Chicago Fire coach Denis Hamlett entered training camp this year with an advantage over his peers. Barring injury, Hamlett will have his best XI from 2008 available for selection in 2009.
That doesn't mean the 2009 training camp in Bradenton, Fla., has been easy. For one thing, it has been unseasonably cold. "We tried to get away from the cold, but I think we brought it with us," Hamlett said.
Also, three of Hamlett's starters are with the U.S. national team training for the upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Mexico next week. Forward Chris Rolfe, midfielder John Thorrington and goalkeeper Jon Busch are with the senior team.
Defender Bakary Soumare, the 2008 MLS Defender of the Year, has joined his national team in Mali, and defender Gonzalo Segares is with his counterparts from Costa Rica. Marco Pappa returned this week from playing with the Guatemalan national team in the UNCAF Copa de Naciones.
So while Hamlett knows what he is going to have when the season starts, he doesn't have them with him now.
"It's always nice when you have a good core group coming back, but we don't have a lot of those guys back right now," Hamlett said.
Defender Wilman Conde, whose return to the Fire was in question for much of the offseason, is still dealing with visa issues but could join the team by the weekend.
In the absence of all those starters, many backups and newcomers are getting time in the competitions the Fire have had in their first 10 days of training.
For example, 2008 reserves Mike Banner, Dasan Robinson, Peter Lowry, Austin Washington and Patrick Nyarko received a bulk of the playing time as Hamlett divided the first game against the University of Central Florida into thirds, and the game against the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday into halves, deploying different lineups in each section.
Nyarko scored twice in a 3-2 loss to the Wizards.
"We have a good competitive opportunity for the younger guys to put them in with that (first) group, to see what they are made of," Hamlett said.
It is also an opportunity to look at some outsiders trying to get in, like undrafted rookie Stefan Dimitrov of Concordia College (N.Y.), who scored twice against Central Florida in the training camp opener.
"He's a big target forward," Hamlett said of the Bulgarian native. "He has a lot of good starting points."
Dimitrov was the leading scorer in NCAA Division II soccer last season, with 23 goals in 17 games.
The Fire are also giving a lot of time to free agent pickup Tim Ward, a former draft pick by the New York MetroStars who was last with the Colorado Rapids but could not break into the first team lineup.
Among familiar faces, veteran defender C.J. Brown is playing after missing almost the entire 2008 season with a variety of injuries. Brown, 33, is the only original Fire player remaining on the roster, following recent retirements by Chris Armas and Diego Gutierrez.
"(Brown) has been through all the training sessions, and he is getting his timing and sharpness down," Hamlett said.
In the absence of Busch, Hamlett is looking at last year's backups, Tyler Kettering and Nick Noble.
The Fire next play the Puerto Rico Islanders on Saturday in Bradenton.
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