The Chicago Fire’s open tryouts typically do not bring in a first-team player, but Mount Prospect’s Paraskevas “Pari” Pantazopoulos is an exception to the rule. The Fire announced Monday that Pantazopoulos, who topped the 210-player pool to win the 2011 open tryout in January, has signed with the club. “Playing professional soccer has always been a dream of mine,” Pantazopoulos said. “I moved to Chicago in 1998 and grew up idolizing Fire players like [Ante] Razov, [Peter] Nowak and [Frank] Klopas, and now I’m part of this team. I’m thankful to the Fire organization for this unbelievable opportunity.” The 6-foot, 22-year-old midfielder was born in Athens, Greece, starting his soccer…

The Seattle Sounders have been hoping to have forward Fredy Montero available to play against the Chicago Fire this Saturday despite having a fractured wrist. But that now looks increasingly unlikely, said Coach Sigi Schmid, who spoke to reporters Thursday following practice at Qwest Field. “The chance of him (Montero) playing on Saturday is unlikely at this stage because there is still some swelling in there,” Schmid said. “They want to make sure that there is still no infection into the wound.” Montero was involved in some light training today, but he did not participate in the squad scrimmages.  “He’s able to do some light stuff and we had him…

On March 30, the Chicago Fire beat the Colorado Rapids 2-1. The U.S. Open Cup qualifying match gave the Chicago Fire its second win this season. The rookies provided essential goals during the game and continued to prove their importance to the team. I was very pleased with the performance of the Chicago Fire. They were able to beat the 2010 MLS Cup champions. Jalil Anibaba has already shown great abilities for the Chicago Fire. Two players stood out during the match with the Colorado Rapids: Gaston Puerari After 45 minutes without anyone scoring, I started to get worried. I wanted the Chicago Fire to win another game. Finally, Gaston…

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