Curtains for Curtin in Chicago

After playing in 151 games for the Chicago Fire in his eight-year pro career, veteran defender Jim Curtin will have a new home when Major League Soccer opens its 2008 season.

The Fire traded Curtin to Chivas USA on Tuesday for a conditional 2010 SuperDraft selection.

Curtin, 28, played in only 11 games each the past two seasons, but he was part of a core defense from 2003-05 and played 87 games in that stretch.

"Jimmy is definitely a guy we're going to miss," said Fire technical director Frank Klopas. "With the salary situation as it is, we needed to make sure we had space to acquire new players. It's never an easy decision to lose someone as dedicated to the game like Jimmy."

Fire coach Denis Hamlett, who has been with Curtin throughout his career, praised him for his professionalism on and off the field.

"He was a great leader for this organization," Hamlett said.

Curtin was a member of the Fire's 2003 and 2006 U.S. Open Cup championship teams and a winner of the Fire's 2004 Defender of the Year award.

While with the Fire, the 6-foot-4 Villanova product assumed the role of "Ironman," making 68 straight starting appearances through the 2003-05 seasons.

Injuries limited Curtin's playing time in 2006, when he suffered a fractured right foot, and last August when he suffered a shoulder injury.

Curtin's 151 games played and 135 starts rank sixth in club history, and his 12,408 minutes played rank fifth.