THE OFFICIAL SECTION 8 CHICAGO ZINE
MATCH
BOOK
MATCHDAY
19
JULY 20, 2013
v3.5
Z I N E PREDICTIONS
DC PREVIEW
W W W. S 8 C . O R G | @ M AT C H B O O K Z I N E
IS OPEN CUP,
NOT PICNIC
MIKE
MAGEE
TA I L G AT E
M E N U
DC UNITED MATCH PREVIEW
Irish Steve
T
he Fire head back to Toyota Park on a
major low after a second half drubbing
at the hands of Vancouver last Sunday. The
gap between the Fire and the last Playoff
spot has widened to 8 points and a win
against last place DC United is a must tonight. DC gained a credible 0-0 draw with
Colorado last time out and are coming to
Chicago in what will be a dress rehearsal of
the US Open Cup semifinal which will take
place in less than a months’ time. Back in
the squad for DC will be two of the teams
standout players from 2013, Nick DeLeon
and Kyle Porter who should both slip back
into midfield. The issue for DC this season
however has been in the attack, where the
team has scored only 8 goals the entire season, almost 10 less than the second lowest
goal scoring team.
The lack of goals for DC will be a welcome sign for the Fire’s defense which has
been nothing short of shambolic in recent
matches. It was bad enough when individual errors resulted in two goals being
allowed in the first 10 minutes against KC
but what made it worse was last weekend’s
display in Canada. The team played well in
the first half but more individual errors resulted in the Whitecaps scoring three unanswered in the second half, something that
surely made the Fire’s coaching staff cringe.
Luckily, the Men in Red will not have to
face a player like Camilo tonight but taking
DC lightly would be a grave mistake.
In last weekend’s match, midfielder Alex
had a very solid game but after his exit, the
team seemed to lose control of the midfield.
Alex will be very important again tonight,
especially because DC like to pack the
midfield, similar to the way Vancouver play
(except Vancouver play with three central
mids and DC play with two holding). It will
be interesting to see if coach Frank Klopas
decides to stick with his usual starting back
4 especially considering the numerous
individual errors made over the past few
matches. If he decides to make a change,
we could see Logan Pause come into the
defense in the place of Bakary Soumare,
with Anibaba shifting to the middle and
Logan playing on the right. Like any part of
the field, some rotation, especially the unit
isn’t performing well, isn’t a bad thing. It is
clear that the Fire have a set midfield four
and front two and an emphasis must be on
sorting of the defense.
As for DC’s attack, it will be interesting to
see whether the pesky fish Carlos Ruiz will
get a start against the Men in Red. Ruiz has
scored goals against the Fire in the past, including a stunner for Philly against the Men
in Red a few seasons back. Though he has
certainly lost some of his pace, Ruiz links
really well with the midfielders and is very
good a holding the ball up and retaining
possession. On the other hand, Luis Silva, a
recent addition from TFC may get the nod.
In any case, the Fire have had problems
dealing with a front three in recent weeks
and DC’s lone striker should (hopefully) be
easier to manage.
Zack
Pirrello
Joe
Ttollefson
Nyarko
Rolfe
Magee
Magee
Alex
Sega
Dan
Martin
Irish
Steve
El
Guapo
Duka
Magee
The Pope
Marsch
Tenywa Bonseu
Tommy Soehn
Magic Mike
Alex
CHI 2-1 DC
CHI 3-1 DC
CHI 1-1 DC
CHI 3-0 DC
Irish
Steve
CHI 3-0 DC
CHI 2-1 DC
H LOT
NORT
H O S T E D BY R E D D AW N H O R N L I N E
“FREEDOM” BURGERS,
“LIBERTY” HOT DOGS,
“TYRANNY SUCKS” VEGGIE BURGERS,
“USA USA USA” BANANA/ PUMPKIN BREAD
“JUSTICE” COOKIES
$5
SUGGESTED
DONATION
NORTH LOT 4:30-7:00
SEMIFINAL
1998
2000
CHICAGO
FIRE
2003
VS
2006
DC
UNITED
WED. AUGUST 07
7:30PM
TOYOTA PARK | BRIDGEVIEW , IL
KINGS, KINGS, KINGS OF THE CUP
IS
OPEN
CUP,
NOT
PICNIC
D. Martin
T
oday our Men in Red meet DC United in league
play, but in just a few weeks they'll come together again
for the US Open Cup semifinal. If you're not aware
of how the Open Cup works I'll spare you the condescending act (though you surely deserve it) and sum it
up thusly: It's like the playoffs, but somehow more so.
Every game is win or go home and there is a trophy at
the end for the last club still standing. Furthermore,
there is a berth in the CONCACAF Champions
League on the line as well.
So, kind of a big deal.
My own experiences watching the Fire (live and
in person, at least) began in the 2006 Open
Cup (or, more accurately, at the end). My
roommate at the time had been going
to matches all season, but it wasn't until
the final, held at TP between the LA
Galaxy and the Fire, that I finally took
up his offer of an extra ticket and went
to the match.
I'll skip most of the story of the game itself
(the Fire won their 4th Cup, 3-1) and instead just state, simply, that I was an instant
convert to full-on fan that night. The way
the players and fans celebrated together, the
energy pumped out of a regrettably halffull stadium, the obvious joy everyone felt...
it's hard to describe unless you see it, and
after that I was hooked. I went to the rest
of the home matches that season and then
felt like I lived and died with the players
as the team lost out in the playoffs to the
Revs (my first introduction to truly hating
another club in this sport). The next season
I went on my first road trips, and the rest
has been history.
Fast forward to 2011 and the Fire were on
another trip to the Open Cup final. The
team was, frankly, quite lousy for most of
that season, but the run to the final brought
out some of the best moments of support and collaborative feeling I had seen
since my first time attending a Fire game.
There was a real sense that despite a poor
league record that something huge could
be gained in the Open Cup. "Let's do this
again" and "Kings of the Cup" were our
rallying cries. When I met the other fans
in Seattle ahead of the game I think we all
knew there was a huge mountain to climb,
and after final whistle blew and the dopey
Sounders fans celebrated their victory, I
wandered the streets of that rainy, smug
little burg with a few friends feeling despair
in our hearts, for sure, but also a closeness
and certainly pride in the team for having
come that far.
What I'm trying to say here in rambling,
weaving, disjointed prose, is this: Get
your ass to the Open Cup semifinal. It's
been a wild ride thus far once again. Mike
Magee's first goal for the Fire at a match
in the Deep South... A game delayed by
“Hurricane Landek” over Bridgeview, the
lightning forcing the players indoors even
as supporters danced, sang, and drank in
the parking lot downpour... The Fire even
ended the Cinderella run of the tourna-
ment by blowing out Orlando City in a
match that some of the dipshit league pundits trollingly picked them to lose, setting
up the semifinal clash with DC.
On August 7 it's win or go home once
more, and if we can all get past that, then
it's the cup, right there for the taking. It's
something huge, and you never know
where it'll end up taking you. You might
end up like me and many others, chasing
that victory high, just to see if it’s as good as
the last time.
MIKE
MAGEE
It’s a start Mike...it’s a start.
First game of 2013 MLS season, I traveled
to L.A. to support the Fire, needless to say
you had a not too shabby game scoring a
hat trick. Did you think you would have
the chance to play for the Chicago Fire
bringing you back home?
MM: I for sure had a decent game that day.
Thought I would never play for the Fire.
El Guapo
David Beckham and Robbie Keane, not
bad soccer players, what did you learn
from those two?
MM: More than anything just be a good
pro
Would you try Malort?
MM: Probably
(challenge accepted)
In your honest opinion what stadium has
the best atmosphere in the league?
MM: Ours
Other than the Chicago Fire, what other
club do you follow?
MM: The Chicago Bears
Do you think the MLS draft day’s are numbered with more and more clubs going to
the academy route?
MM: I hope so, more home grown kids the
better.
Being from Chicago you should know why
we don’t put ketchup on our hot dogs.
MM: Because it’s a sin.
MAGIC MIKE
What’s you favorite place to eat/hangout
in Chicago?
MM: Jam in Logan Square
Have you been formally introduced to Section 8 Chicago,
supporters of the Chicago
Fire? If not, would you
be open to a gathering to
meet?
MM: Does jumping
in the section after
Rolfe’s goal count?
THANKS AGAIN MIKE FOR YOUR TIME. BEST WISHES TO YOU AND THE REST OF THE MEN IN RED.
Next: Ask Paolo Tornaghi
Tweet your questions for Paulo to
@matchbookZINE and use the hash tag
#AskFire. We’ll have the answers next issue
DEDICATED TO
CHICAGO FIRE,
MAJOR LEAGUE
SOCCER, AND
THE BEAUTIFUL
GAME IN NORTH
AMERICA
@OnTheFire97
@OnTheFire97
#cf97
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Section 8 Chicago NFP CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Piggott, El Guapo,
P.O. Box 13313 Dan Martin, Joseph Tollefson, Zachary Pirrello
Chicago, IL 60613-3313
United States of Americaz ORIGINAL ART
EMAIL [email protected] PHOTOS Google.com
WEBSITE s8c.org (media>zine) CONTRIBUTIONS Ideas, comments, questions,
suggestions, and/or contributions are welcomed
TWITTER @matchbookZINE by e-mail to the address listed. All views expressed are those of the named contributor and
DESIGN/LAYOUT Joseph Tollefson not necessarily of the editor.
Zachary Pirrello
THE MATCHBOOK ZINE IS INDEPENDENT OF THE CHICAGO FIRE SOCCER CLUB.
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