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Jeffries well-known to the Fire

Mike Jeffries is well-known in American soccer circles.

He's known as a good coach and a good guy who was a good player in his day too. He's especially well-known in Chicago.

Now with the Charlotte Independence of third-division USL, Jeffries bring his current club to Chicago to face one of clubs with each he had the most success, the Fire, for Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup match.

Jeffries said Sunday he hasn't talked to his current players yet about playing his former club.

"They've figured it out," he said. "It's nice for me. It's a chance to get back to Chicago for a little bit. That part is great. For the guys the motivation is just to try to win and move on in the tournament. That's enough of it for them.

"For me it's a little bit of a fun game, clearly, in being able to come back to Chicago. To be back in Toyota Park for a night. All those types of things will bring back a lot of good memories, for sure."

Those memories include the 1998 season when the Fire won the Open Cup and MLS Cup in its inaugural season. Jeffries was an assistant to coach Bob Bradley.

After a move away that included a stint as the Dallas Burn coach, Jeffries returned to the Fire as an assistant coach and then as director of player personnel.

"You never really know kind of until almost after the game what the emotions are going to be," Jeffries said of his return. "I just worry about the before-the-game stuff and make sure we cover the bases we need to cover."

With this match coming in the middle of a busy MLS schedule, teams often rest their best players. The Fire had the weekend off but has a league game Friday at Houston to worry about.

"These games are always tricky for us in terms of preparation," Jeffries said. "I don't have a real sense of which guys are going to play and what they're going to do. For the Fire, with them playing at home, we're fully prepared that they'll put their best foot forward."

Can the Independence, a first-year club, defeat an MLS club? Charlotte already has done it once, eliminating the New England Revolution to earn a shot at the Fire.

"It was huge for us, a big night for the guys," Jeffries said. "A lot of them have been in MLS or have friends there on one side or other of the line. For them to feel like they can compete on a given night is important."

Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz

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