As always, Fire's Armas ready for playoffs

If Chris Armas walked a mile for every minute he's been on a professional soccer field, then he has traveled nearly to Los Angeles and back.

If the Chicago Fire captain climbed a foot for every one of his playing minutes for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire and U.S. National team, he could have scaled Mt. Everest - though not with the dodgy hip that has caused him to announce this season will be his last.

The Fire starts the process of delaying Armas' retirement party when it hosts D.C. United in a 7:30 p.m. match Thursday at Toyota Park, the first of a two-legged Eastern Conference semifinal series.

All those minutes - Armas has played more than 32,000 professional minutes for club and country - have taken a toll on a player who has always been a workhorse in the middle of the Fire's formation.

Armas has not wavered in his public statements that he will retire, and problems from a hip, a torn labrum, a torn cartilage, bone spurs and some arthritis had a say in the decision.

But to see the Brooklyn, N.Y., native play defensive midfielder for the Fire is to see a 36-year-old player who doesn't show many signs of slowing down.

"I think of anybody who could play another year, it'd be him," Fire assistant coach Denis Hamlett said. "That's because of his will. You watch him in these games now and you wouldn't say'here's a guy who's had two ACL (surgeries) and has a hip issue going on'. When the spotlight goes on, he's ready to go."

Hamlett has been with the Fire since Day 1 and has seen Armas through all stages of his Chicago career.

"He's the ultimate professional," Hamlett said. "When people look back, they will speak highly of him. He's one of the best holding midfield players over his career. He's as important as (Peter) Nowak or Hristo (Stoichkov) or (Cuauhtemoc) Blanco, though the technical guys get all the glory."

After two solid seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy, Armas came to Chicago with goalkeeper Jorge Campos in a trade prior to the team's inaugural season. Armas has been on the field for four of the Fire's trophy celebrations. He was integral in the 1998 MLS and U.S. Open Cup "double." He played in the 2000 and 2003 U.S. Open Cup triumphs but was rested for last year's Cup triumph. He and defender C.J. Brown are the only two starters still on the team who played in the 2-0 win at Miami in 1998, the Fire's first competitive fixture.

Injuries have hit at inopportune times. On May 12, 2002, Armas tore the ACL in his right knee while playing for the U.S. in preparation for the World Cup. Armas missed the rest of the season and the World Cup, in which the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals. He was named an alternate for the 2006 World Cup and did not compete for the team, meaning that despite a 66-cap international career, there is one glaring gap in his resume.

"I'm not going to lie, to play in the World Cup would have been the pinnacle," Armas said. "To say you were good enough to be there but didn't go doesn't do it for me. There's a void there. But I can look back and say I put my best foot forward every time I played for my country with the national team."

Returning from injury in 2003, Armas captained the Fire to the U.S. Open Cup title and to the MLS title game. And in overtime in the MLS semifinals at frigid Soldier Field, Armas scored the winner that sent the team to the championship match.

"There are so many moments that illustrate what a great player he is, but on that night, probably for the first time, all the emotions came out of him," Hamlett said.

In making that recovery, he displayed some of the characteristics that the Fire's first captain, Peter Nowak, showed in his five seasons in Chicago.

"When you're fortunate to have a guy like (Nowak) around, you'd be crazy to not watch him and his mentality and the way he does everything, from cleaning his shoes to the way he warms up," Armas said.

Now an assistant coach to the U.S. team, Nowak had a big influence on Armas when he was in Chicago.

"I had a great time playing with him," Armas said. "We spent a lot of time in tough games together and, off the field, we shared time together."

Armas said one of the things that makes playing for the Fire special is the relationship the team has with its fans, especially those in Section 8 who stand behind the north goal and cheer nonstop at home matches.

"There is no doubt that our fans are great," Armas said. "They're loyal and knowledgeable and they travel to other cities - sometimes in large numbers. I'm biased so I'm going to say Fire fans are the best."

Chris Armas has at least 180 minutes left in his career and possibly more. When the career ends, he knows he and the team for which he has played since its inception will have left a solid mark.

"Bob (Bradley) and Dave (Sarachan) came here and put trophies on the shelf and I think Juan (Carlos Osorio) is going to do the same coaching this team," Armas said. "This team expects to compete for the U.S. Open Cup every year and to put itself in a spot to make a run for the MLS title. Whether I'm here or not, things will be positive in the future for Chicago."