1998 Chicago Fire season

March 2026 August 2023 Chicago Fire SC wordmark secondary.svg Chicago Fire 1998 Major League Soccer West: 2ndOverall: 3rd Head coach Bob Bradley MLS Cup Playoffs Winners U.S. Open Cup Winners Brimstone Cup Winners _horizontalonwhite FFFFFF 000050 FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF true 1999 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,http://www.chicago-fire.com/club/history Chicago Fire Club History chicago-fire.com 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)#FFFFFF A 1 1 Previous club Goalkeepers Jorge Campos MEX GK 1998 11 1 1966 10 15 MEX Cruz AzulScott Coufal USA GK 1998 11 1 1974 9 27 Kevin Rueda USA GK 1998 11 1 1969 3 16 Zach Thornton USA GK 1998 11 1 1973 10 10 David Winner USA GK 1998 11 1 1971 4 23 DefendersDiego Gutiérrez USA DF 1998 11 1 1972 11 3Ritchie Kotschau USA DF 1998 11 1 1975 11 22Luboš Kubík Czechoslovakia CB 1998 11 1 1964 1 20Francis Okaroh Nigeria CB 1998 11 1 1963 8 25Mike Richardson USA DF 1998 11 1 1968 10 8Tom Soehn USA DF 1998 11 1 1966 4 15 Brian Bates USA DF 1998 11 1 1972 08 16 USA Colorado Rapids C. J. Brown USA CB 1998 11 1 1975 06 15 USA San Francisco Bay SealsAndrew Lewis USA DF 1998 11 1 1974 7 10 Joe Carver USA DF 1998 11 1 1971 06 11 Midfielders Chris Armas USA MF 1998 11 1 1972 08 22 USA LA GalaxyZak Ibsen USA MF 1998 11 1 1972 6 2Josh Keller USA MF 1998 11 1 1975 2 16Manny Lagos USA MF 1998 11 1 1971 6 11Jesse Marsch USA MF 1998 11 1 1973 11 8Peter Nowak Poland MF 1998 11 1 1964 7 5Jorge Salcedo USA MF 1998 11 1 1972 9 27 ForwardsFrank Klopas USA FW 1998 11 1 1966 9 1Roman Kosecki Poland FW 1998 11 1 1966 2 15Tony Kuhn USA FW 1998 11 1 1975 12 15Jerzy Podbrożny Poland FW 1998 11 1 1966 12 17Ante Razov USA FW 1998 11 1 1974 3 2Josh Wolff USA FW 1998 11 1 1977 2 25 A 1 1 Player's age during the 1998 season. Team management General Manager Peter Wilt y Head Coach Bob Bradley Assistant Coach y Assistant Coach Goalkeeper Coach June 2018 Competitive Major League Soccer 1998 Major League Soccer season Standings Western Conference CHI Overall table CHI 5 Results by round table b Matchday Stadium A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/H/H/A/H/H/H/A/A/A/A/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/H/H/H/A Result W/W/L/L/L/L/L/W/W/W/SO/W/W/W/W/W/W/W/L/L/L/L/L/W/W/W/W/L/W/W/W/L Home Away green2 Win blue2 Shootout Win red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 Chicago-Fire.com complete June 2018 Match reports 1 1998 03 21 Miami Fusion 0–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/295480f3/Miami-Fusion-Chicago-Fire-March-21-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Vaudreuil 26 Gutierrez 31 Serna 49 Kooiman 65 Kmosko 90 Okaroh 57 Kosecki 76 Kotschau 87 Lockhart Stadium Fort Lauderdale, Florida 14,653 Arturo Angeles W 2 1998 04 04 Chicago Fire 2–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/eff56d12/Chicago-Fire-Tampa-Bay-Mutiny-April-4-1998-Major-League-Soccer Tampa Bay Mutiny Brown 22 Klopas 43 88 Armas 81 Kubík 87 Houser 2 4 29 Ralston 6 Kinnear 49 Lassiter 59 Soldier Field Chicago 36,444 Esse Baharmast W 3 1998 04 08 Kansas City Wizards 1–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/5d1944f3/Kansas-City-Wizards-Chicago-Fire-April-8-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Okafor 33 Šabanadžović 66 Marino 76 Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri 4,130 Kevin Terry L 4 1998 04 11 San Jose Clash 1–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/23d6449f/San-Jose-Clash-Chicago-Fire-April-11-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Mella 26 Cerritos 37 Rodriguez 86 Isben 32 Spartan Stadium San Jose, California 9,937 Marcel Yonan L 5 1998 04 17 Chicago Fire 0–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/47dec103/Chicago-Fire-MetroStars-April-17-1998-Major-League-Soccer MetroStars Klopas 73 Zavagnin 5 Lalas 14 Semioli 34 Sorber 2 48 90 Rooney 58 Hurtado 90 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 24,661 Juan Carlos Paniagua L 6 1998 04 25 Colorado Rapids 4–4 https://fbref.com/en/matches/e633e507/Colorado-Rapids-Chicago-Fire-April-25-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Paule 26 Sáenz 35 48 Martinez 72 Bravo 80 Kosecki 10 Klopas 39 43 Marsch 87 Henderson Martinez Harris Bravo 3–1 Kosecki Razov Kubík Marsch Mile High Stadium Denver, Colorado 10,736 Refugio Ramirez L 7 1998 05 02 Chicago Fire 1–3 https://fbref.com/en/matches/6762680c/Chicago-Fire-DC-United-May-2-1998-Major-League-Soccer D.C. United Klopas 9 Kosecki 0 65 Sanneh 13 Etcheverry 14, 86 Lassiter 19 Llamosa 25 Talley 85 Olsen 88 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 27,136 Reggie Rutty L 8 1998 05 16 Tampa Bay Mutiny 1–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/6cfbc80b/Tampa-Bay-Mutiny-Chicago-Fire-May-16-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Gilmar 30 Podbrożny 21 Klopas 35 Nowak 79 Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, Florida 6,391 Arturo Angeles W 9 1998 05 20 Chicago Fire 3–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/7d387bb0/Chicago-Fire-LA-Galaxy-May-20-1998-Major-League-Soccer Los Angeles Galaxy Nowak 37 68 Podbrożny 57 Kosecki 58 Vásquez 66 Wélton 75 Sánchez 87 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 10,520 Alex Prus W Match originally scheduled for May 9, 1998 10 1998 05 23 Chicago Fire 5–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/4d5850ef/Chicago-Fire-Colorado-Rapids-May-23-1998-Major-League-Soccer Colorado Rapids Brown 21 Razov 51 Podbrożny 55, 63 Kosecki 57 Okaroh 61 Wolff 86 Paz 16 Henderson 2 19 72 Trittschuh 85 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 23,789 Marcel Yonan W Match originally scheduled for May 24, 1998 11 1998 05 30 Los Angeles Galaxy 1–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/6d3a1e41/LA-Galaxy-Chicago-Fire-May-30-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Cienfuegos 3 Jolley 23 Fraser 38 Mathis 58 Kubík 31 Razov 49, 61 Okaroh 55 Mathis Karapetyan Vanney Cienfuegos 1–3 Razov Marsch Kubík Isben Nowak Rose Bowl Pasadena, California 28,241 Rich Grady SW 12 1998 06 06 Chicago Fire 2–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/dec7ee2a/Chicago-Fire-Columbus-Crew-June-6-1998-Major-League-Soccer Columbus Crew Razov 3 Kotschau 8 Brown 48 Nowak 52 Elcock 81 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 19,801 Noel Kenny W 13 1998 06 11 Chicago Fire 5–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/9d7e4f27/Chicago-Fire-San-Jose-Clash-June-11-1998-Major-League-Soccer San Jose Clash Razov 4 Nowak 33 49 Kotschau 52 Wolff 74 Lozzano 8 Uribe 76 Cerritos 80 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 7,598 Kevin Stott W 14 1998 06 14 New England Revolution 1–3 https://fbref.com/en/matches/4b0660ab/New-England-Revolution-Chicago-Fire-June-14-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Baba 24 Díaz Arce 39 pen. Mohammed 54 McKinley 58 Podbrożny 25 85 Kotschau 51, 60 Foxboro Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts 17,054 Tim Weyland W 15 1998 06 17 Chicago Fire 1–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/f1e944bf/Chicago-Fire-Dallas-Burn-June-17-1998-Major-League-Soccer Dallas Burn Kubík 64 pen. Armas 85 Álvarez 33 Soehn 55 Eck 88 Santel 90 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 9,638 Michael Kennedy W Match originally scheduled for May 13, 1998 16 1998 06 24 Chicago Fire 4–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/a9fde1da/Chicago-Fire-Kansas-City-Wizards-June-24-1998-Major-League-Soccer Kansas City Wizards Okaroh 12 Razov 26 Brown 36 Kosecki 56 76 Johnston 15 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 13,396 Arturo Angeles W 17 1998 07 01 Chicago Fire 4–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/4b1a515c/Chicago-Fire-Dallas-Burn-July-1-1998-Major-League-Soccer Dallas Burn Kubík 7, 49 Razov 16 Kosecki 20 Podbrożny 36 Haynes 14 Trotman 35 Pollard 66 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 13,615 Kevin Terry W 18 1998 07 04 Dallas Burn 0–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/5533a13d/Dallas-Burn-Chicago-Fire-July-4-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Flores 41 Rodríguez 68 Elliott 83 Kubík 37 Kosecki 44 Brown 75 Cotton Bowl Dallas 12,372 Tim Weyland W 19 1998 07 09 Columbus Crew 3–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/08840da9/Columbus-Crew-Chicago-Fire-July-9-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire John 8 Dooley 34 Smith 40 McBride 68 Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio 10,091 Paul Tamberino L 20 1998 07 18 D.C. United 4–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/45873194/DC-United-Chicago-Fire-July-18-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Lassiter 53 p 69 90 Williams 56 Moreno 78 Marsch 38, 49 RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. 16,779 Esse Baharmast L 21 1998 07 25 MetroStars 3–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/8830edf1/MetroStars-Chicago-Fire-July-25-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Hurtado 6 Sorber 19 Joseph 25 Duhaney 38 Kelly 45 Vega 54 Lalas 70 Rooney 0 89 Kubík 20 Armas 55 Okaroh 83 Kosecki 86 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey 15,130 Brian Hall L 22 1998 07 29 San Jose Clash 3–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/b8cdd89e/San-Jose-Clash-Chicago-Fire-July-29-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Cloutier 32 Medved 50 Doyle 61 Baicher 70, 74 Wynalda 77 Soehn 7 Kosecki 60 Gutiérrez 0 68 Podbrożny 76 Spartan Stadium San Jose, California 12,299 Ricardo Valenzuela L 23 1998 08 08 Chicago Fire 1–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/909e8e32/Chicago-Fire-LA-Galaxy-August-8-1998-Major-League-Soccer Los Angeles Galaxy Kosecki 25 Soehn 31 Pena 87 o.g. Cienfuegos 23 Okaroh 37 o.g. Machón 41 Jolley 90 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 37,122 Paul Tamberino L 24 1998 08 15 Chicago Fire 2–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/825cc1e9/Chicago-Fire-San-Jose-Clash-August-15-1998-Major-League-Soccer San Jose Clash Kosecki 15 Kubík 61 Campos 64 Wolff 80 Cerritos 7 Mella 32 Vásquez 87 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 16,610 Ted Covaciu W 25 1998 08 21 Colorado Rapids 0–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/807ab57f/Colorado-Rapids-Chicago-Fire-August-21-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Vermes 64 Paz 75 Kubík 64 pen. Armas 67 Mile High Stadium Denver, Colorado 24,450 Tim Weyland W 26 1998 08 29 Kansas City Wizards 2–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/9d7119a6/Kansas-City-Wizards-Chicago-Fire-August-29-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Chung 3 Johnston 14, 0 64 Gutiérrez 22 Marsch 26 Razov 53 Brown 0 64 Podbrożny 90 Chung Takawira DeBrito Okafor Tinsley Johnson Vermillion Rideout Bowers Snitko Chung Takawira 2–3 Kubík Razov Wolff Podbrożny Isben Armas Gutiérrez Kosecki Okaroh Thornton Kubík Razov Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri 8,621 Sandra Hunt SW 27 1998 09 02 Chicago Fire 3–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/4881ddf8/Chicago-Fire-Miami-Fusion-September-2-1998-Major-League-Soccer Miami Fusion Razov 19 38 Marsch 74 Wolff 83 Marshall 63 Gutierrez 68 Cullen 71 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 11,319 Jose Manuel Garcia Aranda W Match originally scheduled for July 11, 1998 28 1998 09 10 Dallas Burn 3–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/24c9ff7e/Dallas-Burn-Chicago-Fire-September-10-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Kreis 7 Washington 83 Rodríguez 90 Klopas 43 Razov 49 Wolff 60 Okaroh 70 Keller 74 Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas 9,745 Ali Saheli L 29 1998 09 13 Chicago Fire 3–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/786e84df/Chicago-Fire-Colorado-Rapids-September-13-1998-Major-League-Soccer Colorado Rapids Wolff 12 27 Razov 15 Jakins 48 DiGiamarino 57 Vaudreuil 78 Henderson 87 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 15,014 Kevin Terry W 30 1998 09 17 Chicago Fire 1–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/e61ef767/Chicago-Fire-Kansas-City-Wizards-September-17-1998-Major-League-Soccer Kansas City Wizards Marsch 34 Kubík 59 pen. Tinsley 16 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 8,283 Noel Kenny W 31 1998 09 23 Chicago Fire 3–2 https://fbref.com/en/matches/6423271c/Chicago-Fire-New-England-Revolution-September-23-1998-Major-League-Soccer New England Revolution Kubík 34 pen. Brown 57 Klopas 74 Podbrożny 87 Wolff 89 Gorter 43 Burns 68 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 11,244 Michael Kennedy W 32 1998 09 27 Los Angeles Galaxy 1–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/adc55a73/LA-Galaxy-Chicago-Fire-September-27-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Jones 87 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California 20,105 Ali Saheli L MLS Cup Playoffs 1998 Major League Soccer season#MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference semifinals Game 1 1998 10 01 Chicago Fire 1–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/3634464b/Chicago-Fire-Colorado-Rapids-October-1-1998-Major-League-Soccer Colorado Rapids Kubík 50 pen. Gutiérrez 60 Bent 26 Trittschuh 49 Bravo 66 Sáenz 79 Kubík Soehn Klopas Wolff Kuhn Marsch 3–2 Bravo Sáenz Henderson Vaudreuil Harris Vermes Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 12,610 Kevin Terry SW Game 2 1998 10 05 Colorado Rapids 0–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/23392e00/Colorado-Rapids-Chicago-Fire-October-5-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Trittschuh 10 Wolff 18 Kubík 24 pen. Marsch 66 Armas 75 Mile High Stadium Denver, Colorado 6,582 Noel Kenny W Western Conference finals Game 1 1998 10 10 Los Angeles Galaxy 0–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/c49915e0/LA-Galaxy-Chicago-Fire-October-10-1998-Major-League-Soccer Chicago Fire Franchino 65 Armas 41 Kubík 68 Marsch 86 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California 25,107 Kevin Terry W Game 2 1998 10 16 Chicago Fire 1–1 https://fbref.com/en/matches/4ddadace/Chicago-Fire-LA-Galaxy-October-16-1998-Major-League-Soccer Los Angeles Galaxy Nowak 31 Pena 37, 50 Nowak Razov Soehn Marsch Podbrożny 2–1 Jones Wélton Machón Cienfuegos Vanney Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 32,744 Paul Tamberino SW MLS Cup MLS Cup 1998 10 25 Chicago Fire 2–0 https://fbref.com/en/matches/0540ce4f/Chicago-Fire-DC-United-October-25-1998-Major-League-Soccer D.C. United Podbrożny 29 Razov 31 Gutiérrez 45, 50 Marsch 60 Sanneh 25 Etcheverry 33 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California 51,350 Kevin Terry W U.S. Open Cup 1998 U.S. Open Cup Third round 1998 07 06 Chicago Stingers Illinois 1–3 Illinois Chicago Fire Arlington Heights, Illinois W Quarterfinals 1998 07 22 Chicago Fire Illinois 1–1 yes California San Jose Clash Kubík 48, 55 Baicher 65 Gough 94 Draguicevich 99 Kubík Wolff Razov Kuhn Gutiérrez 4–3 Medved Wynalda Mella Cerritos Gough Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas 3,812 Kevin Terry W Semifinals 1998 08 04 Chicago Fire Illinois 3–2 Texas Dallas Burn Razov 11 Gutiérrez 1 40 66 Okaroh 45 Kosecki 56, 1 71 71 Kubík 74 Trotman 23, 44 Pollard 34 Deering 40 Kreis 0 52 Álvarez 83 pen. Zephyr Field Metairie, Louisiana 6,514 Rich Grady W Final 1998 10 30 Chicago Fire Illinois 2–1 yes Ohio Columbus Crew Keller 17 Podbrożny 45 pen. Okaroh 60 Brown 69 Klopas 99 Sommer 43 John 53 Maisonneuve 60 Elcock 61 Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois 18,615 Arturo Angeles W Statistics Appearances and Goalscorers MLS MLS Cup US Open Cup 14 Chris Armas MF USA 31 1 5 0 3 0 5 Luboš Kubík DF CZE 31 7 5 2 4 2 2 C. J. Brown DF USA 28 2 5 0 4 0 20 Francis Okaroh DF NGA 26 0 5 0 2 0 15 Jesse Marsch MF USA 25+4 2 5 1 4 0 11 Roman Kosecki FW POL 25 9 1 0 2 1 9 Jerzy Podbrożny FW POL 25+1 6 5 1 3 1 12 Ante Razov FW USA 24+6 10 5 0 2+1 1 10 Piotr Nowak MF POL 24 6 5 1 1+1 0 18 Zach Thornton GK USA 23+2 0 5 0 3 0 3 Ritchie Kotschau DF USA 23+1 4 0 0 2 0 41 Frank Klopas FW USA 17+10 6 1+2 0 2+1 2 8 Diego Gutiérrez MF USA 8+5 0 5 1 3 1 1 Jorge Campos GK MEX 8+1 0 0 0 1 0 Jorge Salcedo DF USA 6+5 0 0 0 0 0 17 Andrew Lewis DF USA 6+7 0 0 0 2 0 6 Tom Soehn DF USA 6 0 0+5 0 0 0 25 Zak Ibsen DF USA 5+22 0 0+3 0 2+2 0 16 Josh Wolff FW USA 4+10 8 3+2 0 3+1 1 19 Josh Keller MF USA 3+3 0 0 0 1+2 0 Brian Bates DF USA 2+2 0 0 0 0 0 22 Tony Kuhn FW USA 1+4 0 0+1 0 1 0 24 Scott Coufal GK USA 1 0 0 0 1 0 7 Manny Lagos MF USA 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 4 Michael Richardson DF ENG 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 |} See also 1998 in American soccer References External links Chicago Fire Soccer Club Chicago Fire History 1998 1998 Chicago Fire Category:MLS Cup champion seasons Chicago Fire Category:1998 in sports in Illinois 1998 1998