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Fire-Revolution Preview

Nov 1, 2009 - 1:55 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Chicago (11-7-12) at New England (11-10-9), 2:00 p.m. EDT

A week after helping the Chicago Fire return to the playoffs, Cuauhtemoc Blanco announced he's leaving the club. The Fire hope the parting gift will be their second MLS Cup title, but another playoff matchup with the Eastern Conference-rival New England Revolution could pose a problem.

The Fire and Revolution meet for the eighth time in 10 years of postseason play Sunday when they open their two-legged series at Gillette Stadium.

Chicago (11-7-12), which hasn't won an MLS title since 1998, clinched its 11th playoff berth in its 12 seasons with a 1-0 win over Chivas USA on Oct. 22. Blanco helped secure the second seed in the East in the Fire's regular-season finale when his corner kick in the 67th minute was headed into the back of the net by a defender for an own goal.

A week later, Blanco announced that he signed with Veracruz of Mexico's second division, and will join the club in January once his contract with the Fire expires. The 36-year-old forward, who has five goals and a team-leading eight assists, played for Veracruz in 2004 and is looking to make Mexico's roster for next summer's World Cup in South Africa.

"We respect his desire to continue playing in Mexico during the MLS offseason and continue preparing for the 2010 World Cup, which is a top priority for him," Fire technical director Frank Klopas said in a statement. "We will continue our dialogue with his agent regarding Blanco playing for the Fire in the second half of the 2010 season and beyond."

Blanco is also looking to overcome a nagging hamstring injury that has limited him to 48 total minutes as a substitute over the last two games, including a scoreless tie at New England (11-10-9) on Oct. 17.

The Fire and Revolution also played to a 1-all tie at Chicago on May 9 in the other MLS season matchup. However, Blanco had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory at Gillette during the group stage of SuperLiga on July 15.

Chicago beat New England 3-0 on aggregate during last year's East semifinals, and the teams have met during seven of the last nine postseasons in heated matchups that have spurred one of the most intense rivalries in MLS.

The Revolution have won four of the playoff meetings.

"It is always a fierce battle," Fire midfielder Logan Pause told the club's official Web site. "We have a rich history with them, and usually the games have meant the winner is going to go on to the final or conference final. Both teams are extremely competitive and want to win. They enjoy and hate playing each other."

The Revs secured their eighth playoff appearance in a row - and another matchup with the Fire - by winning 1-0 at Columbus on the final day of the regular season last Sunday. Jeff Larentowicz's first goal of the season helped clinch the third seed in the East, a day after a number of wild scenarios fell New England's way and led to four other clubs dropping from contention.

"It's just going to be a battle," defender Darrius Barnes said. "It's going to be a fight every game. We have to know going into the game that we have to scratch and claw for every inch."

The Revolution's 33 goals make them the lowest scoring team of the eight in the playoffs. They were outscored 3-2 while going 1-2-2 to end the regular season.

The teams will conclude this series at Toyota Park on Saturday with the winner facing either Columbus or Salt Lake in the conference final the following week.