Veteran midfielder Chris Armas will return to the Chicago Fire for his 10th consecutive season in 2007, following the club's announcement Thursday that the Long Island, N.Y., native has been re-signed. Armas will captain the 'Men in Red' for the fifth consecutive season after taking over that post following the retirement of former Fire great and current U.S. U-23 national team assistant coach Peter Nowak in 2003.
"I'm proud that this will be my 10th year with the club. In sports today it's not the norm for one guy to be loyal to a club and the club being loyal to the player," said Armas. "Chicago is an exciting place to be right now, with the stadium in place and a good returning team of young players and veterans; it's a good mix. I'm very excited to be back with the Fire organization, as it means a lot for many reasons."
Armas has been a mainstay for the Fire - which joined Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 1998 - since joining the club from the Los Angeles Galaxy. In his 10 seasons in the Windy City, the 34-year-old has scored eight goals and provided 40 assists in 189 regular season matches, fourth most in club history. His 40 assists for Chicago is second only to Nowak (48) and also he sits near the top of the Fire record book in games started (188, third), minutes played (16,824, third). In his entire MLS career, Armas has made 239 regular season appearances, which ranks 13th in league history.
"I couldn't imagine the Chicago Fire going into the 2007 season without our captain, Chris Armas," said Fire head coach Dave Sarachan. "He embodies everything that is important in a player as far as his leadership and his command for respect. As the heart and soul of this franchise, Chris has been and will continue to be the captain of the Chicago Fire. He is the ultimate leader and will lead us to what we feel will be a very successful 2007 season."
Armas is no stranger to success, having helped the Fire to an MLS Cup championship in their inaugural season and three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles (1998, 2003, 2006). A five-time MLS Best XI winner (1998-2001, 2003), Armas also earned MLS All-Star honors in every season from 1998 to 2004.
In addition to his stellar MLS career, Armas has also been a regular contributor to the U.S. men's national team, earning 66 appearances since 1998. He helped the team qualify for both the 2002 and 2006 World Cup teams, but wasn't able to take part in the competitions due to a pair of poorly-timed ACL injuries. Three times he has served as captain of the USA squad.
The Chicago Fire will begin their 10th MLS season against the New England Revolution on April 7 at their home of Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Currently, the only way for fans to secure seats to the home opener is by purchasing 2007 season ticket packages, which are available by calling 1-888-MLS-FIRE or visiting Chicago-Fire.com.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
