What a season. The Fire were eliminated from playoff contention this weekend, and in a season full of weird, ironic, unexpected twists, it was almost unsurprising that they got eliminated after their best game of the year. Against a solid Columbus team (who, granted, already qualified for the playoffs), it looked like Coach Carlos de los Cobos finally found a way to blend the new signings, the youth, and the veterans. As you can see from the highlights above, the Fire bossed the game from the start. more ›

USAMNT coach Bob Bradley stopped by the Toyota Park press box on Wednesday night to talk to the various media outlets assembled therein. We asked him about the next four years, about the October 9th friendly against Poland at Soldier Field, about the US's World Cup 2018/2022 bid, about Brian McBride, and much more: more ›

Alright here's the thing. Over the past few disappointing weeks, it seemed as if the Fire (6-7-7) have done everything they could to blow their shot at the playoffs. They give up late goals, they give up soft goals on set pieces, they make bad decisions, and they don't collect full points at home. But - BUT - despite all that, despite sitting in 11th place at the moment, they can still make the playoffs. And everybody knows that once you're in, anything is possible. more ›

Over the weekend, Chicagoland's own (and current Fire player) Brian McBride announced his retirement effective at the end of this season. Over 17 years, across major leagues including the English Premier League and MLS as well as multiple World Cup appearances for the US Mens National Team, McBride has proven to be one of the hardest working, most consistent U.S. players to hit the world stage. Taking bumps and bruises and coming up bloodied more times than we can count, McBride has never been afraid to throw his whole body into the game. We'll save our official retrospective of McBride's outstanding career for when he hangs his spikes up for good later this fall, but the below video compilation is a great way to celebrate one of the toughest men in soccer. (One downside to the video? The awful soundtrack. We suggest muting the video and playing this more appropriate song in another tab instead.) [via] more ›

Well, that was sort of a bummer. Despite an amped crowd of 21,868 - the biggest in Toyota Park history - the Fire’s 0-0 tie against the New York Red Bulls last night failed to live up to its hype. Thanks to a combination of 90 degree heat, some rusty legs, and a lack of cohesion between new players and regulars, we didn’t get the explosion of quality we had hoped for. Still, there was a lot to learn from the game, both from a Fire and a MLS perspective. more ›

Say what you want, but this Sunday’s game between our Chicago Fire and the New York Red Bulls at Toyota Park (8 PM) is the most important game in Chicago Fire history. Yeah yeah, we’ve been in bigger games. The 1998 MLS Championship and runner-up showings in 2000 and 2003 come to mind, as do the 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2006 U.S. Open triumphs; then there are some of the more memorable friendlies (A.C. Milan visiting Soldier Field in 2005 especially). But Sunday night tops it all. more ›

Just as Chicago kisses so many pieces of the Stanley Cup champs goodbye, the Chicago Fire have added some serious firepower for the second half of the season in hopes of emulating the success of the Blackhawks and bringing home some silverware. With the addition of two designated players Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg and Nerry Castillo, they’ve suddenly become, on paper at least, a contender. Granted, Ljungberg is far, far past his prime and Castillo has had his own issues, but if coach Carlos de los Cobos can conjure a way to fit them in with the Brian Mcbride, Collins John, Baggio Husidic, Marco Pappa, and Patrick Nyarko offensive core we started the season with, the Fire have a real shot. Here’s some background on Ljungberg. We'll have a post on Castillo later today. more ›

The Chicago Fire's Sister Cities International Cup starts tonight, and here's the deal: Tonight, the Fire play Paris Saint-Germain at Toyota Park at 7 PM, and Legia Warsaw play Red Star Belgrade right after. On Saturday, the two losers play at 6 PM at Toyota Park, and the winners play for the Cup right after. Bam. more ›

After taking just one point from their first two games (0-1-1), Soccernet ranked the Fire 9th in their power rankings. That's about right. They've had to play two solid teams in two difficult stadiums (highlights vs. NY here and vs. Colorado here), but most of all the squad is still only just getting settled. On Saturday, the San Jose Earthquakes (0-1-0) come to Toyota Park for the home opener at 7:30. The Fire will hope that they've settled enough to give the home fans a show against SJE, who got torn apart last week by defending MLS champs Real Salt Late. more ›

The BBC is reporting that Fire GM John Guppy admitted to trying to sign retired Real Madrid star and 2006 World Cup Best Player, Zinedine Zidane out of retirement to play with the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. According to Guppy, "We reached out to Zidane ... the feedback we've all gotten is that he's retired." The Fire has also unsuccessfully tried to sign Swedish striker Henrik Larsson but lost out to Manchester United.... more ›

Today Major League Soccer hosted its 2007 SuperDraft. The draft was overshadowed by yesterday's announcement that David Beckham has signed with the LA Galaxy. Today's newest members of Major League Soccer will get paid significantly less than Beckham's nearly $1 million per week in salary and endorsements. Toronto FC, an MLS expansion team, had the first selection and picked University of Maryland product midfielder Maurice Edu. The Columbus Crew was scheduled to have the second... more ›

United States National Soccer Team Manager Bruce Arena plans to announce the 23 player roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tonight at 5pm on ESPN's Sportscenter. Arena is announcing the squad 13 days before the official roster submission date, when the rosters for all 32 teams will be finalized. We feel there are 13 players who can rest easy today as their place on the roster is a sure thing (denoted in italics below).... more ›