26th March 2000
Sloppy defense keeps Fire burning for 1st victory;Stoitchkov ejected
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Poor defending and
goalkeeping cost the Fire again Saturday night as it
fell to the Kansas City Wizards 4-3 in front of 7,540
at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Fire is now 0-2 with its next two games on the
road, in Columbus on April 1 and April 8 in
Washington, where it has yet to win. The Fire is the
only team in the Central Division not to have a point.
Hristo Stoitchkov was sent off in the 68th minute with
a red-card ejection after fouling Mo Johnston and
then starting a confrontation with the Wizards
forward.
Stoitchkov will be suspended for the Columbus match
and is the second Fire player to be ejected this season.
Peter Nowak was ejected last week.
26th March 2000
Stoichkov sent off in only his second game in MLS
Bulgarian veteran Hristo Stoichkov was
sent off as Chicago Fire lost their second
successive match in the new Major
League Soccer campaign by 4-3 to Kansas
City Wizards. Stoichkov, no stranger to
red cards during his mainstream career in
Bulgaria and Spain, was dismissed in the
65th minute.
25th March 2000
Bradley said he's not sure whether Hristo Stoitchkov,who had a smashing debut with two goals last weekend, will play in Nowak's spot.
24th March 2000
Loss of Armas, Nowak forces Fire juggling act.Armas deserves a break, but the timing isn't great with captain Peter Nowak out,because of a red card in the season opener at Dallas.One option to replace Nowak is to drop Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoitchkov back to the playmaking role he assumed after Nowak drew his red card.
19th March 2000
Fire needs more than Stoitchkov
BY LEN ZIEHM STAFF REPORTER
DALLAS--Fire coach Bob Bradley got more than he expected from newly
acquired Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoitchkov on Saturday, but it wasn't enough.
Stoitchkov scored two goals after only two days of practice with his new
team, but the Fire was a flop in the first game of its third season. The Dallas
Burn, which eliminated the Fire from the Major League Soccer playoffs last
season, earned a 4-2 victory before 12,891 at the Cotton Bowl.
"The first game is always hard," Stoitchkov said through an interpreter. "It's
sad we lost. We need better movement within our team, and that will come
with more practice. We'll be a better team than we were today."
Bradley started Stoitchkov, who hadn't played a game since June. He played 80
minutes before coming out with a slight groin pull that he said wasn't serious. Even
the Burn fans gave him an ovation.
"We were thinking he'd play more like 60 minutes, but he's such a tremendous
competitor," Bradley said. "With the game on the line, he didn't want to come off the
field."
And Stoitchkov didn't just score. He delivered three exquisite long passes that his
teammates couldn't finish, handled every corner kick except the first and even took
the captain's armband and moved to midfield after Peter Nowak was thrown out of
the game for receiving a red card in the 61st minute.
"It's obvious what he brings to us," Fire forward Josh Wolff said. "He's a dangerous
player. He did well with his chances. A world-class player finishes every chance he
gets."
"It'll be scary when he gets in rhythm in two or three weeks," Fire midfielder Diego
Gutierrez said. "He's such a high-caliber player. He puts every [pass] on your foot,
and he always has the ability to score. He can make something out of nothing."
"We sure made him look good," Burn coach Dave Dir said. "I'd like him to have to
earn his goals a little bit harder in this league instead of getting the freebies that he
had."
Stoitchkov gave the Fire the lead twice, and his goals were hardly freebies.
In the 13th minute, he sent a perfect long ball to 17-year-old forward DaMarcus
Beasley, whose shot was deflected over the goal by Burn goalkeeper Matt Jordan.
Nowak's ensuing corner kick went to Chris Armas, who chipped the ball to
Stoitchkov, who headed in the first goal of the season.
Jason Kreis' header in the 27th minute tied the score, then Stoitchkov struck again.
Lubos Kubik stole the ball from Burn defender Richard Farrer and passed to
Stoitchkov. He dribbled in alone on Jordan before firing the ball into the left corner
of the net in the 42nd minute.
Stoitchkov couldn't do it all, though.
Greg Sutton, who got the start in goal with Zach Thornton out because of a torn calf
muscle, couldn't control a long shot by Chad Deering. Ariel Graziani retrieved the
ball in the box and drilled the tying goal in the 55th minute.
The Fire had chances to regain the lead, but Wolff hit the side of the net after taking
a great pass from Stoitchkov in the 59th minute, and Jesse Marsch chipped high
from eight yards out after receiving Stoitchkov's free kick from a foot outside the
box in the 73rd.
Eric Dade, who had gone scoreless in three previous MLS seasons, assisted on
Graziani's goal, then scored the game-winner in the 79th minute when Fire defenders
lost track of the ball. Dade beat Sutton from 10 yards out. He also assisted on
Graziani's second goal in the 85th minute.
"We had the lead twice and didn't do a good job dealing with it," Bradley said. "Our
play in the second half was very poor. We didn't move well when we had the ball or
when they had the ball. We weren't sharp, and I don't know why."
19th March 2000
Stoitchkov nets two in loss to Burn
Ariel Graziani had a
pair of second half
goals as the Dallas
Burn rallied to defeat
the Chicago Fire 4-2 at
the Cotton Bowl
Saturday afternoon.
The latest addition of
the bitter
Dallas-Chicago rivalry
featured a pair of red
cards and a stunning
debut from Major
League Soccer's
newest signing, Bulgarian striker, Hristo Stoitchkov.
Stoitchkov had a pair of first half goals, instantly
making his mark in his first MLS appearance. The
Bulgarian legend beat Dallas goalkeeper Matt
Jordan from 12 yards out in the 14th minute,
heading in a Chris Armas pass to give Chicago a
1-0 lead. Stoitchkov sent the Fire to the locker
room with a 2-1 lead at halftime. The 5-9 striker
broke free of the Dallas defense for his second
goal. Burn defender Richard Farrer gave the ball
away in his own end, and Fire defender Lubos
Kubik threaded a through ball past an unorganized
Dallas defense to put Stoitchkov in alone on
Jordan. The veteran striker easily beat the Burn
keeper to make it 2-1. "I'm not surprised by the
way I played, but we lost so that was bad,"
Stoitchkov said. "My team is disappointed, and I
am disappointed but the first game is very tough."
19th March 2000
Burn 4, Fire 2
DALLAS (AP) Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov scored twice for the Chicago
Fire in his MLS debut Saturday, but Ariel Graziani's two second-half goals
lifted the Dallas Burn to a 4-2 victory in the season opener for both teams.
Stoichkov, joint-leading scorer at the 1994 World Cup, put Chicago up in the
14th minute on a header inside the near post off a cross from Chris Armas.
After Burn forward Jason Kreis's header in the 28th minute tied the score,
Stoichkov made it 2-1 on a breakaway three minutes before the break.
"I am not surprised the way I played, but we lost and that is bad," said
Stoichkov, who signed a one-year contract Wednesday.
"It's sad to lose even though I scored two goals."
DALLAS (AP) Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov scored twice for the Chicago
Fire in his MLS debut Saturday, but Ariel Graziani's two second-half goals
lifted the Dallas Burn to a 4-2 victory in the season opener for both teams.
Stoichkov, joint-leading scorer at the 1994 World Cup, put Chicago up in the
14th minute on a header inside the near post off a cross from Chris Armas.
After Burn forward Jason Kreis's header in the 28th minute tied the score,
Stoichkov made it 2-1 on a breakaway three minutes before the break.
"I am not surprised the way I played, but we lost and that is bad," said
Stoichkov, who signed a one-year contract Wednesday.
"It's sad to lose even though I scored two goals."
Dallas, which eliminated Chicago from the playoffs last year, rallied with three
second-half goals.
Graziani scored in the 55th minute when a Chad Deering shot bounced off
Fire goalkeeper Greg Sutton. Graziani made a quick dribble to the right and
scored easily.
Eric Dade gave Dallas its first lead 24 minutes later, turning in a cross from
Oscar Pareja, and Graziani closed the scoring with five minutes to play after
Fire defender C.J. Brown failed to cut off a pass from Dade.
Stoichkov, the second-leading career scorer in Bulgarian soccer, had not
played since leaving Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol eight months ago.
He was the second big-name European player to sign with Major League
Soccer this season. Germany's Lothar Matthaeus joined the New York-New
Jersey MetroStars.
"For me everything in life is new right now - new league, new country,
everything," Stoichkov said. "This seems like a good league and lots of
players here have good experience. The U.S. had a good World Cup in 1994
and now has an improving league."
19th March 2000
Fire, MLS follow Stoitchkov's spelling request to the letter
BY LEN ZIEHM STAFF REPORTER
DALLAS--His name was Hristo Stoichkov during the 1994 World Cup played in
the United States, and that spelling also was used during his peak years with
Barcelona of the Spanish first division.
Major League Soccer and the Fire used that spelling in introducing him last week,
and the Fire used it on the back of his jersey Saturday. But the name on the jersey
will be changed before the Fire's game next Saturday against the Kansas City
Wizards.
The preferred spelling now is Stoitchkov. He made the request Saturday, and the
team and league will honor it.
NUMBERS GAME: Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez said he offered to give up
his No. 8 even before Stoitchkov was a member of the team.
"I always knew he wore No. 8 and that the issue would come up if he signed,"
Gutierrez said. "I work hard enough, and the number you wear is the one you're
identified with. But he obviously didn't come to us from a pub team. To give my
jersey to him was something very special."
| March 18 | 1 | 2 | F |
| Chicago | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Dallas | 1 | 3 | 4 |
CHICAGO FIRE-Greg Sutton, Lubos Kubik, C.J. Brown, Andrew Lewis, Chris Armas, Jesse Marsch, Diego Gutierrez, Peter Nowak, Hristo Stoitchkov (Dema Kovalenko), Ante Razov, DaMarcus Beasley (Josh Wolff)
TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Stoitchkov 3); FOULS: 15 (Marsch 3);
OFFSIDE: 4; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 8 (Sutton 8); CAUTIONS: Brown, 48; EJECTIONS: Nowak, 62.
DALLAS BURN--Matt Jordan, Eric Dade, Ricardo Iribarren, Richard Farrer, Mark Santel, Segi Daniv, Ted Eck, Chad Deering, Kirk Wilson (Oscar Pareja), Jason Kreis (Jorge Rodriguez), Ariel Graziani (Aleksey Korol)
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Graziani 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 12 (Graziani 5); FOULS: 22 (Iribarren 6); OFFSIDE: 5; CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: Jordan 2; CAUTIONS: Iribarren 77; EJECTIONS: Daniv 61.
Referee: Brian Hall; Referee's Assistants: Greg Barkey, Roger Sill
Attendance: 12,891; Weather: Clear, cool, 68 degrees, Sunny
18th March 2000
Stoichkov double not enough for Fire
DALLAS (AP) -- Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov scored twice for the
Chicago Fire in his Major League Soccer debut Saturday, but Ariel
Graziani's two second-half goals lifted the Dallas Burn to a 4-2 victory in
the season opener for both teams.
Stoichkov, joint-leading scorer at the 1994 World Cup, put Chicago up
in the 14th minute on a header inside the near post off a cross from Chris
Armas.
After Burn forward Jason Kreis' header in the 28th minute tied the score,
Stoichkov made it 2-1 on a breakaway three minutes before the break.
"I am not surprised the way I played, but we lost and that is bad," said
Stoichkov, who signed a one-year contract Wednesday.
"It's sad to lose even though I scored two goals."
