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The Chicago Fire S.C. was founded on October 8, 1997, which, fittingly, was also the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1998, their inaugural MLS season, the Fire won the MLS Cup as well as the U.S. Open Cup, thus achieving the coveted "double" of Major League Soccer – impressive for their very first year.

The Chicago Fire was just a penalty shoot-out away from a spot in the MLS Cup finals in 2009, but, despite the successful campaign, quite a few changes took place this past offseason in Chicago. Coach Denis Hamlett was fired, defenseman Gonzalo Segares (12 games, 1 goal, 1 assist) and forward Chris Rolfe (28 games, 6 goals, 1 assist) took their game overseas, superstar mid-fielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco (21 games, 5 goals, 8 assists) went back to Mexico, and goalkeeper Jon Busch (11-7-12 record, 136 shots, 103 saves, 1.13 GAA, 10 shutouts), who started all thirty games, was released just before the season.

Despite all the changes, the Fire still have a solid foundation to build upon. Leading goal scorer Brian "Captain America" McBride (22 games, 7 goals, 2 assists) will return at forward in 2010, and will be partnered with former Fulham teammate Collins John. These two have the potential of becoming a solid scoring duo, while Marco Pappa (30 games, 5 goals, 4 assists) also adds a scoring threat from the mid-field; he was second on the squad in 2009 with 60 shots and first with 29 shots on goal.

Besides bringing in Collins John, new coach Carlos de los Cobos also brought in Krzysztof Krol, who is expected to take over the left back duties. The biggest question for this team will be how well Andrew Dykstra performs as the starting goalkeeper in place of Busch. If Dykstra succeeds then this team will find themselves right back in the playoffs, but if he fails it could be a long season for the Chicago Fire S.C. This is a very bold move for coach de los Cobos, and one that could eventually define his legacy in the Windy City.