SoccerCast Chicago

Current staff writer for The Athletic and former Chicago-based soccer journalist Sam Stejskal joins the show to talk about Djordje Mihailovic's move to Montreal, the Fire's run of young, international acquisitions and what these moves say about the Fire's strategy in the market and positioning for the future.

Follow Sam on Twitter @samstejskal and check out his and Paul Tenorio's podcast, Allocation Disorder

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

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Alex is joined by Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jeremy Mikula of the Chicago Tribune, Patrick McCraney of Hot Time in Old Town, and Guillermo Rivera of The Athletic to talk all things Chicago Fire from the lousy year that was 2020 both on and off the field.

Topics include the logo rollout, missed opportunities due to COVID, "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.", whether sports are important or not right now, new signings, Frankowski, Mihailovic, where the Fire should try to further improve in the offseason, the search for a training site, MLS Cup predictions, hopes for 2021 and a whole lot more.

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Bad news first: the Chicago Fire's season is over after a 4-3 loss to NYCFC eliminated them from playoff contention.

Alex starts the show by offering a few thoughts on the game and the feelings around the team following the loss last night.

On a more exciting note, Chicago soccer legend Peter Wilt is back on the show to discuss his latest project: a new soccer team in Chicago as part of the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), debuting next August! Peter discusses the origins of the team, what he hopes it can be, the importance of fan engagement in the process of developing a team identity, and a little Fire and Red Stars as well.

Check out the team's website, chicagonisa.com

Follow the team on Twitter @ChicagoNISA

Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterWilt1

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

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After a short hiatus the podcast is back!

Alex and Jeremy Mikula from the Chicago Tribune talk about Chicago soccer for an hour.

The Fire's loss to Philly, Robert Beric, defensive issues, evaluating the season, and the Fire's path to the playoffs.

The Yuki Nagasato/Savannah McCaskill trade, where the Red Stars need to improve, and the wizardry that is Rory Dames making trades.

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

Follow Jeremy on Twitter @jeremymikula

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

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Matt Doyle, MLSsoccer.com's Armchair Analyst, co-host of the Extratime podcast, and host of the 'Top Tier' and 'Game Breakers' video series, joins the show to talk Chicago Fire tactics and improvements over the last few weeks including Fabian Herbers' role, what good form could mean for Djordje Mihailovic's USMNT future, the emergence of Mauricio Pineda, the importance of Gaston Gimenez and much more!

Follow Matt on Twitter @MattDoyle76

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

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This week I had the chance to speak with Chicago Fire midfielder Micheal Azira about his personal journey and the work his foundation is doing in his native Uganda. Unfortunately, due to a technical issue with my recording software the audio is not fit for publication. I did my best to transcribe our conversation as faithfully as I could from the poor audio, which you can read here:

https://alexcampbellsports.com/micheal-azira

To learn more about the Micheal Azira Youth Foundation, please visit https://www.aziramichealyouthfoundation.org/

You can follow the foundation on Instagram @aziramichealyouth and on Twitter @aziramicehal

Meanwhile, I still wanted to put out a pod this week and broke down the Red Stars 4-1 win over Sky Blue FC and the Fire's 4-0 win over the Houston Dynamo.

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

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USMNT legend and Soccer Hall of Famer Tony Meola joins the show to talk about his various athletic exploits, the 1990 World Cup, the progression of American men's soccer, becoming a part of the Fire's new broadcast team, broadcasting in the time of COVID, the Fire's recent ups and downs, his advice for Connor Sparrow following his MLS debut, and his brief stint as a professional actor.

Plus, some news about Chicago Red Stars soccer coming to a streaming platform near you.

Follow Tony Meola on Twitter @TMeola1

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

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MLS is back....again! With the regular season back underway, Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times joins the show to talk about last Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew, Tuesday's home opener (finally!) against FC Cincinnati, and the news that the Fire have had a player test positive for COVID-19 and the implications of that news.

It would be great if you could subscribe, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianSandalow

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

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Another pod, another great guest! Red Stars' midfielder Danielle Colaprico joins the show to discuss her work with KICS Football Club in Chicago with whom she recently ran a free clinic in Hyde Park for kids in the city's south-side neighborhoods, recovering from the NWSL Challenge Cup, and looking forward to her first real break from soccer in years.

Follow Danny on Twitter and Instagram @dannycolaprico

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

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The first three-time guest on SoccerCast, Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Time is back to debrief the last month in Utah for the Red Stars.

In addition to discussing the 2-0 victory for the Houston Dash over the Red Stars in last Sunday's Challenge Cup Championship, we reflect on what we've seen in this abbreviated 2020 season.

How are the players feeling now that they're back home? Where in the world might they be going next? What did we learn this last month and what are the big takeaways? And where are the Red Stars heading into 2021?

Follow Annie on Twitter @AnnieCostabile

Follow Alex on Twitter @alex_s_campbell

Follow the show on Twitter @Soccer_Cast

Music by HookSounds