26 March: Training Camp Update

HalaMadrid · Mar 26, 2003

http://www.chicago-fire.com/pressbox/camp_updates/2003_0325.asp

Fire Picking Up Steam

Preseason Training Update - Tuesday, March 25th

After Sunday's 6-0 victory over a joint Portland/Seattle A-League squad, the Fire seems to be building momentum towards its April 13 MLS Season Home Opener against the New England Revolution by putting together some of the club's best training sessions of the preseason, according to Fire Head Coach Dave Sarachan.

The success during training the past two days could very well be traced back to the solid effort Sarachan got from his team in Sunday's contest at the University of Portland. While no coach will ever turn down a 6-0 result, Sarachan believes that the amount of goals paled in importance to how the team performed overall.

"Results aren't priority at this point, although it is always nice to score six times. We were a little shaky at the beginning, but we got the problems righted real soon and that was impressive to me," said Sarachan. "Overall I thought it was a good performance. We were able to give a great effort on both sides of the ball and played competitively all over the field the entire match. We're now at the point where we're starting to get all the soccer details down together as a team."

Sunday's brightest moment came midway through the second half when Chris Armas entered the match for midfielder Craig Capano. Armas's 23 minutes marked more than just the veteran midfielder's first game action in over 10 months- it gave the "Men in Red" some added inspiration and the squad's recognized captain the first chance to lead his team on the field in 2003.

"His return was extremely huge for us. His presence is kind of like a warm blanket over the team- he makes the team feel whole and relaxed when he's on the field," said Sarachan. "We all felt so pleased for him- everyone was smiling and patting him on the back when he came in and Jesse (Marsch) gave him the captain's armband. Deep down we all felt excited for him and he deserved all the praise because he's worked so hard to get back where he's at now."

Another big performance in Sunday's second half came from forward Rodrigo Faria, who came away with three goals and an assist during his debut with the "Men in Red." Sarachan acknowledges that the Brazilian striker still has some work to go after entering camp late, but is still impressed with what he is able to pull off on Sunday.

"Rodrigo's behind in the fitness aspect of the game, but that was to be expected and he's got the body type where it won't take him long to get where he needs to be, so we're not worried," said Sarachan. "Sunday he showed that he's a real forward who knows what he's about in front of goal."

The Fire deviated from the normal two-a-day schedule and practiced just once on Monday and Tuesday. Sarachan was extremely impressed with Monday's session, saying the team showed a lot of spirit and energy during the 90-minute practice. Sarachan reported that the club went harder than usual during the first half of training, which focused on fitness, and were extremely competitive during a round-robin tournament of small-sided teams to end the session. Another bit of good news was that everyone was healthy and participated in the training sessions, with the exception of midfielder DaMarcus Beasley and defender Carlos Bocanegra, who both reported to Sarachan's old boss Bruce Arena for the U.S. National Team's training camp that is also being held in Beaverton.

After giving a lot of effort during Monday's training, the squad had a more relaxed session on Tuesday. After a lengthy warm-up, the squad broke down and worked on possession drills and then ended the session with a short, 20-minute full-field scrimmage.

While Sarachan reports that the team has looked impressive as a whole during the 12-day training camp, he also said that the 17-year-old Capano has started to show the ability and skills that made him one of youngest players ever to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft.

"Craig's had a good camp for us out west," said Sarachan. "His play has been very solid and we've been impressed with how he seems to be picking up his level of play recently."

Capano and the rest of his Fire teammates will have one more training session in Beaverton on Wednesday before flying back Thursday to Chicago, where they will finish preparing for the 2003 MLS season that is just 19 days away.
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Finnegan · Mar 26, 2003

Going to the US Nats Vs Fire game here in a few minutes. Wish me luck on breaking into the Nike capus I will try to take pictures but my camera sucks and I do not have nearly the skills that Allison does (she took the pictures from Sunday's game).