Windy City Soccer

Notes on Wednesday: Fire, John Continue Talks

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:13:13 -0400

Plus, ditto League and Union.

by Dan Gaichas

FIRE, JOHN STILL IN TALKS: The Chicago Fire and trialist Collins John are still in talks to sign the Dutch striker and former Fulham teammate of Brian McBride according to the Washington Post’s Steven Goff. Earlier, it was reported that talks between the Fire and John broke off with the sticking point being guaranteed years--the Fire offering one while John wants two. The two sides had apparently agreed on a salary. John continues to train with the team in Houston.

LEAGUE, UNION STILL TALKING: That was the whole of the announcement on Wednesday. Federal mediator George H. Cohen is working with the two sides with talks set to resume Thursday.

STILL LOOKING: We are still looking for a new photographer, please view our ad on the website. You can access the ad by clicking under Wanted: Photographer on the front page.

Notes on Monday: Fire Continue Preseason in Houston

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 00:40:10 -0400

Plus, Red Stars quartet called to US camp.

by Dan Gaichas

FIRE CONTINUE PRESEASON IN HOUSTON: The Fire were originally scheduled to go to New Orleans, but instead, they will go to Houston to close out their preseason travels. The Fire will head to Houston on Tuesday and take on the Dynamo in a friendly on Thursday at the Carl Lewis Track and Field Complex at 7pm. The Fire will return to Chicago on Friday after a preseason trip that has seen them go to Arizona, Mexico, and Mississippi.

FIRE TO PLAY NOTRE DAME: The Chicago Fire will play the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, March 20 at Toyota Park Practice Field at 10am in the last preseason friendly before the start of the season. Section 8 will be in attendance and fans will have an opportunity to purchase special Section 8 season tickets (Sections 117 and 118 at Toyota Park). Ten dollars from each Section 8 season ticket sold will go to the Chicago Fire Foundation.

RED STARS QUARTET CALLED TO US CAMP: Red Stars goalkeeper Jillian Loyden, defender Whitney Engen, midfielder Megan Rapinoe, and forward Casey Nogueira have all been called to the US women’s national team camp in San Diego to prepare for a pair of friendlies against Mexico on March 28 in San Diego (4pm CT, FSC) and on March 31 in Sandy, UT (8pm CT, ESPN2).

Loyden, Rapinoe, and Nogueira were part of the US squad that won the Algarve Cup in Portugal last weekend.

RED STARS PRESEASON: On Monday, the Red Stars announced their preseason schedule. The preseason starts on Friday with a friendly against Washington Freedom in Vero Beach, FL at 6pm CT. The Red Stars then travel to take on university opponents in South Florida (March 17), Notre Dame (March 24), DePaul and Northwestern (March 31) in Evanston, and Illinois (April 3).

STILL LOOKING: We are still looking for a new photographer, please view our ad on the website. You can access the ad by clicking under Wanted: Photographer on the front page.

Fire Down FCD in Mississippi Preseason Friendly

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 00:00:44 -0400

Chicago Fire 3-0 FC Dallas

by Dan Gaichas

RIDGELAND, MS--The Chicago Fire defeated FC Dallas, 3-0, in a preseason friendly at M & F Bank Stadium in Ridgeland, MS. The Fire’s preseason record now stands at 3-1-1.

Collins John continued to impress by opening the scoring in the 33rd minute collecting a pass from Patrick Nyarko and rounding keeper Dario Sala for an easy finish. The Fire were soon a man up after Ugo Ihemelu was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 51st minute.

Marco Pappa and Julio Martinez added two second half goals. Pappa and Martinez played for Guatemala and El Salvador, respectfully, in Guatemala’s 2-1 friendly win over El Salvador last Wednesday. Nyarko fed an unmarked Pappa for the second goal in the 71st minute while Martinez pounced on a Patrick Nyarko shot that deflected off a defender five minutes from time.

Jon Busch recorded his second clean sheet of the preseason while Patrick Nyarko registered two assists on the night.

The Fire are scheduled to train next weekend in New Orleans.

CHICAGO FIRE: Jon Busch; Tim Ward, CJ Brown, Wilman Conde, Krzysztof Krol (Mike Banner 65); Julio Martinez, Peter Lowry, Baggio Husidic, Marco Pappa (Logan Pause 82); Collins John (Justin Mapp 39), Patrick Nyarko

FC DALLAS: Dario Sala; Jair Benitez, Heath Pearce (Jason Yeisley 73), George John, Ugo Ihemelu; David Ferreira, Dax McCarty (Eric Alexander 60), Daniel Hernandez, Atiba Harris; Brek Shea (Zach Lloyd 57), Jeff Cunningham (Andrew Wiedeman 73)

SCORING SUMMARY:
CHI-Collins John (Patrick Nyarko) 33
CHI-Marco Pappa (Patrick Nyarko, Peter Lowry) 71
CHI-Julio Martinez (unassisted) 85

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
FCD-Ugo Ihemelu 19 (caution)
FCD-Daniel Hernandez 51 (caution)
FCD-Ugo Ihemelu 54 (sent off)
FCD-Atiba Harris 80 (caution)

Thoughts on Sunday: Refreshed

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 12:46:29 -0400

After a week off, time to refresh our batteries.

by Dan Gaichas

INTRODUCTION: After a week off (I was in Florida for the weekend), it’s back to expressing some thoughts and reminding everyone that we have an opening for a photographer. So let’s get right to it!

MLS AND PLAYERS’ UNION: Both Major League Soccer and the Players’ Union announced on Friday that they have hired a mediator to oversee negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

George H. Cohen, director of the US Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will oversee the negotiations.

The players are seeking increased free agency rights within the league and guaranteed contracts while the league is opposed to such actions. The first collective bargaining agreement expired on February 25, but preseason training at all 16 MLS Clubs continues to go on as scheduled.

Indeed, it appears as business as usual with teams playing friendlies like Seattle did on Saturday night against future MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps. Other teams are signing players like Colorado re-signing Conor Casey and Seattle signing Swiss international Blaise Nkufo. On that basis, one wonders if either side has the audacity to call a work stoppage at this point. The league has stated that they will not lock out the players and the players have not yet decided to strike even though the most recent CBA is officially expired. That this dispute has gotten this far and this close to the start of the MLS season and even this close to the World Cup is disappointing.

In the end, both sides need to agree to a new CBA and not have this hang over the league and US Soccer much longer. They do not need to mimic Republicans and Democrats in Washington, DC where they seem incapable on agreeing how to operate a two-car funeral nowadays.

US WORLD CUP ROSTER: If you believe coach Bob Bradley, 19 of the 23 roster spots are set. There are still questions to be asked. Do you take a risk that Charlie Davies will be fit in time for South Africa? How many MLS players will be making the trip? Will Oguchi Onyewu, Clint Dempsey, and/or even Stuart Holden be fully fit in time? It’s likely all three will be on the squad, but there are no guarantees. They and Davies were all missed in the friendly defeat to the Netherlands on Wednesday.

The deadline to submit World Cup rosters is June 1. The roster could well be announce prior to the last couple of friendlies against Czech Republic (May 25) and Turkey (May 29).

Absent Davies, the US will need a speedy forward to compliment Jozy Altidore up front. That could be either Brian Ching or Robbie Findley (or both). Left back continues to be a problematic position. Jonathon Bornstein’s performance against the Dutch did not help matters. If DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu continue to get time and continue to produce at Rangers, then both might be selected as well.

The one thing that Bob Bradley does not need right now, is more injuries like Holden’s between now and the start of the World Cup.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: No, it’s not Portsmouth reaching the FA Cup semifinals. It’s that Wolves actually got four minutes of stoppage time to equalize against Manchester United--which to the editor’s chagrin they didn’t. Usually, it is at least four minutes of stoppage time if Man U is trailing!

(Note: Editor is a Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter.)

WANTED: PHOTOGRAPHER: Yes, we are still looking for a new photographer. If you feel up to the take, please visit our ad on this website. We hope to post something on an external website in the near future.

That’s all for now. There will be more thoughts next Sunday.

Notes on Saturday: MLS, Union to Hire Mediator

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 00:31:06 -0400

Plus, Fire avoid Open Cup play-in

by Dan Gaichas

MEDIATOR CALLED INTO LABOR DISPUTE: On Friday, Major League Soccer and its Players Union have announced that they will try negotiating next week in Washington, DC, and have hired a mediator to be at the bargaining table. George H. Cohen, director of the US Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will oversee the negotiations.

The players are seeking increased free agency rights within the league and guaranteed contracts while the league is opposed to such actions. The first collective bargaining agreement expired on February 25, but preseason training at all 16 MLS Clubs has gone on as scheduled.

FIRE IN OPEN CUP LAST 16: The Chicago Fire will avoid a play-in to get to the US Open Cup in 2010 by virtue of being of the top six teams from the MLS regular season last year. Along with the Fire, current Cup holders Seattle Sounders FC, Columbus Crew, Los Angeles Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, and Chivas USA also get automatic entry into the last 16 of the Cup. The four-time US Open Cup winning Fire have had to play their way into the tournament in the last two seasons.

The other nine US-based teams, Toronto FC being ineligible, will enter a qualifying tournament where two teams will enter the proper tournament. It starts with Philadelphia Union taking on New York Red Bulls with the winner facing New England Revolution.

STILL LOOKING: We are currently looking for a photographer, please view our ad on the website.

Red Stars Sign Formiga

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 07:43:07 -0400

Reunites with Brazilian teammate Cristiane.

by Dan Gaichas

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--On Tuesday, The Chicago Red Stars Brazilian midfielder Formiga in continuing to bolster their midfielder. Formiga played for FC Gold Pride in the 2009 WPS Season.

"Her record speaks for itself," said Red Stars Head Coach Emma Hayes. "We've acquired one of the top playmaking midfielders in the world. We're going to be looking toward her experience to drive this team, and she's joining an already exceptional group of players."

Part of that record included participating in four Women’s World Cups and four Olympics for Brazil winning the silver medal in both 2004 and 2008. In 2008, Formiga was the first player selected in the WPS International Draft by FC Gold Pride. Last season, she started 15 of 16 matches logging in 1,363 minutes. She was named to the WPS All-Star Team’s starting XI, but could not play due to injury.

Formiga is the latest to join the Red Stars during a busy offseason for the club which has seen them acquire local midfielder Julianne Sitch, England international Katie Chapman, and University of North Carolina striker Casey Nogueira.

MEANWHILE, we are currently looking for a photographer, please view our ad on the website.

Ex-Fire Kubik Named US Assistant

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 07:31:39 -0400

Third former Fire player on as one of Bob Bradley’s assistants.

by Dan Gaichas

CHICAGO, IL--On Tuesday, US Soccer announced that former Chicago Fire player and Czech Republic international Lubos Kubik has been named an assistant coach for the men’s national team. Kubik joins former Fire players Jesse Marsch and Mike Sorber as Bradley’s assistants.

“Lubos brings a tremendous amount of experience at both the professional and international level,” said Bradley. “We have worked together in the past, and I have a lot of respect for him as a player, a coach, and a person. His understanding of the game will be an important asset for our team.”

After stops with Sparta Prague, Fiorentina, FC Metz (France), and FC Nurnburg; Kubik joined the Fire in 1998 and helped them to win the Double (MLS Cup and US Open Cup) and was named MLS Defender of the Year that season. Kubik would go on to play two more seasons with the Fire and was inducted into the club’s “Ring of Fire” in 2005.

Kubik has been an assistant to Peter Nowak’s US Olympic team in the Beijing games in 2008.

“I am very happy to back working with U.S. Soccer, especially after my experience with the Olympic Team,” said Kubik. “I know Bob very well from our time in Chicago, and I know his quality as a manager. I think I can bring experience from having played in the World Cup and the European Championships, and I will have the chance to follow both the U.S. players in Europe as well as our opponents. I’m very excited about the opportunity. I believe that the U.S. team has a great future.”

The US play their next friendly against the Netherlands on Wednesday at 1:30pm CT on ESPN2.

MEANWHILE, we are currently looking for a photographer, please view our ad on the website.

Fire Name New Goalkeeper Coach

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 07:42:37 -0400

Former U. of Washington assistant joins De los Cobos’ squad.

by Dan Gaichas

BRIDGEVIEW, IL--The Chicago Fire named Aron Hyde their new goalkeeper coach on Monday. Hyde most recently served as an assistant caoch for the University of Washington men’s soccer team. He also served as a coach for Seattle University men’s and women’s soccer teams.

Hyde, 27, played for Judson College (NAIA) during his time as a college player and was in the developmental program of English Premier League side Fulham FC as well as spending time with Walsall, Millwall, and Wycombe Wanderers (all League One sides).

MEANWHILE, we are currently looking for a photographer, please view our ad on the website.

Wanted: Photographer

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:40:11 -0400

Want to place on the sidelines? Here’s your chance.

by Dan Gaichas

Have you ever dreamed of being on the sidelines taking shots of "The Beautiful Game"? Would you like to broaden your portfolio with more action photography? Well, here's your chance. We are looking for a photographer to capture the images of soccer in the Chicagoland area for our website.

The ideal candidate has experience in photography,and photo imaging software such as Photoshop or PaintShop Pro. Experience in sports photography is a plus.

Duties include covering Chicago Fire games, Chicago Red Stars games, international matches, and select college soccer games. The photographer would select and submit at least three relevant images for posting at windycitysoccer.net. Photographer may also be asked to write a column or match report on occasion.

Photographer may be asked to provide his/her own transportation to the games. There is public transportation to and from Toyota Park on game days.

There is no pay at this time. However, the editor will recommend you for future employment.

Interested candidates should contact Dan Gaichas, Editor and Webmaster, at windycitysoccer@me.com and attach photos to their application.

Fire Draw with Chivas Guadalajara

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:12:41 -0400

Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1 Chicago Fire.

by Dan Gaichas

GUADALAJARA, MEX--The Chicago Fire played to a 1-1 draw with Chivas de Guadalajara in a closed-door friendly in Mexico. The Fire started what appears to be their first-choice XI against Chivas and created a number of chances. They were rewarded in the 41st minute when Wilman Conde sent a long ball to Brian McBride who took advantage of an out-of-position keeper and looped the ball over the keeper for the opening goal.

In the second half, the Fire made wholesale changes and nearly head on for the win until Adrian Dominguez scored in stoppage time to deny the Fire the win.

The Fire will next play on Wednesday against an opponent to be determined in Mexico where they continue training thru March 4.

In other news, the MLS labor contract is scheduled to expire at midnight Friday. However, despite not coming to an agreement with the league, the Players Union have decided not to strike at this present time.

''We have advised our players to keep working for the time being, but as of Friday they will be doing so without a CBA,'' said Major League Soccer Players Union executive director Bob Foose in a statement. ''In the meantime, all options are being considered as the process continues.''

The league has already stated that it will not lockout the players and is prepared to start the season on schedule under the conditions of the old contract.

Chicago Fire 1st Half: Jon Busch; Tim Ward, CJ Brown, Wilman Conde, Krzysztof Krol; Logan Pause, Julio Martinez, John Thorrington, Justin Mapp, Marco Pappa; Brian McBride

Chicago Fire 2nd Half: Sean Johnson; O’Brian Woodbine (Stefan Dimitrov 83), Dasan Robinson, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Jose Pepe Luis; Jaime Cuesta (Drew Yates 73), Calen Carr, Peter Lowry, Baggio Husidic (Patrick Nyarko 68), Mike Banner; Collins John