Ever since our season preview this spring, we've maintained that the Fire have enough talent to succeed this year. The issue was whether the talent, and first year coach Carlos de los Cobos, could harmonize to get the most as a team. With much hyped midseason moves that brought even more talent to the squad now behind us, the harmonizing question is more pressing than ever. The chemistry, the formation, and the starting lineup have all been tweaked in the weeks since the All-Star break, but, besides an explosive opening half in Los Angeles, nothing's really clicked. more ›

The Chicago Fire returned from the MLS' World Cup-associated break in winning fashion, beating the New England Revolution 1-0. In the 30th minute, Marco Pappa took a Dasan Robinson pass and buried a shot from 30 yards away, scoring the game's only goal. It looked like the Fire had extended their lead to 2-0 after Brian McBride's header off a Pappa corner kick appeared to have crossed the goal line before being cleared by a New England defender, but the refs said it was no-goal, keeping the score at 1-0. It's the second win in three MLS matches for the Fire who extend their unbeaten streak to five MLS matches now, a big step forward after they struggled through May without any win. more ›

The Chicago Fire dispatched the New England Revolution 2-1 last night in Foxboro, earning themselves a trip to the 2009 SuperLiga final. Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the way for Chicago with an assist to Brian McBride in the 34th minute to give the Fire a 1-0 lead. Then Blanco netted an unassisted goal in the 63rd minute to break a 1-1 tie and put the Fire ahead for good. Keeper Jon Busch played outstanding for the Fire, stopping 8 of 9 shots on goal fired by New England. The Revolution - the defending SuperLiga champs - were also a bit short-handed as suspensions, injuries, and other duties kept seven players off their roster for this match. Still, there's nothing to take away from the Fire, who earned the right to host the August 5th SuperLiga final against Tigres UANL. Fire coach Coach Dennis Hamlett said after the game, "You need big plays to win and our big players stepped up and made great plays." more ›

Thanks to a 0-0 tie in the first game of their aggregate playoff series with the New England Revolution, all the Chicago Fire had to do was win to advance to round two. And win they did, topping the Rev 3-0 Thursday night at The Camry in front of a crowd of over 17,000. Chris Rolfe scored the first goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half, taking advantage of a loose rebound after Rev goalie Matt Reis had to stretch to stop a Blanco shot. At the beginning of the second half, in the 49th minute, defenseman Wilman Conde scored off a free kick by Justin Mapp. Rolfe also got an assist on a nice pass to Gonzalo Segares, whose goal in the 74th minute clinched the game for Chicago. It was an intense, physical game which saw 21 fouls and six misconducts, including a red card on New England's Chris Albright in the 83rd minute. The Fire managed six shots on goal and goalie Jon Busch stopped all four New England shots on goal in the win. Now the Fire await the winner of the Columbus-Kansas City series, which concludes Saturday, in the Eastern Conference Championship, which begin next Thursday. more ›

The Chicago Fire played the New England Revolution to a draw in the opener of their two-game aggregate playoff series last night 0-0. Both teams struggled to get much offense going throughout the physical match that saw 22 fouls and five yellow cards. The Fire mustered five shots on goal (Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the Fire with two) while goalie Jon Busch stopped all four New England shots on goal. more ›

The Chicago Fire's Chris Armas officially announced his retirement today, concluding a 12-year career in Major League Soccer. Armas, who had said at the beginning of the season that he intended to retire, played his final match in the play-off loss to the New England Revolution last Thursday. Armas played with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the league's inaugural season and in 1997 before coming to the Chicago Fire when the league expanded in 1998.... more ›

For the fifth time in six years, the New England Revolution have ended the Chicago Fire's season. New England forward Taylor Twellman scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal in the 38th minute that turned out to be the game winner. Twellman was covered tightly by Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause but was able to head the ball in the air then perform the acrobatic kick between the two defenders and leaving goal keeper Matt Pickens... more ›

The Fire return to Toyota Park tomorrow night to take on rival New England Revolution in their penultimate regular-season home game. The New England Revolution are hot off their U.S. Open Cup Championship game earlier this week. The Fire come into the match on a five-game unbeaten streak, but four of those non-beatings were ties because the Fire's been fizzling: In each of their last three games, they held the lead with less than ten... more ›

The Chicago Fire came into the week tied for first place as a result of the Fire's best Major League start in club history, 3-0-1. After Sunday night’s loss to the New England Revolution the Fire (3-1-1, 10 pts) fall below the fold in the tough Eastern Conference standings to fourth behind Kansas City (4-1-0, 12 pts), New York Red Bulls (3-0-2, 11 pts) and New England Revs (3-1-2, 11 pts). The Fire were able... more ›

The Chicago Fire kick off their tenth season in Major League Soccer this Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire will start off against New England Revolution, who knocked the Fire out of the 2006 playoff hunt. The rivalry with the Revs is quickly becoming one of the better rivalries in Major League Soccer. The teams are an even 17-17-6 against each other in the regular season. Further stoking the rivalry fire is... more ›

Last month we shared with you the rumors that the Chicago Fire were in talks with Mexican Soccer Star Cuauhtémoc Blanco. The Fire announced on Sunday that Blanco would be coming to Chicago on Monday to sign a Designated Player (DP) contract with the Fire. The Fire will become only the third team to take advantage of Major League Soccer's Designated Player rule. The rule allows MLS teams to sign a player and have only... more ›

Both Red Card and Ridge Mahoney of SoccerAmerica are reporting that Fire GM John Guppy has met with Mexican League Star Cuauhtemoc Blanco about joining the Fire in 2007. SoccerAmerica reported that salary terms of $1.5-2 million per season for either one or three years are being discussed. Blanco, although aging at 34 and having suffered several injuries during his career, continues to find the back of the net, including four times this season for... more ›

The Chicago Fire can start thinking about 2007, now that their first match is scheduled. The Fire will host the New England Revolution on April 7 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview to kick off the 2007 campaign. The Revolution and the Fire have developed a solid, bitter rivalry over the years highlighted by the Revs ending the Fire's 2006 season in New England in penalty kicks. Four of the five times the Fire have met... more ›

The Chicago Fire's season ended after losing in penalty kicks to the New England Revolution on Saturday. The Fire went into Saturday's game with the advantage of a 1-0 aggregate goals lead. They simply needed a tie or a win to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. From the opening whistle, this was a hotly contested match. Just 20 seconds into the match, Revolution midfielder Andy Dorman put a shot on goal that required Fire... more ›

The Chicago Fire carry a 1-0 lead into New England for the second leg of the aggregate goal Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. The Chicago Fire defeated the New England Revolution 1-0 in Chicago Sunday when Justin Mapp scored off a free kick in the 34th minute. The Fire can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a win or a tie in New England on Saturday night. The Fire have their work cut out for... more ›

The Chicago Fire will host their final home game of the 2006 campaign at noon on Sunday, October 22, when they take on division rival the New England Revolution. The Fire will be looking for revenge as it was the Revs who knocked the Fire out of the postseason last year. This year, the Fire have the advantage in their series play with a 2-1-1 record. When this series is over, the two teams will... more ›

The Chicago Fire are slated to take on the New England Revolution in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Toyota Park. The two teams are familiar with each other, as the Fire defeated the Revs in New England 1-0 this past Sunday. That win moved the Fire into a second-place tie with the Revs in the Eastern Conference standings. However, the Fire hold the edge against the Revs in 2006... more ›

The Chicago Fire comes home for the first time during the 2006 campaign after a rough nine game road trip. While they were gone their Bridgeview Stadium received a new name. After months of speculation the Chicago Fire announced deal with Toyota to name the stadium Toyota Park. The Fire have lost their last two matches and are badly in need of a win. The Fire take on the New England Revolution this Sunday at... more ›

The Chicago Fire earned another road point this weekend when they escaped Kansas City with a draw. The Fire were outshot 20-4 but managed to tie 1-1 thanks to some stellar goal keeping by Zach Thorton that included stopping an Eddie Johnson penalty kick. Kansas City remains Major League Soccer's top team (4-1-1) while the Fire are fifth in the East Division. The Fire are managing to stay within reach of the top half of... 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 ›

The Chicago Fire traveled to Columbus on Saturday in hopes of earning their first victory of the season. Despite earning the lead early in the second quarter, they saw the win slip away and had to settle with one point for the draw. This is a game the Fire should have won. In the first half, Fire forward Chris Rolfe stole the ball deep in Columbus territory and ripped a shot that beat Columbus netminder... more ›

There's a lot going on in the world of sports, and we're busy working on our baseball season preview, so we'll just give you the quick shots: more ›

The Chicago Fire are less than three weeks away from their 2006 season opener at FC Dallas. The Fire have had a productive pre-season thus far winning five games, losing only two and earning four draws. In those eleven games they have outscored their opponents 16 to 11. The Fire will start the season with a grueling nine game road trip before they can christen their new soccer-specific stadium. If the Fire can win a... more ›

The Chicago Fire may feel a bit neglected around Chicago of late. While charging through the playoffs they just couldn't compete for attention with the World Series and the White Sox. It's kind of like the last Blackhawks appearance in the Stanley Cup finals... that just happened to coincide with the Bulls first second championship. Now that the Sox victory parade's over and Ozzie Guillen is showing off the hardware in Venezuela, maybe people will... more ›