Anto and Nico are back with another episode of Inside MLS with special guest Frank Klopas, head coach of Chicago Fire, on the heels of a very difficult match in New York decided by a remarkable goal by Thierry Henry in extreme heat at Red Bull Arena. But more importantly, the Fire have emerged this season as something of a surprise having built on the progress of last season as the All-Star break approaches and the team find itself with a 10 day break between MLS fixtures leading into a very difficult run down the stretch starting with San Jose Earthquakes and a string of matches that will be against only Eastern Conference teams for the rest of the season. We obviously hit the talking points about the extreme heat this time of year, how clubs manage their players for safety and minutes, and specifically how the tactics change in response to the conditions. Also covered is the strength of the Fire team which is the way it organizes itself week upon week, largely built on a solid defensive team with an emerging young goalkeeper in Sean Johnson who has only surrendered three goals in his last five matches. Frank also takes questions on the Marco Pappa contract status and how the club will address the situation and whether Alex is the like for like in the event that Europe does come calling for Pappa. There are also questions about the challenge of defending Chris Wondolowski who will be the game within a game challenge for Chicago as the San Jose striker will pose a huge problem for any team given his form all season. We also examine how players are rotated and measured within a Major League Soccer team in terms of technology and its application through fitness specialists, really worth a listen for MLS fans not normally exposed to this kind of information. Then we turn to a number of topics in the second part of the show where we tackle the issues going forward for Chicago Fire, serious problems at FC Dallas between Brek Shea and its head coach Schellas Hyndman, the Michael Bradley move to AS Roma, whether Chris Wondolowski will catch the Roy Lassiter goalscoring record and why he might just fall short and the pending Geoff Cameron move to Stoke City. Whether you follow Chicago Fire or just want some fresh opinions on MLS and US Soccer, in general, another Inside MLS episode worth the listen.

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