ESPN2 and TeleFutura and seven matches on Fox Soccer Channel. Regional TV coverage for the Fire will be released at a later date.

The home opener for the Fire is Saturday, April 10, against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30pm. The Fire’s first match against the Philadelphia Union and head coach and former Fire captain Peter Nowak will be at Toyota Park on Saturday, June 5, with the Fire’s first-ever trip to Philadelphia coming on Saturday, September 11.

The first shot at revenge against defender MLS Champion Real Salt Lake will come on Thursday, July 8, at Toyota Park. That match will be televised on ESPN2. Fire fans may get a chance to see David Beckham in LA Galaxy colors in Bridgeview on Saturday, September 4, provided he does not get suspended in the prior match like he did last season.

The Fire will have nine Saturday home matches, and two each on Wednesday and Thursday, and one each on Friday and Sunday. It is a 30-match fixture list with each team playing the others twice (home and away). You can see the entire schedule by checking our Schedules page.

The fixture list also included a three-week break for the league while the first round of the World Cup is going on in South Africa.

In other news, the Fire also released their roster for the preseason as training began at the McCook Athletic and Exposition (The MAX) on Wednesday. Among the trialists are former UIC goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja and former Fulham striker and teammate of Brian McBride, Collins John. John, a Dutch international, scores 20 goals in 95 matches for Fulham in five seasons.

As for number changes, Logan Pause will be wearing #12 this season after while recent signing Krzysztof Krol will be putting on the #7 shirt which Pause used to wear. First round draft choice Corben Bone will wear #19 while El Salvadoran international Julio Martinez will wear #6. As of yet, nobody has succeeded Cuauhtémoc Blanco in wearing the #10 shirt.

The Fire’s 13th season starts on Saturday, March 27 against the New York Red Bulls in their new stadium in Harrison, NJ at 6pm CT on ESPN.