Klopas happy with team as Fire opener approaches

The Fire’s roster is set — for now.

“I feel good, and now we’re just ready to start,” Fire coach Frank Klopas said at Monday’s season kickoff luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

The Fire opens the season at expansion Montreal at 1 p.m. Saturday, then returns for its home opener March 24 against Philadelphia.

Two players — newly signed German defender Arne Friedrich and Italian goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi — are not with the team as they await their visas. Both hope to rejoin the club this week.

Tornaghi’s arrival will be watched closely because starting goalkeeper Sean Johnson will miss the season’s first two games while he joins the U.S. U-23 team for Olympic qualifying.

If Tornaghi’s visa doesn’t come through, it would leave the club with just veteran Jay Nolly available.

Klopas, about to start his first season as coach since the interim tag was removed in November, didn’t seem worried, however, and he didn’t want to commit to a starter in Johnson’s absence.

“Either way we go, we’ve got to see how this week goes, but we’ve got some good options to choose from,” he said.

Friedrich, 32, brings World Cup experience with him, but he would need to dislodge veteran Cory Gibbs or second-year defender Jalil Anibaba to earn a starting role.

“We’ll see when he comes in,” Klopas said. “He’s a center back. We wanted to bring someone in the back line who brings a lot of experience.

“Cory’s a veteran, experienced guy. And you want to create good depth, because throughout the season you’re going to have a lot of injuries. There’s a lot of games that you need to play.”

The Fire still has draft picks Lucky Mkosana and Tony Walls with the club, though they have yet to sign contracts.

Otherwise, Klopas said he’s done acquiring players for now.

“No, I think ideally — we’ll see how things go — but maybe we’ll add another forward to the mix. We’ve looked at some guys,” Klopas said, declining to name names.

“Whether that happens now or mid-window, we’ll have to see.”

The keeper:

Johnson leaves Tuesday to join the U-23 team for qualifying in Nashville, Tenn., Los Angeles and, hopefully, Kansas City, Kan.

“It’ll be a good experience for me,” Johnson said. “It’s an honor to be a part of that qualifying team.”

A correction: Johnson will not be out of contract after the season. The Fire has an option on his contract.

A tough decision:

It’s never easy to cut a player, but it’s even harder when it’s a likable local kid with a great story.

That was the case of Mount Prospect’s Pari Pantazopoulos, the Fire’s 2011 open tryout winner who earned a roster spot last season but was waived last week.

“A very difficult situation,” Fire coach Frank Klopas said. “A tough one, you know? Those decisions you’ve just got to make that’s best for the team. It’s never easy, especially the group that we have is a very good group of human beings.”

One of the factors working against Pantazopoulos was that he wasn’t getting much playing time, and that stifled his development.

“Pari needs to be somewhere where he can play, and it would be very difficult for him and we’ll keep an eye on him,” Klopas said.

“We’re going to try to help him go some places and keep a tab on him because he is a local kid and you never know what happens down the road. But he needs to develop by playing.”

Another local kid:

Naperville resident Vanessa DiBernardo had 2 goals and an assist last week to help the U.S. women earn a berth in the U-20 World Cup.

Follow Orrin on Twitter @orrinsoccer.