The 1998 Chicago Fire season was the Chicago Fire Soccer Club's inaugural season of existence, and their first season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer.
The Chicago Fire enjoyed one of the strongest debuts for an expansion club in the history of American soccer and of the North American sports leagues in general. The Fire won the double by winning both MLS Cup '98 and the 1998 U.S. Open Cup Final, both in a five-day timespan. It was the first time in any of the major American sports leagues that an expansion franchise in its first year won the league championship. The next time a first-year expansion franchise would reach the championship of their respective sports league would be 20 years later, when the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team reached the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
Background The last professional soccer club to play in the Chicago area was the Chicago Sting, who played in the original NASL from 1974 to 1983, and then in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 to 1988. The Sting won two Soccer Bowl championships: in 1981 and again in 1984.
The Chicago Fire were one of two new MLS expansion teams to join MLS in 1998, and the first two ever expansion teams in league history, the other team being the now-defunct Miami Fusion. The Fire were founded on October 8, 1997, on the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. The club was named after the event. The club focused on recruiting players of various descent to reflect on the diversity of the region. The team brought in Polish players Piotr Nowak, Jerzy Podbrożny, and Roman Kosecki; the Mexican Jorge Campos; and the Czech Luboš Kubík.
Club
Roster
No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Previous club Goalkeepers Jorge Campos GK Cruz AzulScott Coufal GK Kevin Rueda GK Zach Thornton GK David Winner GK DefendersDiego Gutiérrez DF Ritchie Kotschau DF Luboš Kubík CB Francis Okaroh CB Mike Richardson DF Tom Soehn DF Brian Bates DF Colorado Rapids C. J. Brown CB San Francisco Bay SealsAndrew Lewis DF Joe Carver DF Midfielders Chris Armas MF LA GalaxyZak Ibsen MF Josh Keller MF Manny Lagos MF Jesse Marsch MF Peter Nowak MF Jorge Salcedo MF ForwardsFrank Klopas FW Roman Kosecki FW Tony Kuhn FW Jerzy Podbrożny FW Ante Razov FW Josh Wolff FW
Team management
Competitive
Major League Soccer
Standings
Western Conference
Overall table
Results by round
Match reports
MLS Cup Playoffs
Western Conference semifinals
Western Conference finals
MLS Cup
U.S. Open Cup
Statistics
Appearances and Goalscorers
See also 1998 in American soccer
References
External links Chicago Fire Soccer Club Chicago Fire History 1998