BRIDGEVIEW, IL - The Chicago Fire today announced the club will prepare for its tenth season in Major League Soccer with an expansive two-month preseason schedule that will take the team across the United States and will also include a two-week journey to Huelva, Spain. The Fire's preseason travels will consist of four legs, three of which will take the "Men in Red" to four destinations across the country: Bradenton, Fla.; Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Jackson, Miss. The Fire will begin its 2007 preseason at the IMG Academy in Bradenton on Wednesday, Feb. 7 and will conclude with a four-day stint in Jackson that ends on Sunday, April 1, just six days before the club begins its 2007 regular season at TOYOTA PARK against the New England Revolution.
After gathering at TOYOTA PARK on Monday, Feb. 5 for physicals, during which all players and coaches will be made available to members of the media, the Fire's preseason will begin in earnest from a familiar starting point, as the "Men in Red" will once again plant stakes at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. from Feb. 7-15. The IMG Academy, which also serves as the home of U.S. Soccer's Under-17 Residency Program, has become a surrogate spring home for the Fire, which has launched its preseason on the IMG campus in each of Head Coach Dave Sarachan's four previous seasons at the helm. Sarachan's squad will face both the U.S. U-17 Men's National Team (Saturday, Feb. 10) and the Columbus Crew (Tuesday, Feb. 13) during the first week of training.
Chicago will remain in the "Sunshine State" for a second week as it travels to Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Feb. 15-18, during which the squad will face MLS sides Real Salt Lake and 2006 MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo as part of Disney's Presidents' Day Soccer Festival IX festivities. The Fire will resume training back in Bradenton from Feb. 18-22, with a scheduled match versus the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday, Feb. 21 set to end the two-week visit to Florida.
Following a short break in Chicago, the "Men in Red" will then tackle the international portion of the preseason with a journey to Huelva, Spain from Feb. 25-March 9. While in Spain, the Fire will play at least three exhibition matches, two of which will come against top La Liga (Spanish Primera Division) opposition - current second-place holder Sevilla FC and eighth-place squad Recreativo Huelva. In addition, the Fire will take in a top of the table clash between Sevilla and FC Barcelona on Sunday, March 4 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Sevilla, Spain. The Spanish leg marks the Chicago club's first journey to Europe since the 2003 preseason, when the squad spent nearly two weeks in neighboring Portugal.
The Fire returns stateside for the third leg of its preseason schedule, which will begin with a stop in Oklahoma City, Okla. from March 15-18, a stay that will be capped off with an exhibition match against Brimstone Cup rival FC Dallas on March 17 at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The final weekend of preseason training will witness the Fire making its fourth consecutive trip to Jackson, Miss. for a four-day stay, March 28-April 1, a stint that will include an exhibition contest at Freedom Ridge Park in suburban Ridgeland on March 31. Jackson has been the anchor leg of the Fire's postseason plans for the last three seasons and has been highlighted each year by the return home of Fire midfielder Justin Mapp, a native of nearby Brandon, Miss.
Chicago Fire 2007 Preseason calendar
(dates/local times/opponents are subject to change)
Feb. 5: TOYOTA PARK in Bridgeview, IL for preseason physicals (staff and players will be made available to media)
Feb. 7-15: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Feb. 15-18: Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Feb. 18-22: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Feb. 25-March 9: Huelva, Spain
March 15-18: Oklahoma City, Okla.
March 28-April 1: Jackson, Mississippi
April 3: FireWorks for Kids Foundation Ninth Annual Season Kickoff Luncheon at Chicago Hilton & Towers, 11:00 a.m. CT
April 7: Chicago Fire 2007 Season Opener at TOYOTA PARK vs. New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m. CT
