Latin American flavor very good for Fire, MLS
Denis Hamlett might be a Bob Bradley disciple, but the current Chicago Fire coach's squad looks much different from his mentor's did.
Bradley's 1998 MLS Cup champion set the league on its ear, winning in its expansion season with a decidedly European tint.
There was Peter Nowak, the team's engine, making powerful runs out of midfield. There was Nowak's Polish countrymen, Roman Kosecki and Jerzy Podbrozny, up front, along with Frank Klopas, the Chicagoan of Greek descent who also played in the Greek league.
In the back, Lubos Kubik ruled with an iron fist, like some kind of Iron Curtain dictator. You didn't want to mess with Big Lubos of Czechoslovakia, or had it become the Czech Republic by then? One of his partners in the back was Tommy Soehn, the Arlington Heights native who is the son of German immigrants.
They haven't all gone back to Europe, by the way. Klopas, of course, is now the team's technical director. Nowak coached D.C. United for a couple of years - where Soehn now is in charge - before leading the U.S. team in the Olympics.
Nowak's assistant in China was Kubik.
The current senior national team coach? Bradley, of course.
But back to the 2008 Fire.
Hamlett, a Costa Rica native preceded as coach by Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio, fields a team with a decidedly Latin American flavor.
Wearing No. 10 nowadays is Mexican Cuauhtemoc Blanco, whose rarely moves like Nowak did and has more flair. Costa Rica is represented in the back by starter Gonzalo Segares and up front by Andy Herron, who usually comes in off the bench. Wilman Conde and Fire original Diego Gutierrez were born in Colombia.
Guatemalan midfielder Marco Pappa is a newcomer who has made fans ooh and aah with his fast feet on and off the ball.
Seldom-used defender Lider Marmol is from Paraguay.
It's not a coincidence, of course. It's part of a league-wide movement toward younger, flashier, less-expensive Latin American players, and it's been very good for the league. It's brought players such as Luciano Emilio, Juan Pablo Angel and Guillermo Barros Schelotto to add excitement and skill throughout MLS.
But there's still a touch of Europe on the Fire: Polish forward Tomasz Frankowski. This is still Chicago, after all.
Nationalism: Not surprisingly, Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Mexico), Marco Pappa (Guatemala) and Gonzalo Segares (Costa Rica) have been called up to their national teams for 2010 World Cup qualifiers to be played Saturday and Sept. 10. All three will miss the Fire's match Saturday against the New York Red Bulls.
The Fire will not be represented in the Sept. 10 qualifier between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago at Toyota Park. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.
oschwarz@dailyherald.com