The good, bad and ugly of Fire's personnel moves
Finally, the Fire has found a winning lineup.
The team still is prone to letdowns, giving up a pair of second-half goals in Sunday's 3-2 victory against New England and a pair of second-half goals in a 3-2 victory against Chivas USA the previous week. And this new and improved lineup probably didn't come together in time to earn a playoff spot, though it still has a shot.
But after winning just two of their first 24 MLS games, Fire players and coaches are relieved to have won four of their last five entering Wednesday night's match at league power Real Salt Lake.
“I've said before that for me, more than anything, is the focus of the players and the work that's being done every day on the training pitch because that's where games are won,” said Fire interim coach/technical director Frank Klopas, who is 5-4-9 since firing coach Carlos de los Cobos on Memorial Day.
“The focus, the concentration and the commitment every day to do the little things better and time has led to the team's success. We added some players during the season and they are jelling. There's an understanding now of how we're playing and all of that takes time.”
As technical director Klopas is responsible for bringing in new players for interim coach Klopas, whether by trade, loan or signing out-of-contract guys. He has help from player personnel director Mike Jeffries and Andell Sports Group's Javier Leon. They had a busy off-season, turning over about half the roster, with more moves in-season. Here are some of their best and worst acquisitions of 2011:
The best:#376; Sebastian Grazzini: The playmaker the Fire needed in February arrived in July. He then struggled to get fit and has had hamstring problems, but when he's on the field he's been fun to watch and very productive. #376; Pavel Pardo: Though countrymen Rafa Marquez and Nery Castillo have flopped in MLS, the Mexican international is a rousing success. At 35 years old his fitness is reminiscent of Brian McBride. He's been a leader and a steadying influence at central midfield. Like Grazzini, his arrival in late July is a big reason for the Fire's August-September success. #376; Dominic Oduro: Acquired via trade from Houston early in the season, he scored his 11th goal of the season Sunday to stay in the MLS Golden Boot race. That number is more than twice his previous season high of 5 goals and makes him the first Fire player to score in double figures since Damani Ralph in 2004. He could get some votes for league MVP.Honorable mention: Jalil Anibaba, Orr Barouch, Cory Gibbs, Dan Gargan.The worst:#376; Marko Maric: Signed in the off-season for $200,000 guaranteed compensation, according to the players union, Maric lasted as long as a #8220;Saturday Night Live#8221; skit, playing just a few minutes in one game. Due to a series of injuries, he rarely even trained with his teammates before being released Sept. 17. He was supposed to be the playmaker Grazzini turned out to be.#376; Cristian Nazarit: Billed as the Colombian Samuel Eto'o, he's been more like Nery Castillo, at least in terms of production. He hasn't seen a first-team game from field level lately, and he doesn't seem likely to return to Chicago in 2012.#376; Gaston Puerari: Remember him? His stay was short #8212; an off-season pickup from Uruguay, he was sold to Club Atlas in Mexico in June #8212; and his primary production came in drawing penalty kicks.#376; Diego Chaves: He was supposed to be the double-digit scorer that Oduro turned out to be. He started fast, with 4 goals by the end of April, but then came to a screeching halt. He's still stuck on 4, and his starting job is long gone. To his credit, he does play hard off the bench and earned a secondary assist on Oduro's game-winner last week.oschwarz@dailyherald.comFollow Orrin Schwarz on Twitter @orrinsoccer.SOC20421675Chicago Fires Dominic Oduro, front right, controls the ball against Colorado Rapids Brian Mullan, left, and Drew Moor during the second half of an MLS soccer game on Saturday in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire won 2-0. Associated PressSOC 601401