For Chicago Fire fans -- and Polish soccer fans -- Wednesday night's friendly matching the Fire against Wisla Krakow will be a special game. It's a chance for Fire forward Tomasz Frankowski to play against one of his former teams. And a time for Polish fans to dust off their scarves and head to Toyota Park.
"It's going to be very special for me," Frankowski said. "There are may be six or seven players on the team that played when I was there. So I'll get the chance to see them. I made good friends with them while playing for Wisla."
Frankowski played with Wisla from 1998-2005. During that span he played in 177 games and helped the club to five Polish championships (1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005) and two Polish Cups (2002, 2003). During his stint with Wisla, Frankowski earned top scoring honors in the Polish premier league (Orange Ekstraklasa) three times (1999, 2001, 2005). Frankowski left Wisla to explore international options.
After leaving Wisla, Frankowski played for Elche CF (Spain), Wolverhampton Wanderers (England) and CD Tenerife (Spain). He then signed with the Fire Feb. 21, 2008. The 33-year-old Frankowski started his Fire career off with a bang, scoring two early goals and adding an assist. Since then he's seen limited action while battling injuries. In the team's first eight games, Frankowski has played in six matches for 352 minutes.
Frankowski said he's been battling back to be healthy. And while he takes each day as it comes, he knows Wednesday's match will be a special one.
"This is going to be a party for the Polish community," Frankowski said. "There are many people that are talking about the game. We hope to see maybe 17,000 people come out to enjoy the party and they'll also get to see how good of a team the Fire is."
The Fire are 5-4-2 all-time in international exhibition matches in Chicago. Wisla last made a stop in the Windy City last summer, defeating FC Sevilla 1-0 in the inaugural Chicago Trophy tournament held at Soldier Field July 27-29.
Originally billed as a Polish two-pack, the Fire's second friendly against Polish opposition, vs. Jagiellonia Bialystok on May 31, has been cancelled. After finishing their league season in a playoff position, Jagiellonia has its playoff games scheduled for May 28 and 31. The Fire said Jagionella offered to bring their reserve squad, but they didn't feel that was a viable option for Fire fans.
Chicago ticket holders do have options however. They can trade in the tickets for Wednesday's match, or another Fire game this season. Fans may also trade them in for a refund.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
