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Saturday at a Glance

Fire, Wizards stick to routine before MLS Cup

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Chicago's creative passer and playmaker Hristo Stoitchkov hopes to lead the Fire past Kansas City. AP

By Jeff Green, CNNSI.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "A little wiggle and jiggle."

That's what Kansas City Wizards coach Bob Gansler called his team's light workout the day before facing the Chicago Fire on Sunday in MLS Cup 2000.

"We pretend that we sweated enough to take a shower," said Gansler, who led his team through about an hour of training at RFK Stadium on Saturday.

Chicago took the same approach. That way, nobody gets worn out and nobody gets hurt.

That is, except for Jesse Marsch.

The Fire midfielder was unfortunate to find his head on the receiving end of a point-blank blast from Hristo Stoitchkov, a Bulgarian forward renowned the world over for his powerful left foot.

The impact echoed through an empty RFK Stadium as the ball ricocheted into the stands and wedged between two railings. Marsch lay motionless in the penalty area while he was tended to by Fire trainers. After regaining his senses, Marsch managed to sit up and walk slowly to the bench.

A short time later, Marsch had recovered enough to have a sense of humor about the incident.

"He was yelling at me on the sidelines about two minutes before that," he said. "I think he decided to put the exclamation point on it by knocking me out."

"I just felt a little dizzy," said Marsch, who already has three MLS Cup rings. "The problem is that I've had a concussion before, early in the year."

Marsch is questionable for the game with a slight concussion.

The Fire's noontime training session followed Kansas City's at RFK -- "a walk-through," said Fire forward Josh Wolff, who after practice was icing down a thigh bruise received against the MetroStars.

Unlike Chicago, Kansas City has never been to a title game, though midfielder Chris Henderson and defender Peter Vermes were part of Colorado's losing effort against D.C. United in 1997.

Tomorrow's match is the biggest in club history, but the Wizards were determined to maintain a comfortable routine.

"We have not done anything different than we've done all season long," said K.C. defender Peter Vermes. "What we did today is exactly what we did before every other game.

"It's usually a nice little warmup; we get about 15 or 20 minutes on our own, and then we play that two-touch game in the middle of the field," he said. "Then we go stretch and we're done."

The Wizards watched game films upon returning to the team hotel after practice, which was followed by lunch.

Saturday night, several of the Wizards were to attend the black-tie Gala Awards Ceremony, where the league was to announce it's Best 11 (the annual All-Star team, which this year includes Vermes) and honor the other award winners already announced.

Kansas City picked up its share of individual honors, with goalkeeper Tony Meola named MVP as well as goalkeeper of the year and comeback player of the year. Gansler was named coach of the year, but Fire defender Carlos Bocanegra beat out his K.C. counterpart Nick Garcia for rookie of the year.

Storylines We're Following

Costa Rican hangover Kansas City and Chicago had an equal amount of time to prepare for MLS Cup, both teams having eliminated their semifinal opponents a week ago Friday. Four Fire players, however, had their MLS Cup preparations interrupted to play for the United States on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. Ante Razov and Chris Armas both started for the U.S. in the 0-0 draw, and Josh Wolff came on as a late sub. Wizards keeper Tony Meola was on the bench but saw no action. Neither did the Fire's Diego Gutierrez, a Colombian-born winger whose eligibility remained in question. Defense vs. Offense Players and coaches from both teams have been bombarded this week with questions on Kansas City's league-best defense going up against Chicago MLS-leading offense -- a defensive team against an attacking one. Both coaches refute the categorization. "Offensive team, defensive team. I think those labels, they're oversimplified," said Gansler. "The best balanced team is going to win." Fire house The Chicago Fire could soon have a home to call its own, instead of sharing Soldier Field with the NFL's Bears. Multibillionaire Philip Anschutz, investor-operator of three MLS teams including the Fire, is reportedly close to cutting a check to build stadiums for both the Fire and the Los Angeles Galaxy. "I've never been more optimistic than I am now," Fire GM Peter Wilt said on Saturday.

Players to Watch

Hristo Stoitchkov The fiery Bulgarian may no longer be active with his country's national team at age 34, but he remains one of the most dangerous and exciting attackers in MLS. Stoitchkov, the leading scorer at World Cup USA '94 with third-place Bulgaria, will start alongside fellow left-footer Ante Razov up front on Sunday. According to Gansler, Stoitchkov poses a double threat as a creative passer and playmaker, as well as a goal-hungry forward who consistently puts away half-chances. Tony Meola Somebody's going to have to stop those Stoitchkov blasts if Jesse March's head isn't in the way, and nowhere in MLS is there a better shot-blocker than Meola. Showing a greater level of composure and leadership this year, the 31-year-old Meola deservedly was named the league MVP after posting shutouts in half of the team's games and notching a record scoreless streak of 681 minutes. Diego Gutierrez Bob Bradley won't admit it, but Gutierrez looks set to start on the left side of midfield after practicing with the first team on Saturday. Kansas City derives much of its attack from the right side of the field, Bradley said, through Preki and Chris Klein. Gutierrez provides a more tenacious defensive presence on that side than does rookie DaMarcus Beasley, 18, who could see time off the bench.

Bandwagon

Attendance MLS officials are expecting a crowd of more than 40,000 for Sunday's championship game. Also played in market where the MLS team didn't make the final, previous MLS Cups drew 34,643 to Foxboro in 1996, 51,350 to the Rose Bowl in 1998 and 44,910 again to Foxboro in 1999. As of Friday, 38,000 tickets had been sold. "We will have over 40,000 fans coming from cities and states around this country to see two teams that are placed almost a thousand miles away from RFK Stadium," said MLS commissioner Don Garber. "That's a great statement about this sport. That's a great statement about this city." Indian summer Unlike MLS Cup 1999 -- held in Foxboro, Mass., in mid-November -- the weather is not a concern the this year's title contest. Both teams practiced on Saturday afternoon under sunny blue skies with temperatures in the 70s. Sunday promises to be just as pleasant. D.C. untied Forty-thousand might be a good attendance figure for an MLS Cup match without a home team, but with D.C. United in the game, MLS Cup 1997 drew 57,431 to RFK Stadium in foul weather. Having won three of the four prior MLS titles, D.C. United must have seemed like a safe bet to make this one. But while Kansas City and the MetroStars were engineering worst-to-first turnarounds, D.C. United collapsed from first to second-worst. To make matters worse still, United's ownership situation remains unsettled, and the team is searching for a new office and training home after United Park (formerly Redskins Park) was sold.

 

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