18th March 2000
18th March 2000
Hristo Stoichkov Receives International Clearance to Start
in Season Opener at Dallas, WIND/WOJO & WNVR to
Broadcast all 32 Fire Games for Second Straight Year
The Chicago Fire's newest member, international soccer
superstar Hristo Stoichkov, today received his international
transfer card from Kashiwa Reysol, his former Japanese
club. Stoichkov, who was allocated to the Fire just this
week, is expected to make his MLS debut with Chicago
tomorrow in the Fire's 2000 season opener at the Dallas
Burn @ 3:30 p.m. (CT), live on the Spanish network
Telemundo (locally Channel 44).
The Fire has also announced that WOJO FM 105.1 / WIND
AM 560 and WNVR will serve as the Fire's official radio
stations for the 2000 season. WOJO/WIND are back for the
second consecutive year, while WNVR AM 1030 is back for
the third.
The Fire also renewed its agreement with WOJO to handle
the promotional end, while WIND serves as the radio voice
of the team. The promotional agreement between the Fire
and WOJO allows the station to conduct radio remotes
from Soldier Field, featuring live cut-ins during
programming. WOJO will also be pushing the Chicago Fire at
festivals throughout the agreement.
WIND will broadcast all 32 Fire games and host a one-hour
Fire show twice a week. The live broadcasts will last
two-and-a-half-hours, as a 15-minute pre and post-game
show will augment the games. The Chicago Fire and WIND
will also provide a secondary audio programming (SAP)
broadcast along with the Fire's regional television package
on FOX Sports Chicago.
Gamaliel Ramirez returns to WIND for his second straight
year as color commentator, while Yerman Salazar makes his
debut with the Fire as play-by-play man.
WNVR AM 1030 will serve as the Fire's promotional partner
in the Polish community, promoting the team in Polish
festivals and events. WNVR will broadcast all 32 Fire games
live, and host a one-hour Fire show once a week. The
broadcasts will last two hours. The station is owned by
Polnet Communications. Polnet Communications is the
parent company of Polish radio stations, WNVR AM 1030
and WKTA AM 1330, as well as Polvision, Chicago's Polish
television station.
WNVR AM 1030 will also broadcast Fire games in Polish on
the internet. Fans all over the world can log-on to
www.polskieradio.com to listen to Fire games in Polish.
Fire/WNVR broadcasters will remain the same as last
season, as Jacek Zielinski (play-by-play), Leszek Dorosz
(color, who ironically was Peter Nowak's youth coach in
Poland), and Ziggy Rygiel (3rd man in booth-color) will
handle the broadcast duties.
Hristo Stoichkov Headed to Chicago
CHICAGO (Wednesday, March 15, 2000) -- Major League Soccer has acquired international soccer superstar Hristo Stoichkov and allocated the Bulgarian scoring legend to the Chicago Fire, which received an allocation via trade with San Jose. The Earthquakes received an allocation to replace Eddie Lewis, who was transferred earlier today to Fulham of the English First Division. San Jose then traded that allocation to Chicago for the Fire's 2002 1st Round draft pick and two No. 2 picks in the 2001 MLS draft. Stoichkov is in New York today to work out final contract details with Major League Soccer officials and attend Major League Soccer's First Kick 2000 Reception in midtown Manhattan. Stoichkov will make his first appearance in Chicago on Monday, March 20 at a press conference at Soldier Field. Born February 8, 1966 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the 34-year-old Stoichkov has performed at the highest level of club and international football throughout his career in Europe. He made his international debut on September 23, 1987 and recently retired from his country's side with 84 caps and 37 goals for the Bulgarian National Team. His 37 goals rank second all-time for Bulgaria, 10 behind leader Hristo Bonev with 47. He has been voted Best Bulgarian Football Player of the Year five times (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994) and he was also named Best Bulgarian Athlete of the Year in 1994. His most awesome accomplishment came on U.S. and Chicago soil (Bulgaria vs. Greece June 28, 1994 at Soldier Field), as Stoichkov scored six goals at World Cup USA 1994 (tied for first place) and led Bulgaria to a 3rd place finish during the 1994 World Cup, USA '94. The Bulgarians were the darlings of the tournament as they reached the semi-finals after defeating world power Germany in the quarterfinals. For his efforts with club (then Barcelona) and country, he was named the FIFA Footballer of the Year in 1994. Stoichkov was also a valuable part of the 1998 Bulgarian World Cup squad in France. "We are very excited to bring Hristo to Chicago," said Fire Head Coach Bob Bradley. "His career speaks for itself. But beyond all the numbers and medals and trophies is a player that has always had a tremendous desire and determination to win games. He has always won at every level and every team he has been with, and he does whatever it takes to take his team to victory." As good as his international career has been for Bulgaria, his club career has been just as spectacular. He started his professional career with Bulgaria club CSKA Sofia. He played five straight seasons for Sofia, appearing in 119 games and scoring an unbelievable 81 times. His 38 goals in 30 games during the 1989-90 season led all of Europe in scoring that season, and for his efforts Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot in 1990. Also while at CSKA Sofia, he won numerous titles with his club. In 1984-85, Sofia was named Champion of Bulgaria, won the Bulgarian National Cup and the Soviet Army Cup. Two seasons later, he was suspended for the 1985-86 season, Sofia won all three titles again. During the 1987-88 campaign Sofia won the Bulgarian Cup. Sofia completed their domestic "Treble" in 1988-89, and in his last season in Bulgaria they won two titles, the league season and the Soviet Army Cup. After the 1990 season, Barcelona of Spain bought him from Sofia for $4.5 million, at the time becoming the most expensive Bulgarian player in the world, and his tenure at Barcelona would be even greater. During the 1990-91 season, Stoichkov appeared in 24 games, scoring 14 goals. He would win four straight Spanish league titles with Barcelona, starting with the 1990-91 season. During the 1991-92 season Barcelona would win the most prestigious honor in club football in the world, the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League). They would also take home the Spanish SuperCup, Spanish League Championship and European SuperCup, all while Stoichkov appeared in 32 matches, tallying 17 goals. In 1992-93, he appeared in 34 games, scoring 20 goals as Barcelona won the league again and the Spanish SuperCup. The 1993-94 season saw Stoichkov score 16 goals in 34 games. Barcelona would again win the league. 1994-95 would be Stoichkov's last season in the first go-round with Barcelona as he played in 27 games, scoring 9 goals, but was sold to Parma of Italy's Serie "A," at the end of the season despite Barcelona winning the league and the SuperCup again. Parma paid $15 million for Stoichkov, a hefty price tag considering he would only spend one season in Italy. Stoichkov scored five goals for the Italian club, while appearing in 23 games. Barcelona then paid $3.3 million dollars back to Parma to get the fiery Bulgarian. In 1996-97, Stoichkov would appear in 22 matches for Barcelona, scoring 7 times and Barcelona won the Spanish SuperCup, the Spanish King's Cup and the European Cup with Stoichkov back on their side. Things between Stoichkov and Barcelona soured the next season, 97-98, and his contract was terminated on March 13, 1998. Stoichkov went back to Bulgaria to CSKA Sofia and played in four games, scoring two goals. He was loaned to Al Nasr of Saudi Arabia and scored his and their only goal in the Asian Cup Winner Cup to lead them to the 1-0 victory.
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