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Chicago Fire

File:ChicagoFire.png
Full name	Chicago Fire Soccer Club
Nickname(s)	The Fire, La Maquina Roja Men in Red, CF97, Strażacy (Firemen)
Founded	1997
Ground	Toyota Park Bridgeview, Illinois
Capacity	20,000
Chairman	Andrew Hauptman
Head Coach	Carlos de los Cobos
League	Major League Soccer
2010	Eastern Conference: 4th Overall: 10th Playoffs: DNQ
Home colors Away colors
Current season

The Chicago Fire Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois that participates in Major League Soccer. The team was founded on October 8, 1997, the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, after which the club was named. In 1998, their inaugural league season, the Fire won the MLS Cup as well as the U.S. Open Cup (the "double"). They have also won the 2000, 2003, and 2006 U.S. Open Cups.

The Fire feature a complete developmental system consisting of the Chicago Fire Premier (a Premier Development League team and a Super-20 League team), the Chicago Fire NPSL team, the Chicago Fire Development Academy, and the Chicago Fire Juniors youth teams. The club also administers a charitable community organization, the Chicago Fire Foundation (formerly the FireWorks for Kids Foundation).

The official club colors are red and white. Over its history, the Fire have also employed navy blue, sky blue, and black as alternate or accent colors.

History

Overview

Founded on October 8, 1997, the club was originally based at Soldier Field. Since 2006, they reside in their own stadium, Toyota Park at 71st and Harlem Avenue. The owners of the Fire are Andell Holdings, who purchased the club in 2007. Andrew Hauptman, director of Andell Holdings, acts as chairman while the current president is Dave Greeley. They are most successful, historically, in the U.S. Open Cup; winning championships in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006. Chicago's chief rivals are the New England Revolution and FC Dallas. The Fire keeps a close connection with the Chicago Sting (its predecessor team in the NASL) by holding frequent commemorative events, reunions, and wearing Sting-inspired shirts.

A number of famous players wore the Fire shirt, including U.S. internationals Chris Armas, Frank Klopas, Eric Wynalda, DaMarcus Beasley, Josh Wolff, Tony Sanneh, Carlos Bocanegra, and Justin Mapp; and other Americans like Jesse Marsch, C.J. Brown, Ante Razov, Zach Thornton, and Chris Rolfe. Chicago has also imported both established international talent such as Piotr Nowak, Lubos Kubik, Hristo Stoichkov, Tomasz Frankowski, and Cuauhtémoc Blanco; and younger developmental players like Damani Ralph, Ivan Guerrero, Bakary Soumare, and Patrick Nyarko.

Foundation and Success

Founded on the anniversary of the Great Fire in a 1997 ceremony at Navy Pier, the Fire immediately tapped into Chicago's diverse ethnic makeup, bringing in Polish players Piotr Nowak, Jerzy Podbrozny, and Roman Kosecki; Mexican Jorge Campos; and Czech Lubos Kubik. While all showed their talent while playing for Chicago (Nowak in particular, the captain for 5 years), it was the young American players that proved most successful and integral to the Fire's continued success. The club, against all expectation, completed the double in its first competitive year: beating D.C. United in MLS Cup 1998 at the Rose Bowl, and a week later defeating the Columbus Crew in Chicago to win the 1998 U.S. Open Cup.

Success continued, reaching the MLS Cup 2000 (losing to Kansas City) and winning the 2000 U.S. Open Cup. Both internationally experienced players like Hristo Stoitchkov, and young American talents such as DaMarcus Beasley competed for the club's first head coach, Bob Bradley to quickly establish the Fire as one of the league's preeminent teams.

Nomadic Existence

The Fire moved to the western Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois in 2002, while Soldier Field underwent massive renovations. That year, Bob Bradley left unexpectedly to lead the MetroStars of his home state of New Jersey. The club then selected Dave Sarachan, the U.S. men's national team's top assistant, to assume the vacant post. Returning to Soldier Field in 2003, Chicago qualified for the league final, while also capturing the Supporters' Shield and 2003 U.S. Open Cup along the way. Longtime captain Piotr Nowak retired to take a position in the front office, only to depart a year later to become D.C. United manager. New talents emerged in this period, including Jamaican striker Damani Ralph and Justin Mapp. The growing strength of the Eastern Conference made Chicago's league position ever more tenuous, and in 2004 they missed the league playoffs for the first time in their history.

Upheaval and New Home

The 2005 season began abruptly with the unexpected dismissal of popular club president Peter Wilt by then-owners AEG despite the brokering of a $100m stadium deal in Bridgeview. He was immediately replaced by Metrostars executive John Guppy; a move decried by fans, many players, and club staff. The year was notable for the blockbuster visit of Milan from Italy's Serie A and the shocking 4-0 away defeat of D.C. United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

In 2006 the Fire moved from Soldier Field into its own $100m stadium on the southwest side of Chicago: Toyota Park in Bridgeview, at the corner of 71st Street and Harlem Avenue. The first season saw an unspectacular league campaign, but won the 2006 U.S. Open Cup to continue their cup success.

However, the anxiety to win another league title continued to grow. Sarachan entered 2007, his fifth season in charge, under intense pressure from fans and the club to produce a league championship. It mounted further on April 3, 2007, when the Fire signed Mexico and América star Cuauhtémoc Blanco to a Designated Player contract. After a promising start, winning their first three, they won only one of their next eight resulting in Sarachan's dismissal. After a brief search, Millionarios manager Juan Carlos Osorio was named the club's third head coach.

The Hauptman era

On September 6, 2007, Andell Holdings, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm controlled by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Hauptman, acquired AEG's interests in both Chicago Fire Soccer Club and Toyota Park. While not officially disclosed, reports estimated the purchase price to be upwards of $35 million. Behind Blanco and Wilman Conde, Osorio's central defender at Millionarios, the Fire went on an extended unbeaten run to close the season. While qualifying for the playoffs they again fell to New England, at Gillette Stadium in the Eastern Conference Final.

The club announced the resignation of Juan Carlos Osorio not long afterward on December 10, 2007. Osorio was named manager of the New York Red Bulls eight days later. While the Fire were compensated by the Red Bulls with draft picks and cash for Osorio's hiring, Chairman Andrew Hauptman filed tampering charges with the league in protest.

Changes came quickly in the wake of Osorio's departure. On January 17, 2008, former Fire star Frank Klopas was named Technical Director in charge of player personnel, and longtime assistant Denis Hamlett was appointed manager. Former Fire assistant and FC Dallas manager Mike Jeffries and retired Fire legend Chris Armas were hired as assistants.

In preparation for the 2008 season, Chicago signed Poland forward Tomasz Frankowski and Líder Mármol. Both saw limited playing time and departed after one season. The Fire struggled at home all year, but found unusual success on the road, gathering 22 out of a possible 45 away points. In a long-anticipated move, they signed Chicago native Brian McBride on a free transfer in July 2008. After disposing of the Red Bulls 5-2 in the season's final game, they conquered New England in the first round of the playoffs. The triumph only lasted for a week, as they missed the league final again in their 2-1 loss to McBride's former club and eventual champion Columbus.

The 2009 season saw few alterations to the previous season's roster. The story of the season was much the same, however, as continued poor home form offset excellent performances away from Toyota Park. This led to a second placed Eastern Conference finish, again behind Columbus. However, Real Salt Lake upset in the quarterfinals meant Chicago would host the semifinal for the first time in six years. Despite Chicago's near-perfect home playoff history, their home troubles continued, losing to Salt Lake 5-3 on penalties after 120 scoreless minutes. Shortly thereafter, manager Denis Hamlett was dismissed.

Midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco departed for Veracruz in order to finish his career at home , while Chris Rolfe and Gonzalo Segares left for European clubs, kicking off a multitude of changes leading up to 2010. Brian McBride and defender C.J. Brown were signed to extensions, and the club purchased the contract of on-loan midfielder Marco Pappa. Chicago then hired former El Salvador manager Carlos de los Cobos as manager. Just before the opening of the new season, the club also released goalkeeper Jon Busch.

After a lackluster first half of the season, the summer transfer window has seen still more changes. Starting with the trade of longtime midfield stalwart Justin Mapp to Philadelphia, soon thereafter saw the acquisitions of Mexican international striker Nery Castillo and former Swedish international midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg. Defender Gonzalo Segares returned to the Fire shortly thereafter, leaving Apollon Limassol after only six months.

Club logo and colors

The Chicago Fire logo is derived from the standard style of a fire department's crest (also shown by the Chicago Fire Department). Known as a Florian's cross, the shape is often confused with the Maltese cross. Original GM Peter Wilt chose the shape in part to create an image that was both timeless (as those of the NHL Original Six) and evocative of European soccer. In the center is a stylized 'C' (representing Chicago) similar to the logos of the Bears and Cubs. The six points in a ring around the center reference the six-pointed stars in the Municipal Flag of Chicago. The four stars on the flag represent four monumental events in the history of the city—the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the 1893 World's Fair, the 1933 World's Fair, and the Battle of Fort Dearborn.

Nike, the original club uniform supplier, wanted the team to be named Chicago Rhythm featuring a turquoise, black and green color scheme and a cobra adorned logo. Team officials ignored these wishes and developed the Fire identity with the help of Adrenalin, Inc., a well known sports-specific branding agency.

The original Fire shirts were chosen because of their resemblance to a Chicago fireman's coat, featuring broad horizontal stripes across the torso and sleeves. The home jerseys were red and white with a "FIRE" wordmark on the front in silver. The away shirts were white and black in this same style. The home shirt remains constant since then, all-red with a white horizontal chest stripe; even though the uniform manufacturer has changed from Nike in 1998, to Puma in 2003, and then adidas in 2006. Away/secondary shirts have changed over the years from the aforementioned white with black in 1998, to white with navy, and the white with red style currently used. In 2005 a popular light blue third shirt based on the Municipal Flag of Chicago was worn but discontinued during the change in manufacturer to Adidas.

As a show of pride, the club and their fans frequently use additional civic symbolism in the materials they produce. The six-pointed Chicago stars are prominently employed but the light blue color, municipal device (Y-circle), and skyline appear frequently—on the team website or scarves and banners in the stadium. The municipal flag of Chicago is also favored for display by fans of the club; somewhat akin to the use of the flag of Catalonia for FC Barcelona fans—but without the associated nationalism.

On January 11, 2008, the team reached a three-year deal with Best Buy to become their first jersey sponsor.

Kit Manufacturers

Shirt Sponsors

Supporters

There is a notable ultras culture for the club, existing from the date of the Fire's founding. Supporters groups and Ultras groups occupy a standing area directly behind the north goal in the Harlem End of Toyota Park (Sections 117 and 118) that is referred to as Section 8. This term originates in the numbering of their section at Soldier Field, as well as the American military designation of soldiers declared mentally unfit. Section 8 Chicago, the Independent Supporters' Association for the Fire, oversees the activities of the many groups. Though incorporating a variety of support styles from both Chicago and throughout the world, groups as part of Section 8 are allied and generally fall under the ultras designation. The Section 8 Chicago ISA is also a non-profit organization recognized by the state of Illinois.

Aside the supporters' groups, the club is well known for its stadium wide vocal and visual support, particularly for matches of great competitive importance. Call-and-response cheering amongst the crowd is commonplace. Fans at Toyota Park for Fire matches periodically engage in acts of tifo to show their pride and inspire the players on the field, one of the few American environments to do so.

Players and coaches

Current roster

As of May 8, 2010.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 FW  USA Calen Carr 4 DF  USA Kwame Watson-Siriboe 6 MF  USA Peter Lowry 8 MF  SWE Fredrik Ljungberg 9 MF  BIH Baggio Husidić 10 FW  MEX Nery Castillo (on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk) 11 MF  USA John Thorrington 12 MF  USA Logan Pause 13 DF  SLV Deris Umanzor 14 FW  GHA Patrick Nyarko 15 FW  NED Collins John 16 MF  GUA Marco Pappa

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  USA Mike Banner 19 MF  USA Corben Bone 22 DF  COL Wilman Conde 23 DF  POL Krzysztof Król (on loan from Jagiellonia) 25 GK  USA Sean Johnson 27 MF  USA Victor Pineda 28 DF  USA Steven Kinney 31 DF  CRC Gonzalo Segares 32 DF  USA Dasan Robinson 40 GK  USA Andrew Dykstra 77 MF  SRB Bratislav Ristić

Notable former players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

• See also All-time Chicago Fire roster

Head coaches

• Bob Bradley (1998-02)
• Dave Sarachan (2003-07)
• Juan Carlos Osorio (2007)
• Denis Hamlett (2008-09)
• Carlos de los Cobos (2010-)

Front Office

Club Presidents

• Robert Sanderman (1997-00)
• Peter Wilt (2001-05)
• John Guppy (2005-08)
• Javier León (2008), (2010) (both interim)
• Dave Greeley (2008-10)
• Julian Posada (2010-)

General Managers

• Peter Wilt (1997-05)

Technical Directors

• Frank Klopas (2008-)

Assistant Coaches

• Daryl Shore (2000-09)
• Alvaro Briones (2010-)

Team Physicians

• Preston Wolin (1998-08)
• Gilberto Muñoz (1999-)

Ring of Fire

The "Ring of Fire" was established in 2003 by Chicago Fire Soccer Club and the Chicago Fire Alumni Association as permanent tribute to honor those who have made the club proud and successful over its history. Aside from the initial member Piotr Nowak, only "Ring of Fire" members can select new inductees, and no more than one can be selected any year. Names and numbers (if applicable) are prominently displayed inside Toyota Park.

In 2008, there was no inductee for the first time. The members voted to honor two recently deceased fans (supporter leaders Dan Parry and Brandon Kitchens) but were overruled by club Chairman Andrew Hauptman.

• 10 Piotr Nowak (inducted 2003)
• 41 Frank Klopas (inducted 2004)
• 5 Luboš Kubík (inducted 2005)
• Former General Manager & Club President Peter Wilt (inducted 2006)
• Former Head Coach Bob Bradley (inducted 2007)
• 14 Chris Armas (inducted 2009)

Honors

Domestic

• MLS Cup: 1

1998

Runner-up (2): 2000, 2003

• Supporters' Shield: 1

2003

Runner-up (2): 2000, 2001

• U.S. Open Cup: 4

1998, 2000, 2003, 2006

Runner-up (1): 2004

International

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 0

Third-place (2): 1999, 2004

• SuperLiga: 1

Runner-up (1): 2009

Year-by-Year

* Won MLS Supporters' Shield

Club records

• Games: C.J. Brown, 286
• Goals: Ante Razov, 76
• Assists: Piotr Nowak, 48
• Shutouts: Zach Thornton, 57
• Minutes Played: CJ Brown 21,958

MLS regular season only, through 2009

• All-Time regular season record: 167-125-73 (Through 2009 regular season)

Team Awards

Year	Team MVP	Golden Boot*		Defender of the Year
		Winner	Goals
1998	Piotr Nowak	Ante Razov	10	Luboš Kubík
1999	Luboš Kubík	Ante Razov	14	Luboš Kubík
2000	Piotr Nowak	Ante Razov	18	Carlos Bocanegra
2001	Piotr Nowak	Eric Wynalda	10	Zach Thornton
2002	Zach Thornton	Ante Razov	14	Zach Thornton
2003	Chris Armas	Ante Razov	14	Carlos Bocanegra
2004	Henry Ring	Damani Ralph	11	Jim Curtin
2005	Ivan Guerrero	Chris Rolfe	8	Ivan Guerrero
2006	Andy Herron	Andy Herron	9	CJ Brown
2007	Cuauhtémoc Blanco	Chad Barrett	7	Gonzalo Segares
2008	Jon Busch	Chris Rolfe	9	Bakary Soumare
2009	Brian McBride	Brian McBride	7	Wilman Conde
2010	Logan Pause	Marco Pappa	7	CJ Brown

*Golden Boot is the team leader in goals (regular season games only).

Home stadiums

• Soldier Field (1998-01), (2004-05)
• Cardinal Stadium (2002-03)
• Toyota Park (2006-)

Average attendance

regular season/playoffs

• 1998: 17,887/22,677
• 1999: 16,016/8,197
• 2000: 13,387/8,431
• 2001: 16,388/11,239
• 2002: 12,922/9,434
• 2003: 14,005/14,961
• 2004: 17,153/missed playoffs
• 2005: 17,238/11,493
• 2006: 14,088/10,217
• 2007: 16,490/17,834
• 2008: 17,034/17,312
• 2009: 14,689/21,626
• 2010: 15,814/missed playoffs

Club system

• Chicago Fire — MLS (First Team)
• Chicago Fire Premier — USL Premier Development League (4th division) (U20 and U23 Collegiate Amateur Select Teams)
• Chicago Fire Academy — Statewide (U14 to U18 Youth Select Teams)
• Chicago Fire Juniors — Local (U8 to U23 Youth Club) with three Chicago branches; satellite clubs in Milwaukee, Western Michigan, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Television and radio

Matches are televised locally by Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WPWR-TV. Announcers are Dan Kelly and Chris Doran. Select matches are also nationally broadcast on ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel, or Telefutura via the league's television agreements.

On radio, the Fire have matches broadcast in Spanish by "La Tremenda" WRTO-AM; Oscar Guzman, Adrian Camacho and Enrique Fernandez handle the announcers duties.

References

1. "Fire Fire Peter Wilt, Fans Protest". chicagoist.com. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
2. Hauptman to Purchase Chicago Fire
3. "The owner that won't let go". soccerbyives.net.
4. "Fire sack Hamlett". fifa.com.
5. "Blanco to leave Fire for Mexico". espnchicago.com.
6. "Fire pick up options on McBride, Brown". chicago-fire.com.
7. "Pappa will remain with Fire through 2012". chicago-fire.com.
8. "Monday Kickaround". washingtonpost.com.
9. USSP: "Sounders Already Scoring"
10. Red Card | ChicagoSports | Blog
11. "Chicago Fire Roster". Chicago-Fire.com. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
12. http://www.section8chicago.com/jm3/component/option,com_myblog/show,Wrong-of-Fire.html/Itemid,96/

External links

• Chicago Fire official club website
• Chicago Fire - History official club history (with photos and uniforms)
• Section 8 Chicago ISA Independent Supporters' Association website
• Official Fire Message Board, courtesy of BigSoccer
• Independent Fire Fan Website A website for the Chicago Fire.
• Chicago Fire Premier, PDL (amateur) and Super-20 Affiliate Club
• Chicago Fire Juniors, Chicago-based Youth Affiliate Club
• West Michigan Fire Juniors, Michigan-based Youth Affiliate Club
• Elm Grove Soccer, Milwaukee-based Youth Affiliate Club
• Chicago Fire Juniors of Mississippi, Mississippi-based Youth Affiliate Club

v t e Sports teams based in the Chicago metropolitan area
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Roller derby	USARS Chicago Red Hots WFTDA Chicago Outfit Roller Derby Windy City Rollers
Rugby	MLR Chicago Hounds USAR Chicago Griffins RFC Chicago Lions RFC
Soccer	MLS Chicago Fire FC MLSNP Chicago Fire FC II USL2 Chicago City SC USLW Chicago City SC NWSL Chicago Red Stars
Indoor soccer	M2 Chicago Mustangs
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