Fire's Klopas best suited on sidelines

Frank Klopas -- AP

By Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire have learned at times the hard way that every move has to serve a specific purpose.

Fire owner Andrew Hauptman began Thursday's introduction of now full-time head coach Frank Klopas with an initial dinner meeting the two had before the 2008 season. It ended with Hauptman expressing to Klopas that he wanted him on board that year. But Hauptman did not know right away what that specific role would be.

Following a tough stretch as the team's technical director and then producing a mostly successful interim coaching stint to close out the 2011 season, the results clearly showed that Klopas was best suited to lead the team on the sidelines.

"We made mistakes, we've had some successes, but I think we've all grown a lot along the way," Hauptman said. "This year, when they came to me and said they were going to make a change with the head coach, it made a lot of sense for me at that point for Frank to step in as head coach. I felt like the timing was right. No one really knew the club better than he did. No one knew the players better than he did. And no one understood the possibilities more than he did."

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Fire to host Man-U at Soldier Field

Manchester United -- Getty Images

After many weeks of speculation and floating reports across the globe, the Chicago Fire's bout against Manchester United is set in stone.

The Fire face Manchester United at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at Soldier Field as part of the World Football Challenge.

"We are excited to host Manchester United, one of the world's finest clubs, at home in Chicago, in front of our supporters," Fire owner Andrew Hauptman said in a statement. "Bringing United to Chicago helps the Fire continue to expand our reach in one of North America's premier soccer markets. Our participation in the World Football Challenge gives our players an opportunity to take on one of the most talented clubs on the planet, while galvanizing Chicago's vast soccer community."

Fire face Colorado in Open Cup: The Fire travel to Bradley University's Shea Stadium in Peoria, Ill., on Wednesday to take on the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids in a qualifier match for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m.

Read more at ESPNChicago.com.

Will offseason dissection pay off for Fire owner Andrew Hauptman?

Fire owner Andrew Hauptman -- Getty Images

A losing season changes the tone of how a team conducts its business and weighs its values heading into the next campaign.

That is not to say that the Chicago Fire lost sight of the ultimate goal of attempting to put together a winning club during their sub-par 2010 season. But the Fire's demeanor and the way that they have conducted things in the offseason are noticeably different.

The "attractive" and "possession" lingo of last year from head coach Carlos de los Cobos and their players is less at the forefront, and the "calculated risk" approach of bringing in expensive disappointments such as Nery Castillo and Collins John appears to be gone.

This year, the Fire have centered on words such as "cohesiveness" and "winning," and the idea that everybody has bought into one philosophy.

Now that sounds all hunky-dory, and only the Fire locker room and front office truly know how smoothly everything is functioning behind the scenes. On the surface, the team's demeanor has to be an improvement compared to last year's disjointed team that included personality differences, style differences, injuries and fitness issues, players on the final legs of their playing careers, numerous signings that did not pan out, and a new coach who was brought in so late that he missed the 2010 MLS Combine.

For a second straight offseason, Fire owner Andrew Hauptman and company underwent a major overhaul. Now, the question is whether the Fire feel they are ahead of last year's campaign, and if they have a functioning system in place to rebound from only their second playoff-less season in team history.

Four points and a 1-0-1 start to the 2011 season have brought some early optimism for the Fire.

"I've got my fingers crossed that we've tried to do as much as we could do in a relatively short preseason," Hauptman said last Thursday.

Read more at ESPNChicago.com.