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| Thursday, March 21, 2002 14:41 EST |
Chicago Fire: 2002 Outlook
[ESPN.com news services]
Overcoming obstacles is nothing new for the Chicago Fire. Unfortunately for the rest of MLS, neither is winning. Few teams have endured as many injuries and national team call-ups during the last two seasons as the Fire, yet head coach Bob Bradley’s team is the only club to capture divisional championships in each of the last two seasons.
Look for DaMarcus Beasley to have a breakout season in 2002. |
At the heart of Chicago’s success is captain Peter Nowak, who has directed the team from the midfield since the club’s inaugural season in 1998.
However, injuries have limited Nowak’s time on the field in each of the last two years, accelerating the development of players like DaMarcus Beasley and Dema Kovalenko.
No player epitomizes Chicago quite like Kovalenko, who will join the team following an offseason loan to St. Pauli of the German Bundesliga. While Kovalenko has frustrated opponents both offensively and defensively, Beasley now excels at creating havoc down the left flank.
Chicago fields a trio of world-class attackers in Americans Josh Wolff and Ante Razov and Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoitchkov. However, all three spent much of the offseason battling injuries, meaning the Fire will likely need another option up front.
Defensively, Chicago returns Chris Armas, goalkeeper Zach Thornton and Carlos Bocanegra to a unit that consistently ranks among the league’s best.
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2001 Fire Leaders
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Goals
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10, Eric Wynalda
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Assists
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10, Peter Nowak
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Points
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25, Eric Wynalda
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GAA
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1.08 Zach Thornton
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With Armas a virtual lock to join the U.S. National Team at the World Cup, Bradley also faces the prospects of losing Razov, Beasley and potentially Thornton to the American effort in Korea/Japan.
While it appears that the Fire’s depth will be challenged again in 2002, don’t expect Bradley to be the one getting burned.
Key Additions:
Kelly Gray, Craig Capano
Key Departures:
Diego Gutierrez, Eric Wynalda
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