USL Feature
Thursday, August 3, 2011
By NICHOLAS MURRAY
With four U.S. Open Cup titles to their name, the most in the modern era of the tournament, the Chicago Fire have a well-earned nickname that precedes them whenever they play in the oldest ongoing soccer tournament in the United States.
The Kings of the Cup.
Since the club’s inception in 1998, when it became the second club to win both the Open Cup and MLS Cup for ‘the double’, the Open Cup has been a major part of the club’s fabric and history. As current interim coach and technical director Frank Klopas said in one of supporter’s club Section 8 Chicago’s online videos, “It’s something that we look forward to and it’s a tournament that we’re going to put all into in order to try and win.”
Klopas knows all about winning the Open Cup. It was his goal that secured the club its first title in 1998, an overtime game-winner from close range that earned the Fire a 2-1 victory against the Columbus Crew. That was the most dramatic of the Fire’s championship game wins, although there were other memorable Open Cup games over the years for the club, including the semifinal against the Los Angeles in 2000 that saw Josh Wolff’s overtime goal give the side a 2-1 win on its way to a second crown.
Another pair of titles arrived in 2003 and 2006 respectively, with the Fire also reaching the final in 2004. Their next Open Cup title would tie them for the all-time lead in the tournament’s history with two storied names from American soccer history in Bethlehem Steel, which won the tournament five times between 1913 and 1924, and Maccabi Los Angeles, which won five times between 1973 and 1981.
“We always fight for this trophy; it's one of our goals every season,” defender Gonzalo Segares told the Chicago Tribune before the Fire’s quarterfinal against the New York Red Bulls. “We're going to take it seriously, try to get a win and get to the semifinals.”
The Fire managed just that, trouncing a New York side made up mainly of reserves 4-0 to advance to a semifinal date with USL PRO’s Richmond Kickers. The Fire had previously defeated the Rochester Rhinos in the third round of this year’s tournament, 1-0 at Sahlen’s Stadium, and their focus on adding another trophy to their case appears to be strong.
“It’s pretty big,” Segares told Chicago-Fire.com after the semifinal. “[A lot of teams] don’t take the Open Cup seriously, but we always do. It’s a very important trophy, it gives us a chance to get into the CONCACAF Champions League and that’s a pretty big tournament internationally. It’s always good to be competing on that level.”
Of course, with back-to-back Open Cup victories in the past two seasons, and a berth in the semifinals of this year’s tournament also secured, the Seattle Sounders are making a run at trying to claim the Fire’s crown. Should the Fire and Sounders advance on August 30, it would certainly set up a fascinating match-up in the final.
But until the Sounders, or any other side, overtake Chicago, the Fire will remain on their throne as the Kings of the Cup.
2011 U.S. Open Cup Semifinals
August 30
Richmond Kickers (USL PRO) at Chicago Fire, 8:30 p.m. ET
FC Dallas at Seattle Sounders FC, 10 p.m. ET