The Deep Dish: Fire Head for Orlando

Plus, Chicago gets an NPSL team

FIRE HEAD FOR ORLANDO:  Chicago Fire FC head for Orlando on Wednesday for the MLS is Back Tournament which starts a week from Wednesday. Fire head coach Raphael Wicky says that his team is exciting to start playing again even though there is no guarantee of games after this competition. 

“Honestly, we are, like I said, we’re excited to go down there,” said Wicky. “We are excited to start playing. We are preparing for these three games. We want to be somehow ready even these three when Nashville starts, but we also know it’s not only preparation for those three games. 

“We hope that there will be a season after, but we don’t really talk too much about all of that because it’s out of our control right now. I mean, I don’t really want to waste energy or meetings or stuff to talk about something which I don’t know what will happen. We’re very excited now for the tournament. We know we have these three games, hopefully more, and hopefully more after that by end of August when the league continues. But, yeah, like I said, we don’t talk too much about the future.”

The Fire have not had any positive coronavirus tests at the time of this reporting. Of course, the major concern is the alarming rise of cases in Florida. At the time of this reporting, Florida has had 152,434 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which is fifth highest with 3,505 deaths. Orange County, Florida has had 10,314 confirmed cases which is fifth-highest in the state. 

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE RED STARS:  With all eight teams in the NWSL Challenge Cup assured of being in the knockout stage, Rory Dames is content with giving younger players experience in the competition. 

It was two bad turnovers that led to the 2-1 defeat on Saturday against Washington including one by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher just seconds into the second half. As our resident amateur goalkeeper Rusty Silber has notices with leagues restarting, goalkeepers have struggled whether it’s communication with defenders or making poor decisions. Something to watch as the Cup continues on and when MLS resumes. The Red Stars face Portland on Wednesday at 11:30am CT on CBS All-Access.

STANDING BY:   While Casey Short and Julie Ertz shared an emotional moment while kneeling during the anthem, Rachel Hill was the only Red Stars player (in addition to three members of the Spirit) to stand. Hill caught heat online for standing, including from Local 134. Red Stars owner Arnim Whistler defender Hill on Twitter stating that kneeling should not be a litmus test as to whether or not you support the Black Lives Matter movement.

CHICAGO’S NPSL TEAM:  The National Professional Soccer League has announced that Panathinaikos Chicago has joined the league’s Midwest Region starting in 2021. 

Courtesy: Panathinaikos Chicago

“This area is full to the brim with culture, passion, and a love of the game,” NPSL Managing Director Cindy Spera said. “The Panathinaikos Chicago organization exemplifies the meaning of grassroots soccer.  The team was born out of the local community, with immigrant owners that have built their life in the area.  The team will fill the roster with local players, and there is already overwhelming support from the community.”

The club is led by Dimitrios Chronopoulos, Vasiliki Chronopoulos, and Trevor McGrann.

Dimitrios, who is the club’s owner, is a diehard fan of Panathinaikos and has a history of playing in the Fourth Division in Greece and semi-professionally in Canada. Vasiliki is an administrative assistant and the director of media.  Head coach Trevor McGrann, who is of Brazilian and Columbian decent, comes from the youth ranks of River Plate and Banfield in Argentina.  He then went on to play for Aris FC, Trikala FC, and Ialysos FC in Greece.  

“We expect to win our conference and have a good run in the playoffs,” Dimitrios Chronopoulos said.

Chronopoulous boasts about bringing ‘experience to the league’ including two players who have MLS experience plus a player who captained the Greece U-20 team. The team will play its home matches at Harper College in Palatine. 

More information can be found visiting paochicago.com or by following the club on Facebook (@panathinaikoschicago), Instagram (@paochicago), and Twitter (@chicago_pao).

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