When Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley set out to build a soccer club for the first time, he turned to Peter Nowak.
At the time, Nowak was a star for Bundesliga side 1860 Munich and had served Poland's captain. Bradley, coach of the expansion Chicago Fire, did his best to convince Nowak to head stateside for the club's inaugural 1998 season.
"I went to Germany and spent five or six days there," Bradley said. "We talked about the league. We talked about soccer, the challenge of coming to the United States."
A bond between the two men quickly formed.
"I really felt that when we worked together, honestly, we were like blood brothers," Bradley said. "He knew that I would bleed for him and I knew as the captain he would bleed for me."
Bradley and Nowak teamed up to pull off one of the most stunning seasons in Major League Soccer as the Fire knocked off a juggernaut Los Angeles Galaxy side and D.C. United, then the only champion MLS had known, en route to the MLS Cup 1998 championship.
Sunday, Bradley and Nowak will be on opposite benches trying to better one another. Bradley's Chivas USA play host to Nowak's D.C. United at The Home Depot Center.
Chivas sits in third place with an 8-6-10 record. Two points out of second place, Chivas have dropped just one of their last 14 games. United, meanwhile, sit atop the league with 47 points on the strength of a 13-3-8 record but the club is winless in its last five games (0-2-3).
With United licking its wounds following a 5-2 home loss to the Galaxy on Aug. 26 - D.C.'s first home loss this year -- the Eastern Conference leaders could come out charged up and ready to get back to their winning ways. All of that could make Sunday a particularly challenging day for the Red-and-White.
"It's a dangerous time to play them but we need to play a good game," Bradley said. "I think we're a good team and now we meet the challenge of playing against a tough opponent at this point in the season. It's a home game for us which makes it all the more important to be able to come out and be the team that sets the tempo in the game."
Two of Chivas USA's likely starters -- Ante Razov and Jesse Marsch -- played alongside Nowak with the Fire. Marsch, who spent eight years with the Fire before joining Chivas last winter, said Nowak was a strong presence on what turned out to be a strong 1998 club.
"He's as good a teammate as anyone can ever have," Marsch said. "He worked his butt off and obviously made a lot of good plays and made everyone around him better. When you played with him, you just felt like he would do anything for you."
Marsch said he felt Nowak was a coach-in-the-making during their time together but there always seemed to be a sticking point with that.
"You knew he had it in him. You just didn't know how he would be able to handle some of his emotions and that side of things," Marsch said.
In his third season in charge of United, Nowak has already captured a league championship and has his club primed for another MLS Cup run. Success has come quickly for Nowak, a fact that does not astound his former coach.
"No surprises. He sets a good tone every day," Bradley said. "He understands how players see things and how to challenge guys every day. He's a winner and all those things come across."
When Marsch lines up against United these days, he is faced with a familiar style of play.
"Watching him coach D.C. United over the last couple of years, I can tell he imparts some of (his) personality on that team," Marsch said. "He's got guys on that team that work really hard for each other and play for each other and their coach."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.