Rookie Life: MLS SuperDraft - Episode Three

The latest episode of Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick deals with the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Steve Zakuani was selected with the first overall pick, Sam Cronin went second, and so on, all the way down to number 58, Richard Jata. Chris Pontius, Omar Gonzalez, AJ Delegarza, Stefen Frei and Jean Alexandre share their feelings heading into draft day, but most of this episode is dedicated to Jata. It's clip time, five specifically of Jata from college; four goals and one defensive stop.

Jata has spent the last week training with the Charleston Battery at their facility. Before any contact negotiations start, the Fire will have to be notified because they have Jata's rights for two years. Recently, Andrew Dykstra signed a contract because C.J. Brown went down with an injury. If Brown's injury is season-ending and Carr can't make it back in the next four games, Jata could get called back up to play with Chicago.

I also feel that some other MLS teams will want to have a look at Jata. He played well against Kansas City in the preseason, but he never really got the chance to play center mid with the starting squad. The Fire kept him as long as they could, which hindered Jata's chances of training elsewhere. If he almost signed a contract with the Fire I'm sure he would fit into another system, one that lacks an attacking mid. I think Colorado could be a possibility as well as a number of other teams. With all of the USMNT games and extra games this year, I'm sure we will see our fair share of injuries too. At this point, anything can happen.

More updates to come.....

Rookie Life: The MLS Combine - Episode Two

The second episode of Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick takes aim at the MLS Combine. The players share their thoughts on the experience and how they felt about their performance. Some of the players thought they did good while others struggled to find their rhythm.

Richard Jata is scheduled to meet up with the Charleston Battery (USL) over the weekend. The team has a few more games left before the season starts, and even after recently signing two new players, the Battery still want Jata to come out for a look. After checking out their roster a few times, I realized that a lot of these players have already played in the MLS.

For those of you who can't wait to see more rookie footage of Jata, it won't be long. The third episode of Rookie Life will becoming out shortly. In the meantime, the MLS has personally sent Jata a video camera so that he can film his progress while apart from the Fire. If all goes well, don't be surprised to see Jata back on an MLS team by the end of the season.

Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick - Episode One

The MLS have finished its first episode of "Rookie Life" - an 11 minute video that showcases eight soccer players selected in this years' draft. It gives you the opportunity to catch some behind the scenes footage and check in on your favorite rookies. Here is a list of the players that were chosen to participate in this video:

Steve Zakuani - Seattle Sounders (1st Pick) 1:05

Sam Cronin - Toronto FC (2nd Pick) 8:19

Omar Gonzalez - LA Galaxy (3rd Pick) 6:51

Chris Pontius - D.C. United (7th Pick) 9:23

Jean Alexandre - Real Salt Lake (12th Pick) 5:40

Stefan Frei - Toronto FC (13th Pick) 4:11

AJ DeLeGarza - LA Galaxy (19th Pick) 7:29

Richard Jata - Chicago Fire (58th Pick) 10:05

At the beginning, all of the players are introduced with footage from the 2009 SuperDraft and then it highlights each of them individually. If you want to see Richard Jata, watch the beginning and then fast forward to the 10:05 mark. At the 10:43 mark, there is a short clip from Chicago's preseason game with the Kansas City Wizards. Jata pulls down a ball with his right foot and takes it towards goal. It's a brief clip, but if you watch it a few times it's pretty incredible.

"Breaking News" - Chicago Fire Final Roster

After months of training and preparation, the Fire have finally decided on their 24 man roster. Richard Jata lasted as long as he could, but in the end, Dennis Hamlett decided to stick with the guys he had last year. Jata had some great moments in training camp, but battled the last two weeks with the flu. Besides Baggio Husidic(Generation Addidas), Jata was the last of the draftees to remain in camp. As I predicted earlier, Tim Ward and Austin Washington have both signed with the team. Ward signed a Senior contract and Washington signed a Senior Developmental. Stefan Dimitrov has not yet officially been named to the roster, so there could be something holding back the paperwork.

The Dimitrov signing would push the roster to 24 and Andrew Dykstra is still in camp. It is my understanding that Calen Carr, being listed as a DL, will have to miss at least 6 games and his roster spot will have to be filled in the meantime. This being said, expect the Fire to keep Dykstra in Carr's spot until he is ready to return. After those six games are up, look for Chicago to let Dykstra go, keep him and put Carr back on the Disabled List, or keep Dykstra and let Carr go. If Busch is going to miss time with the USMNT, the Fire are going to need a backup for Nick Noble.

2009 Chicago Fire Final Roster (24 players)

1. GK - Jon Busch - S
2. GK - Nick Noble - S

3. F - Brian McBride - S
4. F - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - SI/DP
5. F - Patrick Nyarko - DI/GA
6. F - Stefan Dimitrov - S
7. F - Calen Carr - S (Disabled List - will miss at least 6 games)
8. F/M - Peter Lowry - SD

9. M/F - Chris Rolfe - S
10. M - John Thorrington - S
11. M - Marco Pappa - SI
12. M - Baggio Husidic - D/GA
13. M - Mike Banner - S
14. M - Justin Mapp - S
15. M - Logan Pause - S

16. D - C.J. Brown - S
17. D - Tim Ward - S
18. D - William Conde - SI
19. D - Gonzalo Segares - SI
20. D - Dasan Robinson - S
21. D - Bakary Soumare - S/GA
22. D - Brandon Prideaux - S
23. D - Daniel Woolard - S
24. D - Austin Washington - SD

Andrew Dykstra will occupy Calen Carr's spot on the roster for the first six games of the season. After those six games are up, the Fire will have to decide whether to keep him or let him go in favor of Calen Carr. If Carr is not ready by then, look for the Fire to keep Dykstra and put Carr back on the DL.

More to come on Jata.....

Jata Still Fighting for a Spot (Unofficial Signing)

Today the Fire arrived in Arizona for the final leg of their preseason. They will train tomorrow morning at 10am, but I'm not sure if they are still doing two-a-days. Lately, there have been talks about another signing, but nothing is official yet. I will go through the draft picks, cuts and new signings one by one to let everyone out there know where Chicago stands with regards to its roster.

As most of you already know, Stefan Dimitrov has officially signed a Senior contract with the Chicago Fire. According to the roster listed on their website, that leaves two spots left to fill.

Richard Jata

• Traveled with the team to Arizona
• Appears in Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick
• Still hasn't signed a contract

Jata has been making a name for himself ever since he arrived on the scene. His SuperDraft Speech will have a special place in history and it doesn't stop there. He's been one of just eight rookies selected to take part in Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick, which focuses on each players' first season with their respectable squad. Every other player in this MLS Special has already signed a contract. With Jata being one of the last players selected at the draft, it's not unlikely that he'll be one of the last players to sign.

Austin Washington

• Traveled with the team to Arizona
• Unofficially signed a Senior Developmental Contract

Washington seems to be doing all the right things in camp because it looks as if he'll be sticking around for another year. He has a great attitude and a good work ethic, but if the Fire have already spent two years developing him, what's the point in keeping him around. On the other hand, with a few aging defenders and others looking to Europe, he might be more useful than we think.

Andrew Dykstra

• Traveled with the team to Arizona
• GK Pool is an option - Still in the works
• Still hasn't signed a contract

With Busch possibly missing some games due to U.S. Men's National Team duties, the Fire might see it necessary to keep him as their third keeper. If Busch doesn't expect to miss time and if the goal keeper pool is legit, look for Chicago to let Dykstra go.

Tim Ward

• Traveled with the team to Arizona
• Unofficially signed a Senior Contract

A young kid with a lot of experience. He's been playing with both the first and second team, but he looks like a solid lock to sign a Senior Contract this year. Look for money and contract negotiations to make or break this deal.

David Sias

• Did not travel with the team to Arizona
• Unofficially released by the Chicago Fire

Injuries bothered David for the first half of the preseason and things haven't gotten any better. Trained with the team in California, but he never really had a chance in the first place.

Roland Paul Bebey Kingue

• Did not travel with the team to California or Arizona
• Released by the Chicago Fire

Showed promise early on in the Fire preseason, but contract negotiations may have sent him packing. I personally feel that he is too small for the MLS, but he sure can run a lot. Being offered a developmental contract may have pushed him away.

Jokull Elisabetrason

• Did not travel with the team to California or Arizona
• Released by the Chicago Fire

Also plagued with injuries for most of the preseason. Never really got to improve his stock from the combine. Good with the ball, but the Fire just couldn't see him in their future plans.

Calen Carr

• Did not travel with the team to Arizona
• Continuing treatment on his leg in Chicago
• Currently on the Disabled List

Now this is a hard one. Injury plagued year, plus he'll be out for at least another few months. He's on the DL, but I'm really not sure what that means. Will the Fire get to add an extra player by keeping him on the Disabled List?

Peter Lowry

• Did not travel with the team to California or Arizona
• Getting treatment in Chicago for an injury
  

From what I heard, Peter Lowry is not in the clear just yet. If the Fire decide to sign Andrew Dykstra and they don't want to let Jata go, look for Lowry to be on the chopping block.

"Guest Player"

• Did not travel with the team to Arizona
• Played for the University of Redlands (California)
• Played with Ross Schunk - 47th Draft Pick (Colorado)
  

Stay tuned for more updates on Richard Jata and the Chicago Fire...

Preseason Winding Down (Rookie Life Preview)

The Chicago Fire will be kicking off their season in less than two weeks and the final roster has still not been set. The team will play UC-Irvine today at 4pm PT giving the second team, the trailists and the rookies a shot at some much needed playing time. David Sias, Richard Jata, Andrew Dykstra and Austin Washington should all play a considerable amount, with hopes of increasing their current stock. I'm looking for Jata, to come out and impress after missing the last two games with the flu. He's been patiently waiting for his chance to shine and I believe that the time is now. His fitness level has been growing and growing since the start of training camp, and just recently, he ran the two mile in under 12 minutes. Chris Rolfe has been out sick, Busch and Thorrington are nursing injuries and Peter Lowry is back in Chicago, possibly doing rehab as well. With that being said, the starting lineup for tomorrow should look something like this:

GK Andrew Dykstra, D Austin Washington, D C.J. Brown, D David Sias, D Daniel Woolard, M Marco Pappa, M Richard Jata, M Baggio Husidic, M Mike Banner, F Stefan Dimitrov, F Cuauhtemoc Blanco

Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick - (Preview)

A brief video specifically made to follow MLS rookies through their first season. Richard Jata appears at the 25 second mark and he speaks again at the 52 second mark. Also appearing in the video is Jean Alexandre, Sam Cronin, AJ Delegarza, Stefan Frei, Omar Gonzalez, Chris Pontius and Steve Zakuani. Still more to come....

The team will be leaving LA for Arizona on Wednesday(3/11) in preparation for their final preseason game vs. LA Galaxy. Training prior to the game, will be done at Arizona State University. The match is set to take place on March 14th(7pm MT) at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

Chicago Fire vs. Chivas USA & Player Salaries

For those of you dying to see some video footage from the Fire's preseason match against Chivas USA, wait no more. Here's a quick little video that captured both Chicago goals from the first half. McBride's goal is really nice and it shows that his presence this year will be very crucial in Chicago's run at the MLS CUP.



An updated list of the 2009 Chicago Fire Player Salaries can be seen below. Currently it only shows 21 salaries because the final roster is slowly coming together. Not listed is Stefan Dimitrov, who officially signed last week. That leaves two open spots. One of them will probably go to Tim Ward, mostly due to the fact that he's been getting a serious amount of playing time. That leaves one spot open, but according to Roman Kashuba(Chicago Fire Examiner), there's a couple more options that some might not expect:

"My money is on Tim Ward making the final roster based on his playing time in the last couple of matches, but don’t rule out the possibility of Peter Lowry being cut in favor of Richard Jata. And don’t be too surprised to see the out-of-left-field waiver of the ageing Brandon Prideaux’s relatively expensive contract ($72K) for a bargain like Austin Washington ($12.9K)."

2009 Base Salary - 2009 Guaranteed Compensation

1. Cuauhtemoc Blanco - M ($2,769,240.00 - $2,943,702.00)
2. Brian McBride - F ($360,000.00 - $385,333.33)
3. Justin Mapp - M ($220,000.00 - $255,000.00)
4. Wilman Conde - D ($168,000.00 - $188,000.00)
5. Patrick Nyarko - F ($80,000.00 - $160,000.00)
6. Bakary Soumare - D ($105,000.00 - $138,000.00)
7. Jon Busch - GK ($105,000.00 - $106,250.00)
8. Chris Rolfe - F ($95,550.00 - $100,250.00)
9. Logan Pause - M ($95,403.00 - $97,903.00)
10. Baggio Husidic - M ($55,000.00 - $97,000.00)
11. C.J. Brown - D ($91,200.00 - $96,000.00)
12. Brandon Prideaux - D ($75,600.00 - $75,600.00)
13. Calen Carr - F ($58,410.00 - $70,910.00)
14. John Thorrington - M ($63,000.00 - $64,875.00)
15. Gonzalo Segares - D ($61,519.50 - $64,019.50)
16. Dasan Robinson - D ($46,856.25 - $46,856.25)
17. Marco Pappa - M ($42,000.00 - $42,000.00)
18. Daniel Woolard - D ($34,000.00 - $34,000.00)
19. Michael Banner - D ($34,000.00 - $34,000.00)
20. Nick Noble - GK ($34,000.00 - $34,000.00)
21. Peter Lowry - M ($20,100.00 - $20,100.00)
22. Still Open
23. Still Open
24. Still Open

* Players in Red - Do Not Affect The Salary Cap

Chicago Fire Defeat Chivas USA 2-1

Earlier this morning the Fire took care of business by beating Chivas USA 2-1. Justin Mapp started the scoring in the 19th minute, off a pass from William Conde(playing center mid). Less than 10 minutes later Chicago would add to their lead. Brian McBride scores the quote, "preseason goal of the year" assisted by Patrick Nyarko.

Halftime Score: Chicago Fire 2 - Chivas USA 0

In the 70th minute, Sacha Kljestan scored on a Penalty Kick, but it wasn't enough to comeback. This is the Fire's 6th preaseason victory, including their 6-0 win a couple days ago against a local California squad. In today's game the Chicago Fire only made two substitutions.

Final Score: Chicago Fire 2 - Chivas USA 1

This was the Chicago Fire lineup with subs:

GK Nick Noble (Andrew Dykstra 59), Gonzalo Segares, Dasan Robinson, Bakary Soumare, Tim Ward, Justin Mapp, William Conde, Logan Pause, Marco Pappa (Cuauhtemoc Blanco 59), Brian McBride, Patrick Nyarko


This was the Chivas USA lineup with subs:

Dan Kennedy (Lance Parker 45), Carey Talley, Jim Curtin, Shavar Thomas, Ante Jazic (Mariano Trujillo 53), Mike Lahoud (Justin Braun 45), Diego Scotti, Paulo Nagamura, Bojan Stepanovic (Jamie Franks 82), Sacha Kljestan, Eduardo Lillingston (Maykel Galindo 60)


Scoring Summary

Chicago(19') - Justin Mapp - Assisted by William Conde
Chicago(26') - Brian McBride - Assisted by Patrick Nyarko
Chivas USA(70') - Sacha Kljestan - PK (Unassisted)

Chicago Fire - Jata Video Clip

The other night I stumbled upon this video of Marco Pappa, Logan Pause and Richard Jata, which was made while the Chicago Fire were training in Bradenton, FL. Marco and Logan talk in the beginning, but at the 38 second mark, the camera shows Jata giving some clips and sound bites to some media personnel. I think it has something to do with the rookies and their desire to make it in the MLS.



Jata is still in the running for the 24th and final spot on the 2009 Chicago Fire roster. I believe that they have solidified 23 spots, but are leaving the last spot open until the team finishes training in California. I'm looking for Jata to get some playing time against Chivas USA on March 7th, in hopes of upping his stock before the Fire staff makes their final decision.

My Preditctions - 2009 Chicago Fire Roster

With the preseason winding down and roster compliance issues on the horizon, we will soon know all 24 players who have made the team, and eventually, which 18 will be dressing for the first game in Texas on March 21st. It's going to be very interesting to see how everything works out in the next two weeks, not just for the Chicago Fire, but for every team. I know that the coaches want their starters to be ready for the Fire's first game of the season, so I don't expect to see a lot of substitutions in the team's next two games against Chivas USA and LA Galaxy. This is going to make it a lot harder for those players fighting for the final spot because some of them may not even get to see a minute of playing time in the upcoming games. This is one of the deepest teams in the league, and with the new size rosters, it's going to be extremely hard for any rookie to make this team. San Jose, on the other hand, only has 21 players on their current roster, even after adding recent draftees Amarikwa and Ring, plus Cam Weaver and Bobby Convey. How many rookies (out of the 60 drafted) do you think will sign with the MLS this season?

My Prediction - 2009 Chicago Fire Roster (24 players)

1. GK - Jon Busch - S
2. GK - Nick Noble - S

3. F - Brian McBride - S
4. F - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - SI/DP
5. F - Patrick Nyarko - DI/GA
6. F - Stefan Dimitrov - S
7. F - Calen Carr - S
8. F/M - Peter Lowry - SD

9. M/F - Chris Rolfe - S
10. M - John Thorrington - S
11. M - Marco Pappa - SI
12. M - Baggio Husidic - D/GA
13. M - Mike Banner - S
14. M - Justin Mapp - S
15. M/D - Logan Pause - S

16. D - C.J. Brown - S
17. D - Tim Ward - S
18. D - William Conde - SI
19. D - Gonzalo Segares - SI
20. D - Dasan Robinson - S
21. D - Bakary Soumare - S/GA
22. D - Brandon Prideaux - S
23. D - Daniel Woolard - S

* * * * * (Senior Developmental/Developmental Contract) * * * * *

24. Austin Washington, Richard Jata, Andrew Dykstra or David Sias

- Most Likely
- Somewhat Likely
- Not Likely

* RELEASED - Roland Paul Bebey Kingue & Jokull Elisabetarson