The Chicago Fire started the 2009 preseason one step ahead of almost all of their competition.
They did not need to have an orientation meeting, and they were able to skip the preseason "getting to know you'' brunch.
The 2009 Chicago Fire are almost exactly the same as the 2008 Chicago Fire, and for that, coach Denis Hamlett is grateful.
Barring injury or national team callups, Hamlett and the Fire will play their 2009 MLS opener with the same first-choice XI with which they ended 2008. Their roster changes were few and their game plan is little different than it was last season.
The only difference, say all, is the desire for a different final outcome.
The Fire were eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs in a 2-1 loss at Columbus in the Eastern Conference Championship. There is a feeling among the team that a key 2009 goal is to win the Eastern Conference regular season title in order to have home-field advantage for the conference championship game this season.
"I think we are going to be hungrier," Hamlett said during preseason training. "We are not content with, three of the last four years, getting to the conference final and losing. We want to get to the big prize. We need a little bit to get over the hump. Part of that has to do with home field advantage. The last two years we have been on the road for the conference final."
The Fire believe that, while they do have young players battling for playing time at all positions, the core group knows who they are and knows each other well, which should be an advantage over teams that have to get acquainted.
"All you have to do is look at New England," said Bakary Soumare, a nominee for 2008 MLS Defender of the Year honors. "They have always been good at being able to keep the same players. When you bring back the same team you definitely have an advantage. Many things become automatic. You don't have to become adjusted."
Soumare said this is especially important for the back line, because they need to know where their teammates are going to be and how they are going to provide support when the opposition is making a strong attack at goal.
"You know what kind of run support to make, and you know what your teammates are bringing you," he said. "I know what the guys in front of me are bringing to the table."
Starting in the back, veteran goalkeeper Jon Busch will be tending the net following his award-winning season as Goalkeeper of the Year. Nick Noble returns as his backup, but Noble played in only reserve games in 2008.
The defensive line that held the league's best goals-against total for much of the season includes, left to right, Gonzalo Segares, Bakary Soumare, Wilman Conde and Brandon Prideaux.
The Fire had to survive another offseason of questions about Conde's desire to stay, and they will have to deal with World Cup responsibilities for Segares (Costa Rica) and Soumare (Mali). But Daniel Woolard played in eight games despite a long midseason break due to injury, and Dasan Robinson is playing his way back into consideration for playing time after losing his starting spot two years ago.
The Fire's midfield starters again remain the same as last year. Justin Mapp will be on the left wing, the middle will be patrolled by Logan Pause, Cuauhtemoc Blanco will do his wandering best in the top half of the field, and John Thorrington will be the fourth starting midfielder. Thorrington ended 2008 with five goals, and proved himself worthy of national team consideration when U.S. coach Bob Bradley used only U.S.-based players for friendlies.
The midfield is where the Fire lost their best prospect for breaking into the starting lineup. Stephen King, who played in 20 games with eight starts last season, was lost in the expansion draft to Seattle. But 21-year-old Guatemalan speedster Marco Pappa figures to get some starts in the many weeks ahead that will include multiple games for the U.S. Open Cup and SuperLiga competitions.
At forward, the Fire list Chris Rolfe (9 goals, 7 assists) and Brian McBride (5 goals, 2 assists in 11 games) but Rolfe played attacking midfielder at times. It is at forward where the Fire have their next budding starter in Ghanaian Patrick Nyarko, who played college soccer at Virginia Tech.
Filling out the roster are veteran defender C.J. Brown, who missed almost all of last season due to a variety of injuries; third-year midfielder Mike Banner; and forward Calen Carr, who suffered a severe knee sprain last season about a third of the way through the campaign.
The Fire also lost the services of veteran defender Diego Gutierrez to retirement, but that was something that was known immediately after the 2008 season ended.
The only draft pick to make the cut for 2009 was first-round pick and local hero Baggio Husidic, who starred at the University of Illinois-Chicago after coming to the USA with his family from Bosnia via Germany.
The one aspect of the Fire's 2008 campaign that caused concern was the team's consistency, which Hamlett hopes to address in 2009.
"It comes from experience being in game situations," Hamlett said. "Last year, the majority of the group was together for the first time, but this year we have learned form last year how the season goes and the key moments of the season. This year we have a group from the beginning, with Brian being here from the start, and he is going to bring a lot in terms of being consistent, because he is a professional and comes every day to train."
At the beginning of the 2008 season, the Fire went 5-1-1, recording three road wins and a road tie. But thereafter, they managed only one two-game winning streak, and went 2-3-2 in their final seven games.
The ingredient that seemed to be missing, and the one the team will be searching for in 2009, was consistency.
"To be honest, consistency comes from the players," Busch said. "The coaching staff prepares us for the weekend and when the weekend comes around that is when the top players need to step up. I know some games last year we would come out unbelievable and some games we would come out and we were not that good. I think it is up the players to step up and know the most important day of the week is Saturday or Sunday."
The Fire also hold out hope that the attacking combination of Blanco and McBride will work better than it did in 2008. There was some "getting acquainted" awkwardness on the attack in the last half of the season.
Working on that relationship has been held up in the spring because Blanco has nursed a knee injury in training, but McBride said he thinks Blanco will get to know him well enough to take advantage of his skills.
"He has the ability to do a lot of different things with the ball," McBride said. "The more he understand each player, he can bring those strengths out in you."
After 10 years as an assistant coach, Hamlett enjoyed a successful first year as head coach, and said the second year should be even better.
"Last year, the spotlight was on to see how you were going to deal with things, and I think we dealt with it pretty well," Hamlett said. "I think we gained a sense of respect throughout the group. Not there is a trust the players have with the coaching staff. Now is the time to challenge, to push each other with the common thought that we want that ultimate goal. I go about my business every day trying to get the best out of everybody involved."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
