Tag Archives: Christian Nazarit

July 8, 2011 · 8:08 am

Flashback: Cristian Nazarit Goal Collection

When it comes to scoring your first goal for a club, what better way to do it than in the 90th minute in front of 400 traveling supporters and in the midst of a horrendous eleven match winless streak? For Cristian Nazarit, there can’t be much that could top that.

Six league appearances into his Chicago Fire career, that memorable winner in Columbus remains as Nazarit’s only MLS goal to date. Some fans have grown impatient with his slow start, but it’s important to note that he’s only 20-years-old and is still adjusting to playing for a new team and in a new league. Don’t expect Nazarit to opening the floodgates before the season’s end, but look for him to start contributing more for the team in terms of goals.

If you need a little hope, maybe this video of Cristian Nazarit’s goals during his three-year stint with Club Santa Fe can provide just that. He made 42 appearances for the club and scored 16 goals, not too bad of a goal ratio for a teenager playing at one of Columbia’s most successful sides. With speed, power and an eye for goal, Nazarit has all the ingredients to become a great forward. If we’re lucky, we may start to see Nazarit score goals in similar fashion to his days in Columbia.

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June 20, 2011 · 10:54 pm

How Unlucky Can Orr Barouch Get?

Three matches ago against Sporting Kansas City the Chicago Fire were on a 10-match winless streak and desperate to turn their fortunes around with a win in the newly constructed LIVESTRONG Park. With the score deadlocked at 0-0, a familiar score line during that winless run for the Fire, Frank Klopas sent on Barouch for Christian Nazarith in the 76th minute. Minutes later, Erik Kronberg spilled a powerful Daniel Paladini shot from distance, allowing the ball to fall kindly into the path of Barouch. It had to be a goal for Barouch and it surely had to be a much needed three points for the Chicago Fire? Not to be. Barouch’s effort ricocheted off the crossbar and that winless streak continued.

Three days later in Columbus, Barouch was sent on for the recently departed Gaston Puerari in the 67th minute in order to help turn the Fire’s dominance into a goal. Just 10 minutes later and Barouch nearly scored an absolute screamer with a shot from just outside the left side of the Crew penalty box, only to see his shot cannon off the crossbar and be cleared to safety. He would, however, play a huge role in that crucial match winner from Nazarith.

Saturday night in New England saw Barouch’s bad luck in front of goal continue as his header off Baggio Husidic’s corner in the second half was destined for the back of the net only for the ball to be cleared off the line by Ryan Guy. It would have most likely been the match winner for the Fire and a well deserved goal for Barouch, who after so much misfortune of late, deserves a goal as much as anyone.

And as if Barouch hasn’t already been unfortunate enough in front of goal, he’s also been extremely unlucky not to have received his first start of the season after some impressive performances off the bench during the past few weeks. The Israeli forward has now made 13 appearances for the Fire this season with every one of them coming from off the bench. Has he done enough to warrant a start? It’s debatable, but I would say yes. And has he done enough to deserve a goal? Well there’s simply no doubting that.

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June 17, 2011 · 8:02 am

New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire: Five things to watch for

Following a momentous win in Columbus last weekend, the Chicago Fire continue their stretch away from Toyota Park with a trip to rivals New England Revolution on Saturday (kick-off at 6:30 p.m.) in hopes of maintaining that winning feeling. Christian Nazarit ended the Fire’s 11 match winless streak with a goal from close range in the 90th minute of the Fire’s 1-0 win over the Crew to give the men in red their first league win since March 26th. New England could now find themselves in a similar situation, having lost their last four matches and slipping to 7th place in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Chicago.

Form guide:

New England: W-L-L-L-L

Chicago: D-D-D-D-W

Five things to watch for:

  1. Gold Cup regrets? – Having rejected Grenada’s invitation to represent his country in the Gold Cup, Sharie Joseph opted to stay back with the Revolution and help the club move up the standings. The result has not been what he and the Revs would have hoped for, however. Four defeats on the trot has seen New England slide down the standings, with Joseph particularly struggling the past couple of matches. That said, Joseph remains the leading scorer for the Revs with four goals and has proven himself capable of being a match winner in the past, meaning the Fire should still be cautious of what he brings to the table.
  2. Tightening the ship – After shipping goals from almost everywhere on the pitch in the early stages of the season, the Fire have finally come to grips at the back. Yamith Cuesta and Cory Gibbs have established a burgeoning partnership at the heart of defense, while Gonzalo Segares has continued his fine form at left back. Both Bratislav Ristic and Jalil Anibaba have deputized at right back and have helped contribute to three consecutive clean sheets for the Fire. Sean Johnson also looks to his best, causing us to wonder why he was ever kept out of the side for so long by Carlos de los Cobos. A clean sheet on Saturday will equal the club’s record of four straight clean sheets. Can the Fire maintain their defensive form and keep New England out?
  3. Runaway top scorer – The Fire couldn’t really ask for a better opportunity to equal its record of consecutive clean sheets. The Revolution have scored just three goals in the last seven matches and looked out of sorts in front of goal during their 0-0 draw with Toronto FC on Wednesday night. In fact, only Joseph has managed to score more than one goal for the Revs this season. Seven players are tied in second with one goal apiece and the club’s total haul of 11 goals scored this season is a league low.
  4. Attacking options – With Gaston Puerari being transferred to Club Atlas on Wednesday and Marco Pappa still on Gold Cup duty with Guatemala, the Fire’s attacking options will be slightly limited. Patrick Nyarko and Dominic Oduro will most likely start on the wings while Nazarit could partner Diego Chaves up front. If this is the case, we could see Orr Barrouch make yet another substitute appearance if the Fire need more attacking talent on the field as the match progresses. Barrouch has made 12 appearances this season, all of which have been off the bench.
  5. And then there was one little Uruguayan– Puerari’s departure means a greater burden will be placed on Chaves to deliver the goods (despite Puerari not contributing much in terms of goals). Nazarit will need to contribute as well, but he’s still young and finding his feet in the MLS. Chaves started the season in terrific form but hasn’t scored since his opener in the 1-1 home draw with Houston on April 23rd. The Fire will certainly be hoping for a few more goals out of him. Saturday wouldn’t be too bad of a time to score one.

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June 12, 2011 · 6:02 pm

Columbus Crew vs. Chicago Fire Post Match Analysis

After dominating the Columbus Crew for 90 minutes, it seemed that it was going to be yet another one of those days for the Fire. Another scoreless draw and another week without a win, a feeling everyone associated with the club has been forced to get used to the past two and a half months. Up stepped substitute Christian Nazarit in the 90th minute, however, to fire home the winning goal after some fine play by fellow substitute Orr Barrouch to give the Fire a very vital three points.

Talking Points:

Domination – Despite being on the road for the second consecutive match, it simply didn’t feel like an away match. For starters, 400 supporters from Section 8 made the trip down to Columbus and really made their presence felt. Chants of ‘Chicago Fire’ drowned out any noise the Crew supporters attempted to make. The Fire responded to the support and dominated play for the majority of the 90 minutes, creating several good scoring opportunities in the first half and preventing the Crew from getting anything going on the attacking end. The Fire started the second half where they left off in the first half, dominating possession and creating chances aplenty. Columbus failed to really test Sean Johnson and there only ever looked like being one winner. In the end, the Fire got what they deserved by capping off a commanding performance with a goal that ended a 321 minute scoring drought. The faces of the Fire players and coaches, as well as the traveling supporters, was evidence of just how much that goal meant.

Off the mark – Christian Nazarit couldn’t have asked for a better time to score his first goal for the club. The goal may have been down to a great dribble in the box and good shot on goal by Barrouch, but Nazarit was at the right place at the right time to slot the crucial goal from close range. And after scoring such a dramatic winner, it will be interesting to see how much that goal boosts his confidence. Don’t expect Nazarit to start banging in the goals, but look for him to tally a few more goals in the upcoming weeks.

Section 8 – After making the trip to Kansas City on Thursday, Section 8 hopped back on the bus on Sunday morning to head to Columbus, Ohio to make their presence felt once again. Section 8 drowned out the rest of Crew stadium for parts of the match and proved once again why the Chicago Fire have the best supporters in the MLS. They fully deserved to see a win today and I’m happy they got one. So much for the home side having a 12th man.

Another clean sheet – It’s three clean sheets in a row for Sean Johnson and the Chicago Fire. After seeing the team ship too many to start off the campaign, it’s extremely satisfying to see the team performing admirably in defense. Cory Gibbs and Yamith Cuesta were solid once again at the heart of defense, while Gonzalo Segares continued in his rich vein of form. The main standout for me today though was Jalil Anibaba. Drafted back into the starting lineup in place of Bratislav Ristic, Anibaba put in a fantastic performance and was a nightmare for the Crew to go up against at times. The 22-year-old made several crunching tackles and surely deserves another place in the starting eleven next week at New England.

Filling the void – With Marco Pappa away on international duty, the Fire needed someone to step up in his place. Patrick Nyarko answered the call today. Making his first start since suffering a concussion earlier in the season, Nyarko was a constant threat down the left wing and did well on a number of occasions to get to the byline and create opportunities for Chaves and Puerari. After a great performance, Nyarko was deservingly named the man of the match.

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June 10, 2011 · 8:29 pm

Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire Post Match Analysis

All of the talk prior to Thursday’s match centered around Sporting Kansas City’s new stadium, but after 90 frustrating minutes the only thing on the Fire’s minds was yet another match without a win. It’s been 75 days and 11 matches since the Fire finished a match on top. Despite coming close to breaking that streak on several occasions the Fire never really looked like earning all three points at LIVESTRONG Park.

Talking points:

Offensive inefficiencies – It’s not the first time this season the Fire have failed to find their offensive rhythm and at it won’t be the last. Christian Nazarit tested KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen with a fine header in the first half, but otherwise saw very little of the ball and looked more and more tired as the match progressed. Gaston Puerari worked his socks off once again but was ultimately inefficient on the attacking side of things while Diego Chaves, who had been dropped to bench for a well earned rest, entered the fray in the second half but never looked like getting anything going. Dominic Oduro was the most threatening for the Fire, using his speed to create several opportunities while forcing Nielsen into several saves before the Danish ‘keeper received his marching orders for handling outside the penalty box.

Sega – One major bright side from the Fire’s past two draws is the form of Gonzalo Segares. Apart from an early misjudged header in his own box early in the first half, the Fire’s first choice left-back was in fine form and proved difficult for KC to get past. Yamith Cuesta and Cory Gibbs also looked solid on Thursday. Note: Segares wore a black armband to honor the death of his girlfriend’s mother.

PaldadiniXI – After all the calls for Daniel Paladini to start for the Fire, the former NASL midfielder has started and impressed in back-to-back matches. He looks intent to shoot from outside whenever he can and who can blame him. His powerful drive in the first half looked goal bound only for a vital deflection to interfere while his long range effort in the second half was spilled by Eric Kronberg, allowing substitute Orr Barouch to come inches away from giving the Fire the lead.

Penalty drama – Following Barouch’s effort that cannoned off the cross bar, Omar Bravo found himself with possession in the Fire penalty box only for Bratislav Ristic to interfere with a stalwart challenge that grounded the former Mexican forward. The disapproval of LIVESTRONG Park was clearly evident as referee Michael Kennedy opted against giving KC what initially appeared like a clear penalty. Upon review, however, it appears Kennedy was spot on (no pun intended) in his decision not to award the home side a penalty kick. His decision is still up for debate, but Ristic looks to have just gotten enough of the ball to fairly thwart Bravo.

What rivalry? – A lot of the talk heard from Kansas City this season has not been about their new stadium, but instead about this new rivalry with the Chicago Fire. As for the Fire, the club has never considered KC to be a rival and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Rivalries aren’t made overnight, they are built over time and Thursday’s match did little in devel

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