BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos didn’t mince words when explaining why he chose to bench midfielder Marco Pappa for the first 68 minutes of Thursday night’s game against FC Dallas.
“Marco hasn’t had a good performance in the last games,” de los Cobos said through a translator. “A player has to be able to play [a] full 95 to 96 minutes. Scoring a goal doesn’t actually mean that you had a good game. I know that Marco can give more.”
Pappa, who was replaced in the starting 11 by outside midfielders Justin Mapp and Mike Banner, has totaled two goals and four assists thus far this season. Despite those totals, de los Cobos said the Fire only have one game-changer on the roster: Patrick Nyarko.
“The only player we have that changes the game, that changes the rhythm, is Patrick,” de los Cobos said.
Fans won’t get a good feel for whether or not Pappa will return to the Fire’s starting lineup until a week from Saturday, when the Fire take on the Philadelphia Union at Toyota Park in league play.
The team will host a friendly match this Sunday against Italian club AC Milan. Stars like Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, Clarence Seedorf and Alessandro Nesta will be available to play in the match.
