Oduro starting to show some star power
The Fire did not have any players make the MLS all-star squad, so the only chance they will have to meet Manchester United will be Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field.
Forward/midfielder Dominic Oduro probably came the closest to making the all-star team, placing fourth in fan text voting, losing to Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler. Oduro has 5 goals this season, already tying his personal-best season total.
“I came close,” the 25-year-old Ghanaian said. “At the end of the day, I’m just happy my name was up there. That shows the league is recognizing my hard work. To me that’s what it’s about. It shows I’m doing a great job. It’s like motivation for me to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Manchester United flies to New York to play the MLS all-stars July 27.
Tickets are still available for Saturday’s 4 p.m. match against Manchester United at Soldier Field, though the game is nearing a sellout. Tickets can be purchased at chicago-fire.com, calling (888) MLS-FIRE or at Ticketmaster.
More on Pardo:Fire interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas didn#146;t have much to add Tuesday about Mexican midfielder Pavel Pardo#146;s visit to Toyota Park on Saturday to see the Fire#146;s 1-0 loss to Portland.#147;He likes Chicago,#148; Klopas said, reiterating Saturday#146;s comments. #147;His wife loves Chicago. It was good to see him. I#146;ve met him in the past. He#146;s a good player. That#146;s all I would say, but we#146;re always looking to add good players on the team that can help us win.#148;Klopas didn#146;t want to talk about the possibility of contract negotiations.#147;You#146;ll know when something like that happens,#148; he said. The new guy:New midfielder Sebastian Grazzini stayed in the Chicago area to train rather than go to Kansas City for Tuesday#146;s reserve game, a 2-1 Chicago victory.Grazzini flew into Chicago on Thursday night from Argentina.#147;Grazzini, let#146;s not forget, just finished a season in Argentina and it#146;s different when you finish a season and you#146;ve had a long stretch,#148; Klopas said. #147;Then he took some time off, two or three weeks. We#146;ve got to make sure the next 2frac12; weeks we#146;re building his base of fitness and we have him ready 100 percent against Philadelphia when we resume play. That was the thing. He hasn#146;t trained with us.#148;Grazzini trained with the first team and also will work with fitness coach Tony Jouaux.#147;It would be more beneficial than going there and maybe playing for 30 minutes,#148; Klopas added.Beat the heat: The Fire plans to move training a little earlier in the morning and cut it a little short this week as temperatures climb well into the 90s. #147;And then just making sure that the players are really hydrated and drinking a lot of fluids before training and after training for sure, and that they#146;re going home to rest and staying out of the sun and the heat,#148; Klopas said.Oduro said the heat is no big deal to him.#147;I#146;m OK with the heat,#148; Oduro said. #147;I played in Houston for two years. Compared to Houston heat, this is a breeze.#148;No Sales20222269Chicago Fire players tried anything to keep themselves cool during a 90-minute practice Tuesday, including pouring water on their heads.Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.comNo SalesNo Sales40002596The Chicago Fires Dominic Oduro warms up at the Toyota Park practice field on Tuesday in preparation for Saturdays big match-up with Manchester United at Soldier Field on Saturday.Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.comNo Sales