MLS Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire Weekly

Published on April 22, 2002 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


Naperville on Fire The Chicago Fire will be working out of Halas Hall all week preparing for its MLS home opener against Mamadou Diallo, Alex Pineda Chacon and the rest of the New England Revolution this Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Fire's new home at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville. Tickets to the Fire's 2002 MLS home opener are still available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, and at the Fire offices, 980 North Michigan Ave. in Chicago.

The "Men in Red" are 2-0-0 this season at Cardinal Stadium after a 2-0 victory over Guatemala's Municipal in the FC Champions Cup (March 20), and a 6-1 beating of the A-League's Milwaukee Rampage in a friendly on April 14.

The Fire broke a two-game losing Saturday night, shutting out the first-place -and the league's goal-scoring leader -MetroStars 2-0 at Giants Stadium in the team's most physical match by far this season. The match, which saw seven yellow cards and the ejection of MetroStars midfielder Tab Ramos, helped Bob Bradley's boys improve to a 2-2-0 record (6 points), good for second place in MLS's Eastern Conference (tied with DC United). Fire captain Peter Nowak suffered a right ankle sprain during the heated contest, and was forced to exit the match at halftime after being tackled the MetroStars' Daniel Hernandez. The Polish virtuoso is listed as questionable for this weekend's match.

Armas, Beasley & Wolff Named to U.S. World Cup Squad U.S. National Team Head Coach Bruce Arena today announced that Chicago Fire players Chris Armas, DaMarcus Beasley and Josh Wolff have been named to his 23-player roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton and forward Ante Razov were both named as alternates to the World Cup team. Thornton has earned eight caps, while Razov has totaled 22 caps with six goals scored. The three selected players will join the rest of the squad on May 1 in Cary, NC for 10 days of training at the State Capital Soccer Park, after which the Americans will embark on the much-anticipated "Nike Road to Korea."

Before departing for Korea, the U.S. will follow the "Nike Road to Korea" with matches against Uruguay on Sunday, May 12 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (live on ABC at 1:00 p.m. CT). The team will then travel north to face Jamaica on Thursday, May 16 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (live on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. CT and on delay on Telemundo at 10:30 p.m. CT). The World Cup send-off match against Holland on Sunday, May 19 (live on ABC at 1:00 p.m. CT) in Foxboro, MA at CMGI Field. The game is part of a doubleheader with the Fire taking on the New England Revolution 3:30 p.m. CT, live on Fox Sports Net.

Training Update

The Fire will be training at Lake Forest on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Training for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are yet to be determined. Training sessions are open to the media only. Sites/times subject to change.
Date Site Time (CT)
Tuesday, April 23 Halas Hall - Lake Forest 10:30 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24 TBD TBD
Thursday, April 25 TBD TBD
Friday, April 26 TBD TBD
Saturday, April 27 Kickoff vs. N.E. Revolution 7:30 p.m. - Cardinal Stadium

ACE/Tru-Fit Injury Report

Brown, C.J. - grade two left hamstring strain - IR
Curtin, Jim - left ankle sprain - probable
Korol, Aleksey - left knee bursitis - IR
Nowak, Peter - right ankle sprain - questionable
Razov, Ante - left calf bruise - probable - day-to-day
Stoitchkov, Hristo - right hernia repair - probable
Whitfield, Evan - ACL tear in left knee - IR

Etc.

* Fire assistant coach Daryl Shore, backup goalkeeper Henry Ring and the team mascot Sparky will be making an appearance at the "Chicago Fire Organ Donor Day" on Tuesday, April 23 from 2-4:00 p.m. at the Center of DuPage Hospital, 25 N. Winfield in Winfield, IL.

* Last Saturday's match saw the first appearances by defender Jim Curtin and forward Hristo Stoitchkov this season...Both players had been nursing injuries throughout most of the preseason and the early part of the regular season.

* Midfielder Jesse Marsch became the first player in Fire's history to reach 10,000 min. played with the team on Saturday, April 20 at the MetroStars in the Fire's 2-0 win.

* Budweiser will be welcoming the Chicago Fire to Naperville this Wednesday, April 24 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at three Naperville locations: Quigely's Irish Pub, The Lantern, and Features (near intersection of Chicago and Washington). Fire players, Sparky, and the Bud Girls will be in attendance for the event with promotional gifts to be distributed. Everyone in attendance must be 21 years old and over.

* The Fire will face its A-League affiliate Indiana Blast on Tuesday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT from Kuntz Stadium in an exhibition match. For ticket information please call MorSports, Inc. at (317) 585-9203 or visit www.indianablast.com. Tickets will go on sale May 10 at 9:00 a.m.

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 22, 2002


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