Not since Rocky traveled to Russia to take down Ivan Drago has there been as bitter a match-up as this Sunday's Fire game in the New Jersey Swamplands.
In attendance should be all the characters who have provided Soccer By Ives with several million hits in the last six months: Juan Carlos Osorio, Wilman Conde and Lider Marmol will all be there, lined up on separate sides of the barricades despite the Red Bulls' best nefarious efforts to gather the Fire's fruit.
Osorio contrived to get himself sent-off in the Red Bulls previous match, a 1-1 draw with Kansas City, for berating officials. This means that the 60-70 Fire fans present will have to scour the crowd to direct their venom at him. Given the Red Bulls usual attendance on Sunday matches he should not be hard to spot, especially with the giant 666 Backdraft has learned he recently had tattooed on his forehead.
Read on for lineup news and bitter talk of revenge.
There's been a lot of talk about this Fire squad being the deepest in the team's history. With that in mind, Backdraft ventured to Toyota Park this morning to watch the Reserve team in action against DePaul University.
The game featured the season debuts of two players, one who has been with the Fire for ten years, and another who had never before pulled on our red jersey.
We also saw the future of the Fire with a strong performance by Patrick Nyarko (right), and perhaps someone soon to belong to our past, thanks to another curious outing from Wilman Conde.
The Fire will be playing in Peoria, Illinois against either Real Salt Lake or Columbus Crew on Tuesday June 10th at Bradley University's Shea Stadium.
It's a home game for the Fire that will decide who will advance to the last sixteen of the U.S. Open Cup, but it's being played 157 miles from the Fire's home ground, Toyota Park. Backdraft talked to the Fire about the selection of Peoria as host for the game.
The Chicago Fire announced today that they have signed Paraguayan defender Lider Marmol. Terms of the deal were not released, and he will be able to play once he receives his visa and work clearance.
The official MLS site is -- thanks to the absurd deal with HDNet -- not offering highlights of Saturday's 2-1 win over the Rapids at Toyota Park. Thankfully, a youtube user has come to the rescue. Enjoy.
Bakary Soumare's early-season performances in defense for the Fire have been one of the biggest positives so far for the team.
To add to that, he's gaining a reputation as one of the toughest Fire players on the field whilst being one of the friendliest to Fire fans off it.
Backdraft talked to Bakary about life with the team, his new role at the heart of the defense, and his views on the recent upheavals and what it means to play for the Chicago Fire.
Posted by: Tom Dunmore in Untagged on
Apr 18, 2008
The long saga of Chicago and New York's battle over the signing of Paraguayan Lider Marmol -- a very promising central defender or defensive midfielder -- has taken its latest twist.
The 22 year-old Marmol will be in Chicago to train with the Fire very soon, presumably with a view to sign. Contrary to this article by Kent McDill on the MLS website, Backdraft has been told by the Fire that Marmol has not yet been signed (that article will be retracted shortly and was an 'honest mistake', we were told).
Frank Klopas had this to say about Marmol:
"He is a young guy, and you look to the future this is a guy you can build a team around. He's a big defender, he's good with his feet, he's good in the air. He can play in the middle, and he is a great guy."
This would be an outstanding addition to the Fire's roster. Backdraft will keep you updated on the situation.
The Fire stood at the top of the league at the end of week 3 in MLS, though it was a fortunate win in Oakland, the expansion Earthquakes striking the woodwork twice and missing an open goal in the dying minutes. A better performance will be needed against a stronger Wizards team.
It's good that the Fire have depth at the back this season. Both Brandon Prideaux (who injured himself in the pre-game warm-up last week) and Diego Guttierrez are listed as doubtful on the injury report, but there should be little to fear with Conde and Robinson set to have stronger performances with one game now under their belts.
Conde played most of the second half against UIC on Wednesday, and looked in excellent shape, intimidating enough to make one feel sorry for the college kids he was bullying around. The Colombian may have annoyed teammates and fans with his offseason demand for a trade, but with it seems all sides have now realized that it's better for Conde to be playing than not. It looks as if CJ Brown is still not ready to return from an apparently mysterious hip injury, so the Fire may be unchanged there from San Jose.
With the departure of President and GM John Guppy last week added to all the turmoil of the past year, Backdraft's writers decided to get together and talk about where the Fire stands now.
Here are their answers to five key questions regarding Guppy's departure, what it tells us about Andrew Hauptman, what qualities the next GM should have, and whether the Fire are in capable hands with Javier Leon stewarding the ship in the meantime.
Backdraft is written by Fire supporters for Fire supporters. Thanks to access provided by Section 8 Chicago, Backdraft is able to provide an original stream of news, interviews and views on the Chicago Fire soccer club.
If you're interested in contributing to Backdraft, please email communications at section8chicago.com
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The Fire will be playing in Peoria, Illinois against either Real Salt Lake or Columbus Crew on Tuesday June 10th at Bradley University's Shea Stadium.
The Fire XI
