Fire's Nyarko embracing opportunity to start

The Fire's off-season coaching change has been good for Patrick Nyarko, and he has been good to new coach Carlos de los Cobos.

Nyarko has been a revelation through the season's first four games. Even as the team has struggled to incorporate new players and new ideas, Nyarko has flashed confidence and aggressiveness. He has cemented his status as a starter and become a threat to create a scoring opportunity whenever the ball is at his feet.

Take Saturday's first goal in the Fire's first win this season, 2-0 at D.C. United. Marco Pappa earned an MLS goal of the week nomination for his 15-yard blast, but Nyarko did the heavy lifting on the play. Surrounded by a pair of defenders along the right sideline, Nyarko popped the ball over his head toward the endline. He won the race to the ball and settled it enough to send it back toward the penalty spot. With help from a deft Brian McBride back-heel touch, Pappa had himself a wide-open shot.

"I feel a little bit more mature, more confident," Nyarko said. "The coaches have given me the chance to do what I do best, and that's all there is to it. It doesn't matter how many balls I lose, they keep encouraging me to demand the ball from other players and maximize my potential."

Primarily a forward his first two seasons in Chicago, the former first-round draft pick has started the last two games on the right flank, yielding the forward slots to McBride and Collins John but still taking advantage of his tremendous speed. That's OK with him. It fits his strengths as a player, and he often played on the left flank at Virginia Tech.

"(De los Cobos) actually tells us to attack more from the flanks, and when he talked to me he told me I have the potential of playing out wide on both flanks and on top when needed. It's been working so far. We've got a good group, we've got hard-working players."

He worked hard over the winter to build up his strength, and teammates and coaches have worked hard to build his confidence so he will demand the ball and make plays.

"People need confidence to improve," de los Cobos said. "He's a very good player, and he is working hard."

"Last year you try to do it, you lose it and then all your confidence goes back down," Nyarko added. "It was really hard to pick yourself back up. It was really hard because we were a team with a lot more character and they might not be happy with you taking guys on and losing the ball.

"But this year it's a lot different because the coach is encouraging me. If I lose 90 percent of the ball in the first 15 minutes, they keep encouraging me to go get the ball. My teammates also do that, so that makes it a lot easier."

There's one big thing Nyarko still has to do this season, and that's score himself. His finishing has been suspect his first two seasons, but there's a sense that could change. De los Cobos constantly preaches patience, and the way Nyarko is playing, he could reward his coach in a big way very soon.

On the mend: The torn left quadriceps that has forced Fire midfielder John Thorrington to miss the start of the season will keep him out at least one more game, but Thorrington hopes his extended absence will soon end.

"I seem to progress to a certain level, and then as soon as I try to advance it seems to act up," Thorrington said. "It's still day-to-day."

Thorrington, one of the most competitive players on the team, clearly is not enjoying this vacation.

"It's very frustrating," he said. "I'm trying to stay positive and telling my body to hurry up and get ready."

Thorrington wasn't alone on the sidelines Wednesday. Logan Pause remains out with a knee injury, and Saturday starters Justin Mapp and Dasan Robinson also watched practiced due to some hard knocks. With Calen Carr and Steven Kinney also injured, the team has been a little shorthanded at practice this week.

Welcome, AC Milan: The Fire announced Wednesday it will host famed Italian club AC Milan in a May 30 friendly at Toyota Park. Tickets go on sale May 1, though the match is already included in most season-ticket packages. Visit chicago-fire.com for details.

While AC Milan will be without players headed to the World Cup, it will bring the rest of the full squad.

The match will complete a busy couple of weeks against European competition for the Fire. The club is hosting Paris Saint-Germain, Red Star Belgrade and Legia Warsaw in the Chicago Sister Cities International Cup on May 19 and May 22. Milan also is a sister city of Chicago.