1998 Chicago Fire season

The 1998 Chicago Fire season was the Chicago Fire Soccer Club's inaugural season of existence, and their first season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer.

Chicago Fire
1998 season
Head coachBob Bradley
Major League SoccerWest: 2nd
Overall: 3rd
MLS Cup PlayoffsWinners
U.S. Open CupWinners
Brimstone CupWinners

The Chicago Fire enjoyed one of the strongest debuts for an expansion club in the history of American soccer and of the North American sports leagues in general. The Fire won the double by winning both MLS Cup '98 and the 1998 U.S. Open Cup Final, both in a five-day timespan. It was the first time that an expansion franchise in any of the major American sports leagues won the league championship. The next time an expansion franchise would reach the championship of their respective sports league would be 20 years later, when the first-year Vegas Golden Knights NHL ice hockey team reached the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.

Background

The last professional soccer club to play in the Chicago area was the Chicago Sting, who played in the original NASL from 1974 to 1983, and then in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 to 1988. The Sting won two Soccer Bowl championships: in 1981 and again in 1984.

The Chicago Fire were one of two new MLS expansion teams to join MLS in 1998, and the first two ever expansion teams in league history. The other team being the now-defunct, Miami Fusion. The Fire were founded on October 8, 1997,[1] on the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. The club was named after the event. The club focused on recruiting players of various descent to reflect on the diversity of the region. The team brought in Polish players Piotr Nowak, Jerzy Podbrozny, and Roman Kosecki; the Mexican Jorge Campos; and the Czech Lubos Kubik.

Club

Roster
No. Name Nationality Position Date of Birth (Age)[A] Previous Club
Goalkeepers
Jorge Campos GK (1966-10-15)October 15, 1966 (aged 32) Cruz Azul
Defenders
Brian Bates DF (1972-08-16)August 16, 1972 (aged 26) Colorado Rapids
C. J. Brown CB (1975-06-15)June 15, 1975 (aged 23) San Francisco Bay Seals
Midfielders
Chris Armas MF (1972-08-22)August 22, 1972 (aged 26) LA Galaxy
Forwards
Joe Carver FW (1971-06-11)June 11, 1971 (aged 27)
  1. ^
    Player's age during the 1998 season.
    2.


Team management
Position Staff
General Manager
Head Coach Bob Bradley
Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach
Goalkeeper Coach

Source:

Competitive

Major League Soccer
Main article: 1998 Major League Soccer season

Results by round
Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132
GroundAHAAHAHAHHAHHAHHHAAAAAHHAAHAHHHA
ResultWWLLLLLWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLWWWWLWWWL
Position
Updated to match(es) played on pre-season. Source: Chicago-Fire.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

MLS Cup Playoffs
Main article: 1998 Major League Soccer season § MLS Cup Playoffs

U.S. Open Cup
Main article: 1998 U.S. Open Cup

Statistics

Appearances
Sortable table
No. Pos. Nat. Name MLS MLS Cup US Open Cup Total
Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts

Goalscorers
Rank Pos. No. Player MLS MLS Cup US Open Cup Total

Transfers

Transfers in
No. Pos. Player From Fee Date Source

Transfers out
No. Pos. Player To Fee Date Source

Loan in
No. Pos. Player Loaned from Start End Source

Loan out
No. Pos. Player Loaned to Start End Source

See also

References
  1. "Chicago Fire Club History". chicago-fire.com.
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