The Chicago Fire and New England Revolution enjoy one of the most delicious rivalries in Major League Soccer. So it seems appropriate to serve up a Fire-Revs game for the Fire home opener Thursday at Toyota Park (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2).
The Revolution (1-0-0) have ended the Fire's season in the playoffs each of the last three seasons. Last year it was in the Eastern Conference Championship in a game won 1-0 by the Revolution on a bicycle kick goal by Taylor Twellman.
But the Fire won two of three games in the regular season, the two games at Toyota Park, and the clubs have fought for supremacy in the Eastern Conference for most of the 10 previous seasons the Fire have been in existence.
Both the Fire and the Revolution have managed to maintain a consistent lineup over the past five years, creating a relationship between the two teams that plays out in very spirited matches. Define "spirited" as you wish.
The Fire are coming off a 1-1 tie at Real Salt Lake in which Cuauhtemoc Blanco nailed a left-footed shot from just above the penalty area to tie the game in stoppage time. But the Fire, who scored only 31 goals in 30 games last season, are expected to score goals in bunches with the new talent up front that coach Denis Hamlett has at his disposal.
Andy Herron returned to the Fire after playing with the Columbus Crew, and the Fire signed Tomasz Frankowski, the former Polish national team star who is learning to know where Blanco likes to deliver his passes. Chad Barrett, who played in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tourament for the U.S. team last month, won the start with Frankowski against Real Salt Lake, with Herron and forward Calen Carr getting time as substitutes.
The fact Hamlett used all four forwards is an indication he knows he has to spread minutes around, and he wants to keep everybody fresh.
"You want to have options at every position on the field," Hamlett said. "It keeps people sharp. More competition pushes everybody to become better players. That problem is how to keep those guys happy, If they are all doing what they are supposed to be doing, it makes our decisions very difficult. It looks good on paper that we have that much talent, but we didn't score Saturday until stoppage time. We have got to make it work on the other end."
The Fire have so much talent on top that Hamlett has moved forward Chris Rolfe to an attacking midfield position to keep him in the game.
"Last year we experimented with it a little bit," Hamlett said of Rolfe. "He is a guy who handled the midfield position well enough he took pressure off of Cuauhtemoc. He can handle the ball and make plays out of that position. His willingness to run into the box is a quality that helps make us better.
"Plus, he is an honest two-way player," he said. "He does the defending when it is required. It has been easy for him, coming from a deeper spot on the field, because it is not as easy to keep an eye on him."
The defense, led by Diego Gutierrez, waiver wire pickup Brandon Prideaux and Gonzalo Segares, actually kept RSL scoreless. Second-year player Bakary Soumare, who was moved to defense from the midfield this season, scored an own goal to give RSL a 1-0 lead.
In terms of the Fire injury report, only veteran defender C.J. Brown is out, due to a pelvic injury.
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
