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Fire Fri Feb 06 2009

Fire Offseason News Roundup

Didn't He Just Want To Come Home?
During the January transfer window, there was noise in England about Brian McBride's former team, Fulham, trying to sign him on loan for the rest of the English Premiere League Season. It sounded like a pretty silly idea. After all, McBride could have stayed at Fulham, but took a substantial pay cut to finish out his career in his hometown and be with his family. Why would he then turn around and go back to England for three or four months? And on top of that, why would the Fire let him miss out on pre-season and the first month of the regular season? Well, the good news is that the Fire didn't let him. The bad news is that McBride wanted to go and is unhappy about the way the Fire handled the bid- at least according to Ives Galarcep. Could this be another case of a well-seasoned pro not enjoying the level of soccer in MLS a la David Beckham?

Obama at a Fire Game?

After a last minute change to the MLS schedule that pitted the Chicago Fire against DC United in DC United's home opener, rumors flew that President Barak Obama was invited to the game. It's been neither confirmed nor denied, but my guess is it's not going to happen.

Chris Armas' Replacement
The Fire acted quickly to hire Chris Armas' replacement as Assistant Coach. Mike Matkovic, a former Assistant Coach for Toronto FC and Chivas USA, has joined the Fire. Matkovic has long ties to Chicago area youth soccer as the founder of the ultra-successful youth club, the Chicago Magic. Smartly, the Fire have also added him as an advisor to their academy. Now if only MLS would fix the rules so teams could graduate as many players as they wanted to the first team...

Conde Has a New Agent. And He Might Not Leave?
Wilman Conde has made it no secret that he wants away from the Chicago Fire. In fact, ever since Juan Carlos Osorio - the coach that brought him to the league - left the Fire, you could say it's been a saga. Well, now he's hired former Fire veteran Diego Gutierrez as his agent - prompting hopes he might stay. In fact, he has cleared up visa issues and is expected in preseason camp this Sunday.

 
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