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• Wrigley Rooftop Directory
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Chicago Fire vs. Wisla Krakow, May 21, 2008Thursday, May 29, 2008Last Wednesday, the Fire played a friendly (exhibition game) vs. Wisla Krakow, a polish team. The match was pretty much horrible as both sides played their reserves, and neither side could keep possession of the ball long enough to come up with any viable scoring opportunities. The match ended in a disappointing nil-nil draw (0-0 tie). I sat with section 8 (the crowd of rowdy die-hard fire fans who sing and chant the whole game giving all the Fire game's some much needed ambiance) largely because I didn't want to be surrounded by opposing fans, who turned out in droves to watch their squad take on the Fire, the mighty, mighty Fire. The biggest highlight of the whole match was Wilman Conde's play. He'd previously been injured and benched following a tumultuous off season in which he demanded a trade, but the Fire front office never accommodated him. He's since apologized to his teammates, and then after it had seemingly blown over was quoted by Pedro Gomez in the following report: Pedro Gomez' sideline report on ESPN Thursday Night Soccer - "He is extremely frustrated with this situation. He didn't come to this country to sit on the bench and be away from his family. He would love for them to let him even go back to Columbia to play in his native country, but they're not doing that. He said he has been told by a member of the Fire's front office that they will not trade him to the Eastern Conference because they do not want to strengthen another team in their own conference. Obviously a lot of speculation has been about him being reunited with the former Fire coach, Juan Carlos Osorio in New York. Guys -" Anyhow, Conde, one of the most talented players on the Fire, got the start against Wisla and singlehandedly kept their entire team from scoring... well with at least one assist from back-up goal keeper Nick Noble. Conde's performance against Wisla was good enough to earn him the start just four days later when the Fire returned to league play against the New York Red Bulls (yes, they're owned by and named for the eponymous energy drink.) The back story on the Red Bulls game was especially interesting as the Red Bulls' new coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, is the Fire's old coach... and the Fire didn't really want him to leave... and Wilman Conde wanted to leave the Fire so he could follow the coach who he'd played for as far back as when Osorio was coaching in Columbia. Complicating matters even more is that there's another Fire player named Lider Marmol who would also rather be playing in New York for Osorio. All of this creates a tangled web of loyalties and hurt feelings, but one squad proved a slight bit better when the Fire absolutely destroyed New York on Sunday, 5-1. So now, the Fire are tied for the top of the league standings with the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution, but the Fire lead on goal differential, so they are currently the best team in the league. (The best team in Major League Soccer is awarded 'The Supporter's Shield.) Posted by Byron at May 29, 2008 9:44 AM
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