The last time the New York Red Bulls met the Chicago Fire it was the opening match, March 27. The Fire were coming off a MLS Cup semi-final appearance and the Red Bulls were the worst team in the league in 2009. New York came away with a 1-0 victory in the MLS debut of the gorgeous Red Bull Arena. Both teams looked like they had kinks to unravel; if they were websites they would read 'under construction'.
Flash forward four months and the teams are still under construction, but the size of the projects have been considerably upgraded. NYRB have added Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez while our Fire have added Nery Castillo and Freddie Ljungberg. Fueled by the DPs, this game will feature many MLS & Fire firsts:
- First MLS game with 5 DPs
- First time a MLS team rolls out 4 players with EPL experience
- First MLS game for Nery Castillo and Rafael Marquez
- First Freddie Ljungberg Fire home game
- First time teammates from a European Champions League Final team square off
- First time teammates from a UEFA Final team square off
- First time teammates from a EPL Champions team square off
- First time teammates from a FA Cup Champions team square off
- First time... start coming up with your own in regards to Ljungberg and Henry...
- Most international caps in a game before? This one is tougher to gauge but I'd put good money on it
It is easy to get blinded by the stars of the game but both of these teams are in questionable spots in the standings. Beating us 1-0 was the game that launched NYRB to a 5-1-0 dream start but since then they only have 3 wins, 5 loses, and 3 ties to show for their efforts. We all know the Fire have a worse 5-5-5 record but a win tonight would put the Fire behind the second place Red Bulls by just 4 points with 2 games in hand. As important as this game is for the history of the league, it is a vital game for the Fire's playoff hopes. It's going to be a lot of fun to see a mini All-Star game but I hope for three points over DP starts.
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