Should be a very interesting night Wednesday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
The Fire and Dallas Burn will meet for the second time in a week. Since this already is the most heated rivalry in Major League Soccer, Wednesday’s affair should have a little extra bite to it after Fire forward Hristo Stoitchkov and Dallas coach Dave Dir exchanged words following the Fire’s 5-1 rout of the Burn last Wednesday in the Open Cup quarterfinals.
“[Stoitchkov] went out of his way to [embarrass] a guy with a 4-1 lead,” Dir said. “I don’t think you should go out of your way to embarrass a guy. Maybe they think that’s OK or he’s just playing, but I don’t think that’s professional. He’s a great player but I don’t like guys trying to embarrass my players.”
Dir refused to shake Stoitchkov’s hand after the match, which upset Stoitchkov. The Bulgarian had to be restrained by Fire personnel afterward.
The teams have a history with one another. The Fire defeated the Burn in the Open Cup semifinals in 1998. Also that year, Dir remarked how fortunate the Fire was to avoid injuries and questioned how it would handle adversity. Soon after that July match, the Fire was hit with a rash of injuries and the comments were dubbed the “Curse of Dir.” The Fire went on to win the league and cup championships that year.
Last season Dallas eliminated the Fire in the opening round of the playoffs. The Burn won the decisive third game in Dallas after falling behind by two goals in the first five minutes.
This season the teams have split the two regular-season meetings, with each team coming from behind to win at home. The Burn will visit Chicago on Aug. 30.
The Burn solidified its playoff chances Saturday with a 1-0 victory over D.C. United and will likely use the Open Cup debacle for inspiration Wednesday.
More Top Picks Best Sauna Blankets For Detox
“We don’t want to forget this at all,” Dir said of the 5-1 spanking. “That’s part of the game. It’s not their fault. It was done to us and my guys have to remember that the next time we play.”
Jet-setters: The Fire will play the Los Angeles Galaxy in the semifinals of the Open Cup on Aug. 23 at Cal State-Fullerton University. Kickoff is 9:30 p.m. Chicago time, and the match will be broadcast live on Fox Sports World. The teams will meet in a pivotal league match Saturday at Soldier Field. The trip to California for a Wednesday game not only creates a short week for the Fire, but also means a cross-country journey. After playing in Southern California on a Wednesday, the Fire will face the Mutiny in Tampa in another first-place battle the next Saturday, Aug. 26.
Good start: The U.S. women’s Olympic team got off to a hot start in preparation for Sydney with a 7-1 thrashing Sunday of Russia in Annapolis, Md. Tiffeny Milbrett had two goals and an assist and Cindy Parlow added two goals for the world champions.
Point taken: Ties may not create too much excitement among fans, but the Kansas City Wizards were very happy with the point they took from the Rose Bowl on Saturday. After falling behind the Galaxy in the third minute, the Wizards knotted the score and then had to play the final hour of the match down a man after midfielder Matt McKeon was issued a red card for his tackle of Mauricio Cienfuegos.
“One point is a good result here with a full team, but it is great with only 10,” Kansas City coach Bob Gansler said. “The effort was immense.”
The result was a far cry from the 5-1 victory the Galaxy recorded in Kansas City the week before. Kansas City still has a four-point lead, 45-41, over the Galaxy in the Western Division and a one-point lead over the MetroStars for first place overall in MLS.
Lothar likes it here: Lothar Matthaus, who has had a stormy first season in MLS with the MetroStars, told a German newspaper that he would like to return to the league next season, perhaps with a different team.
“There are other clubs than the MetroStars and I have very good contacts in Major League Soccer,” Matthaus said.
They’re back . . . already: After what seemed like only a two-week vacation, the 2000-01 European season is under way. The German Bundesliga kicked off play last weekend with defending champion Bayern Munich defeating Hertha Berlin 4-1 Saturday. Munich was without six regular starters because of injury, including midfielder Stefan Effenberg and forward Giovanne Elber.
The Scottish and French leagues are already three weeks into their seasons.
Relax, Roy: Manchester United captain Roy Keane was the first player in 26 years to be sent off in the Charity Shield match. The match, an exhibition played the week before the start of the English Premier League season, pits the defending league champion against the defending FA Cup champion.
Keane was sent off in the 62nd minute of cup winner Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Man U after he brought down Chelsea’s Gustavo Poyet from behind. The red card will earn Keane a three-game suspension to start the season. United will open the season next weekend against West Ham.
“That will be a blow and we will miss him,” said United’s coach, Sir Alex Ferguson. “I did not see the incident but I am sure that [Keane] is tremendously disappointed in himself.”