20th April 2000 17th April 2000
After Fire's successful home opener versus Fusion,leading US soccer magazine "Soccer America" included Hristo for the third time in its 'Team of the Week'.
The Dagger does not stop scoring since his his arrival in Chicago and it won't be a surprise,if we start talking of his returning in the national team soon.With his four goals in four matches Hristo proved that he hasn't gone to the American Championship on an excursion and is taking his new challenge professionally.
MIAMI FUSION--Jeff Cassar, Jay Heaps, Leo Cullen, Francis Okaroh, Tyrone Marshall, Pablo Mastroeni, Martin Machon (Jim Rooney 67), Eric Wynalda, Andy Williams (Henry Gutierrez 73), Diego Serna (Welton 69), Roy Lassiter
CHICAGO FIRE--Zach Thornton, C.J. Brown, Lubos Kubik, Carlos Bocanegra, Jesse Marsch, Diego Gutierrez, Chris Armas, Peter Nowak, Dema Kovalenko (Mike Sorber 46), Ante Razov, Hristo Stoitchkov (Tom Soehn 88)
Referee: Brian Hall; Referee's Assistants: Scott Weyland, Francisco Sanchez
Scoring Summary:
April 15
1
2
F
Miami
0
0
0
Chicago
0
1
1
CHI--Stoitchkov (Razov, Gutierrez) 48
TOTAL SHOTS: 4 (Heaps 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Welton 1, Heaps 1); FOULS: 14 (Mastroeni 3, Serna 3); OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 12; SAVES: Cassar 2; CAUTIONS: Wynalda 13, Serna 52; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 47%
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Razov 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Stoitchkov 2, Razov 2); FOULS: 17 (Bocanegra 4); OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: Thornton 1; CAUTIONS: Gutierrez 13, Nowak 84; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 53%
Attendance: 20,169; Weather: Cloudy, Brisk, 49.
16th April 2000
Hristo Stoitchkov strikes again as Chicago wins home opener over Miami
CHICAGO - Hristo Stoitchkov's goal in the 48th minute proved to be the difference as the Chicago Fire defeated the Miami Fusion 1-0 at Soldier Field Saturday evening. Chicago (2-3) controlled the run of play for the majority of the match, out-shooting Miami (1-1-3) 17-4 on the evening. With the loss, the Fusion extend their scoreless streak to a club-record 352 minutes.Following a first half that saw Chicago outshoot Miami 9-1 during the first 20 minutes and 12-3 after the first 45, Stoitchkov scored his fourth goal in as many games when he found the back of the net three minutes into the second half. Diego Gutierrez started the play when his pass from midfield sprung Ante Razov down the left side. Razov slotted a pretty pass to the far post and an onrushing Stoitchkov tapped in the game-winner. Stoitchkov's goal snapped Miami goalkeeper Jeff Cassar's shutout streak at a club-record 310 minutes.Stoitchkov nearly had his second goal of the evening when his 16-yard shot from the right side of the penalty box missed to the right by inches in the 82nd minute.The Bulgarian star (6 shots) and Razov (7 shots) combined for 13 of the club's 17 shots on the evening.
16th April 2000
After losing three of four road games and accumulating four red cards,the Fire rewarded 20,169 Soldier Field fans with a 1-0 victory over the Miami Fusion. It snapped a six-game unbeaten streak for the Fusion (1-1-3) in Major League Soccer regular-season games going back to last year.The only offense the Fire (2-3) needed came off a three-man sequence in the 48th minute.
Diego Gutierrez' long ball to Ante Razov set up a long cross by Razov to Hristo Stoitchkov. The Bulgarian striker, making his first Soldier Field appearance since Bulgaria's romp over Greece in the 1994 World Cup finals, caught up to Razov's ball and slipped it inside the right post. It was Stoitchkov's fourth goal in as many MLS games.
"When you get a tremendous pass like Ante made, it's very easy to score," Stoitchkov said. "I was unmarked, and I'm happy I was able to finish it." "You see what Stoitchkov brings us," midfielder Chris Armas said. "His understanding of us and us of him is only going to get better. He's a great player.We've got to get him the ball. He can put a 60-yard kick on a dime. If we can raise our level to his level, we'll all be better."
16th April 2000
Two rare things happened in the Fire's home opener against the Miami Fusion on Saturday night.First, the Fire won. Its 1-0 victory before 20,169 was the team's second win in five games this season. Even with the victory, the Fire remained at the bottom of the Central Division with six points.
The other rare event: The Fire ended the game with 11 players on the field. That's a first this season. The Fire had a player ejected with a red card in the first four games.
The lone goal came from Hristo Stoitchkov in the 48th minute. Ante Razov made a run down the left side and sent the ball to the far post and out of the reach of Miami goalkeeper Jeff Cassar. It would have rolled wide of the goal, but Stoitchkov kept his run down the opposite flank, got the outside of his left foot on the ball and deftly redirected it for his fourth goal of the season.
In the 37th minute, Stoitchkov instructed Miami's Heaps of proper on-field etiquette. After a Miami foul, Heaps tossed the ball away from the where it should have been played. Stoitchkov grabbed the ball, presented it to the Duke product in the manner of a school teacher and instructed Heaps to throw the ball back to where it belonged.
The Fire had the first scoring chance , coming in the third minute.Ante Razov drew a foul just outside the Miami penalty area.Stoitchkov took the free kick and whipped it toward the goal, but Cassar knocked it right to Jesse Marsch, whose rebound attempt was knocked over the bar.
15th April 2000 14th April 2000
Stoichkov's goal in the 48th minute brought Fire a 1:0 win over Miami Fusion.
Hristo Stoitchkov never will forget his first game at Soldier Field. The Bulgarian national team posted the country's first World Cup victory with a 4-0 thrashing of Greece on June 26, 1994.That memory can only help Saturday when the star striker makes his Soldier Field debut for the Fire in the home opener vs. Miami (7 p.m., Fox Sports Net,1030-AM in Polish, 560-AM in Spanish).Major League Soccer allocated Stoitchkov to the Fire a week before the season started. The Fire (1-3) lost all three games Stoitchkov has played, winning only two weeks ago at Columbus when he sat out a red-card suspension."I have to take in the same mentality as when we played Greece," Stoitchkov said through translator and assistant coach Denis Hamlett. "We have to play with everything to break this streak."Bulgaria was winless in a World Cup-record 17 games before beating Greece."It was not a surprise," Stoitchkov said. "We thought we were much better than Greece. We knew how they played, and we dominated them. That game will always be in my head. It's very important in the history of Bulgarian soccer and brings good memories for all Bulgarians."The team celebrated at Michael Jordan's Restaurant."The whole team had a drink there," Stoitchkov said. "Going there was very important because everybody wanted to know what that place was like, and not a lot of people could get in. There was a lot of security and police, but the World Cup organizers got us in. Then we took a plane to Dallas."Bulgaria went on to reach the semifinals, and Stoitchkov finished as the leading goal scorer in the tournament.Since joining MLS at 34, Stoitchkov hasn't let up on his scoring. He has three goals in three games and delivered several brilliant passes his teammates couldn't finish off.His most spectacular plays came Saturday in a 3-2 loss at D.C. United. Stoitchkov drilled a 30-yard free kick, a boot deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis called "one of the best goals I've ever seen in MLS." Stoitchkov also sent a 50-yard pass directly to the head of forward Ante Razov in front of the net, but Razov couldn't convert."The arrival of Hristo turned our world upside down a bit," Razov said. "He's shown his quality. He's a great player. Everyone feeds off him. He's still not in game shape yet, but I'm glad he's here.""He sees things," midfielder Chris Armas said. "We know we have to get him the ball."Stoitchkov didn't play for nine months before joining the Fire. The D.C. game was the only one in which he went the full 90 minutes. With Josh Wolff and DaMarcus Beasley on duty with the U.S. Olympic team, it's likely Stoitchkov will have to go the route almost every game.He has no problem with that, but he is having major problems with MLS officiating."The league should talk more with them," said Stoitchkov, one of four Fire players to be sent off with red cards in the first four games. "They should let us play more soccer. Here the whistle blows too much. It's stop-stop-stop. That takes away from the spectators, it's not good for soccer and it kills the game."Soccer is a contact sport. There will be contact. If these referees worked games in Europe, the games would never end."
14th April 2000
The only current Fire player without a decent grasp of English is Hristo Stoitchkov. A Bulgarian, Stoitchkov is fluent in Spanish from his days at Barcelona, and he also speaks Italian. He plans on adding English to his repertoire soon."Until I'm totally fluent in English, I won't stop taking lessons," Stoitchkov said, in Spanish, through Diego Gutierrez.Even without a full understanding of each other's language,Stoitchkov and Bradley have had some conversations, albeit limited ones."Hristo is very smart," Bradley said. "He's very attentive, so when you speak English he doesn't tune you out. He looks at you and listens."Thus far there have been no problems understanding one another on the field, and Stoitchkov knows why."On the field, there is just one language—the language of soccer," Stoitchkov said in Spanish. "It's spoken all over the world."
12th April 2000
(Comments about the match)As for Stoitchkov, another good game for The Dagger. His goal to close off the 1st half was one of magic. My only concern about him right now is the fact that he is still trying to make magic when his teammates aren't ready for it.I would say that he should try to dumb his game down to MLS level, but that is wrong. In order for this team to become a Cup contender, they should rise as much as much as they can to Hristo's level.
CHICAGO FIRE - Chris Snitko - C.J. Brown, Lubos Kubik, Andrew Lewis - Sam
George (Evan Whitfield 59'), Chris Armas (C), Jesse Marsch, Peter Nowak -
Hristo Stoitchkov, Ante Razov, Dema Kovalenko (75' Tom Soehn)
D.C. UNITED - Tom Presthus - Eddie Pope, Judah Cooks (Mike Burke 90'), Jeff
Agoos - Richie Williams, Geoff Aunger, John Maessner (A.J. Wood 77'), Ben
Olsen, Marco Etcheverry - Chris Albright, Jaime Moreno
Referee: Andrew Barnes; Referee's Assistants: George Vergara, Robert Fereday;
('MLS')
Scoring Summary:
April 8
1
2
F
Chicago
1
1
2
D.C. United
1
2
3
DC -- Maessner (unassisted) 21
CHI-- Stoitchkov (Kubik) 46
CHI-- Marsch (Razov) 85
DC -- Moreno (Olsen) 92
DC -- Olsen (Etcheverry) 93
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (4-5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7, (3-4); FOULS: 11 (6-5); OFFSIDE: 0;
CORNER KICKS: 2 (1-1); SAVES: 6 (1-5); CAUTIONS: 3 (Marsch 17', Stoitchkov
58', Whitfield 65'); EJECTIONS: Andy Lewis 69' (extreme force); POSSESSION
PERCENTAGE: 33%;
TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (5-15); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (2-8); FOULS: 22 (13-9); OFFSIDE: 4
(1-3); CORNER KICKS: 12 (5-7); SAVES: 4 (1-3); CAUTIONS: 2 (Cooks 52', Aunger
57'); EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 67%;
Attendance: 14,612; Weather: rainy, cold, 45 degrees, steady wind.
9th April 2000
Facing their third straight loss, the defending MLS Cup champion D.C. United scored two goals in a minute of stoppage time to clinch their first points of the season in a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Fire.
Toward the end of the first half, Hristo Stoitchkov, returning from a one-game suspension, raised his game and created a number of opportunities for Chicago. His first-half stoppage-time goal knotted the score at 1-1. Kubik touched a free kick for the Bulgarian and Stoitchkov launched a 30-yard left-footed missile that Presthus had no shot to reach.
9th April 2000
WASHINGTON - Saturday night is
what Major League Soccer had in mind when it changed the timing to give control back to the referee. D.C. United scored two goals in stoppage time against a 10-man Fire team and escaped with a 3-2 victory before 14,612 soggy fans at RFK Stadium.
The Fire tied it at the stroke of halftime. Hristo Stoitchkov sent a rocket of a free kick from 30 yards out past a helpless Presthus. It was Stoitchkov's third goal of the season and finished off an impressive first half by the Bulgarian. Stoitchkov sent a terrific cross from 30 yards on the left wing onto the head of Razov in the 38th minute.
9th April 2000
7th April 2000
Despite the goal of Hristo Stoitchkov in the end of the first half, Chicago Fire lost to DC United by 2:3.
With Hristo Stoitchkov returning to the lineup, Bradley likely will field an attacking team with three forwards and four midfielders.
6th April 2000
Chicago Fire forward Hristo Stoitchkov will be available for selection in the first XI for Saturday's game at DC. Stoitchkov missed the game in Columbus due to a red-card suspension.
31th March 2000
Bob Bradley talks about the signing of Bulgarian superstar Hristo Stoitchkov
The interview is from the 29th.
| March 25 | 1 | 2 | F |
| Chicago | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Kansas City | 3 | 1 | 4 |
CHICAGO FIRE--Greg Sutton, C.J. Brown, Lubos Kubik, Tom Soehn (DaMarcus Beasley
83), Sam George (Evan Whitfield 71), Hristo Stoitchkov, Diego Gutierrez, Jesse
Marsch, Ante Razov, Dema Kovalenko, Junior Agogo (Josh Wolff 57)
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Razov 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Razov 4); FOULS: 30 (Kovalenko
5); OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: Sutton 4; CAUTIONS: Razov 31, Agogo 50,
Kovalenko 93+; EJECTIONS: Stoitchkov 66; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 50%
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS--Tony Meola, Peter Vermes, Brandon Prideaux, Nick Garcia,
Chris Klein, Chris Henderson, Preki (John Wilson 83), Matt McKeon, Kerry
Zavagnin (Alex Bunbury 46), Miklos Molnar (Brian Johnson 80), Mo Johnston
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Klein 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (McKeon 2, Preki 2, Molnar 2);
FOULS: 15 (Henderson 4); OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: Meola 7; CAUTIONS:
Molnar 33, Johnston 46+, McKeon 53; EJECTIONS: none; POSSESSION PERCENTAGE: 50%
Referee: Noel Kenny; Referee's Assistants: George Vergara, Chip Reed
Attendance: 7,540; Weather: Clear, 65.
