BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – A few items from the Chicago Fire’s Tuesday-morning training session:
Empty roster slot to stay unfilled?
Fire technical director Frank Klopas addressed questions regarding Chicago’s empty roster spot Tuesday morning, indicating that it’s not a sure thing that the club will fill the opening before MLS rosters freeze next month.
“Obviously, there’s an open spot and if we find a player that can help the team we’re going to look to fill it,” Klopas told MLSsoccer.com. “But if we don’t [fill it], I think we have enough players at this moment to be more than sufficient until the end of the season.”
Klopas also commented on the possibility of signing 30-year-old Serbian midfielder Bratislav Ristic, who has been on trial at Toyota Park for much of the summer.
“He’s an experienced player,” Klopas said. “He’s a good player. Obviously he’s training with the club at the moment.”
Reasons for lack of subs against Seattle
Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos was criticized by both fans and writers this weekend for his decision to use just one of his three allotted substitutions in last Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Seattle.
He explained that decision Tuesday.
“The team was good in the midfield,” de los Cobos said. “Sometimes, when we [make a change] you can create some instability. I was talking with the guys about how they felt because I could make another sub, but they told me that they felt very good. That was the reason.”
Thorrington leaves training early
Midfielder John Thorrington, who made his season debut on Saturday after missing the first four-and-a-half months of the year with a quad injury, left Tuesday’s training early with an ankle injury.
It is unknown whether the injury will affect his availability for Saturday’s match against Los Angeles.
