Chicago Football

The Qwest Field confetti canon finally got a work out as the Sounders remained unbeaten against the Chicago Fire in a 2-1 victory while also picking up a valuable three points for the first time this season, according to the Free Bet website.

Previous to today, Seattle remained winless in their last eight games all the way back to October 15 whereas Chicago were looking to remain unbeaten in the opening weeks of the season. Since last season the Fire picked up sixteen new players including a trio of international players who have provided all of the team’s goals thus far, Guatemalan Marco Pappa and Uruguayans Diego Chaves and Gaston Puerari.

Although the Fire displayed much crisper and controlled passing in the opening minutes, Seattle forward O’Brien White started the scoring off early with a gorgeous header in the 7’ from a sweet flick sent in by former River Plate player Mauro Rosales. Rosales was later subbed in the 64’ by Nate Jaqua but the newest Sounder was in great form, providing mobility/creativity thru midfield and giving terrific service to White and Steve Zakuani.

The lead was short lived however as Chicago immediately answered in the 8’ with a goal from Chaves who neatly dodged defender Jeff Parke, gliding a ball right past Sounders keeper Kasey Keller. Parke later took a ball directly to face off a Michael Vidiera free kick in the second half, requiring on field treatment, but he was able to finish out the match.

But Seattle pulled ahead in the 25’ with a goal from Zakuani who made a great run, crossing the ball diagonally across the front of goal and burying it in the back corner. Designated player Fredy Montero was still sidelined from wrist surgery, leaving White and Zakuani to do the job up front and it proved to be a fruitful partnership. With Montero goalless in his last fifteen appearances, today’s performance by the Sounders almost begs the question, “Fredy who?”

The Chicago Fire’s open tryouts typically do not bring in a first-team player, but Mount Prospect’s Paraskevas “Pari” Pantazopoulos is an exception to the rule.

The Fire announced Monday that Pantazopoulos, who topped the 210-player pool to win the 2011 open tryout in January, has signed with the club.

“Playing professional soccer has always been a dream of mine,” Pantazopoulos said. “I moved to Chicago in 1998 and grew up idolizing Fire players like [Ante] Razov, [Peter] Nowak and [Frank] Klopas, and now I’m part of this team. I’m thankful to the Fire organization for this unbelievable opportunity.”

The 6-foot, 22-year-old midfielder was born in Athens, Greece, starting his soccer career with Vrilissia Academy as a youth before his family moved to Mount Prospect. Pantazopoulos then played for Green and White (1998 to 2002) and the Chicago Magic (2002 to 2007). He joined Asyl Lisis in Cyprus in 2007, then returned to Greece to play for Zakynthos from 2008 to 2010.

The Seattle Sounders have been hoping to have forward Fredy Montero available to play against the Chicago Fire this Saturday despite having a fractured wrist.

But that now looks increasingly unlikely, said Coach Sigi Schmid, who spoke to reporters Thursday following practice at Qwest Field.

“The chance of him (Montero) playing on Saturday is unlikely at this stage because there is still some swelling in there,” Schmid said. “They want to make sure that there is still no infection into the wound.”

Montero was involved in some light training today, but he did not participate in the squad scrimmages.  “He’s able to do some light stuff and we had him out here doing a little bit of stuff before, but right now unless there is a miraculous change tomorrow, it doesn’t look likely,” Schmid said.

Don’t rule out Montero entirely — there’s still 48 hours of healing to occur — but if he’s unable to play then Mauro Rosales likely will fill the withdrawn striker role against Chicago. He performed ably in that role against San Jose, adding an assist and creating all kinds of havoc in the right channel.

On March 30, the Chicago Fire beat the Colorado Rapids 2-1. The U.S. Open Cup qualifying match gave the Chicago Fire its second win this season. The rookies provided essential goals during the game and continued to prove their importance to the team.

I was very pleased with the performance of the Chicago Fire. They were able to beat the 2010 MLS Cup champions.
Jalil Anibaba has already shown great abilities for the Chicago Fire.

Two players stood out during the match with the Colorado Rapids:

Gaston Puerari

After 45 minutes without anyone scoring, I started to get worried. I wanted the Chicago Fire to win another game. Finally, Gaston Puerari scored a goal and gave the Chicago Fire a 1-0 lead over Colorado. As I watched the goal go past Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Ian Joyce, I knew the game had reached a turning point, and Chicago had a chance.

Jalil Anibaba

The rookie had his first goal with a Major League Soccer team. Jalil Anibaba scored a goal an hour into the game and gave the Chicago Fire the opportunity to win the qualifying match. I was impressed by his fast reaction time and skills. He was able to hit a shot more than 40 yards, and it went past Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Ian Joyce. It was easy to see Anibaba’s reaction to the goal. He could not stop smiling.

Video clip Rating: 4 / five