With Fire supporters set to celebrate the club’s 20th anniversary on Sunday, now is a good time to take a look back at the team’s best players over the course of its history. The success of the inaugural squad in 1998 made it a certainty that many of those players would pepper the list of the 20 best.

Filling out a list of only 20 is sure to leave out some names, but overall contributions on and off the field were taken into consideration when trying to narrow it down. Length of service negated some, such as Arne Friedrich, who was phenomenal for one season before re-injuring his back and being forced into retirement. On the other hand, Logan Pause’s tenure with the team made him a difficult cut.

Players on the current squad that might be eligible for consideration were excluded as the year isn’t quite complete yet.

Here it goes…

20. Patrick Nyarko – From 2008-2015 Nyarko was one of the few consistently dangerous players on the Fire roster. As a young player on the 08-09 teams he wasn’t a regular, but his ability to beat defenders on the outside was evident. He played on some less than successful squads after that but still managed to finish his Fire career with 23 goals and 43 assists.

19. Roman Kosecki – Played for the Fire in the 1998-99 seasons and scored 15 goals and 20 assists in 58 appearances across all competitions. Along with Piotr Nowak and Jerzy Podbrozny, the Fire’s Polish trio made the Fire an instant contender in the first year of existence.

18. Diego Gutierrez – A defender and defensive midfielder who was part of the ’98 team, Gutierrez enjoyed two stints with the Fire. Scored his first professional goal in the MLS Cup Final and appeared in 197 contests across all competitions. Finished his career fourth on the Fire’s all-time assist list with 30.

17. Damani Ralph – In two electrifying seasons with the Fire, Ralph set himself up for a career in Europe that was ultimately cut short by serious knee injuries. During the 2003-2004 seasons he racked up 22 goals in 51 games and won the MLS Rookie of the Year award by setting the mark for goals by a first year player (11). Scored the game winning goal in the 2003 U.S. Open Cup Final.

16. Chris Rolfe – An immensely talented offensive player, Rolfe never quite put up huge numbers due to injury but his tactical ability was clear in two stints with the club. Scored 48 league goals for the Fire and was part of the last trophy-winning side in 2006.

15. Gonzalo Segares – One of the top left backs in MLS during his prime. Segares’ commitment to the club on and off the field was evident whether he was backing up teammates with a hard tackle or restructuring his contracts to allow the Fire to rework budgets.

14. Josh Wolff – A Fire player from 1998 to 2002, Wolff found some time as a youngster who could provide a spark offensively and scored 32 times despite not being an automatic starter in his first three seasons. Went to success with Kansas City but he was one of the many capable weapons of the early Fire teams.

13. DaMarcus Beasley – Played five seasons for the Fire (2000-2004) and made an impact from the left-wing while working his way into becoming a regular on the USMNT. He was named to the MLS Best XI in 2003 and was part of two U.S. Open Cup winning sides.

12. Jesse Marsch – As a regular starter from 1998 until 2005, Marsch filled a spot as a role player early on and helped the Fire to five trophies in that period. Describing him as a “role player” might be considered a disservice by some, but Marsch was one of those players who did the unseen work allowing those early Fire teams to succeed.

11. Frank Klopas – If Piotr Nowak is “Mr. Fire”, Klopas is “Mr. Chicago Soccer”. As a link between the days of the Chicago Sting and current pro soccer in the City, Klopas finished his playing days with the Fire and cemented himself into legendary status with his game-winning goal in the 1998 U.S. Open Cup Final.

10. Jerzy Podbrozny – Played two seasons with the Fire (98-99) but scored 10 goals and added 22 assists in that brief time. Podbrozny’s contributions to that first Fire side are often overshadowed by his more high-profile teammates but he shouldn’t be overlooked as often as he is.

9. Carlos Bocanegra – After winning the MLS Defender of the Year award consecutively in 2002 and 2003, Bocanegra left the Fire and became a stalwart for the USMNT. He was named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2000 and was part of the ’03 US Open Cup winning team.

8. Zach Thornton – Easily the top goalkeeper in Fire history with one MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award to his name in 1998 and a participant in five team trophies over eight seasons with the club. No other keeper has come close to his accomplishments.

7. Lubos Kubik – Arguably the best two-way defender in Fire history. Kubik won the MLS Defender of the Year in 1998 while the Fire went on to win the “double”. Played three seasons with the Fire before ending his career after one injury-plagued year at Dallas but his contributions to the club from the back may never be duplicated.

6. Hristo Stoichkov – He joined the Fire just six seasons after winning the Ballon D’or in 1994 and was part of the 2000 Supporters Shield winning side that lost the MLS Cup Final. Some consider that team to be the strongest Fire side ever and Stoichkov’s amazing combination of creative ability and power plays a big part in lending credence to that belief.

5. Cuauhtemoc Blanco – Only played 2 1/2 seasons with the Fire but his presence, unique style and competitiveness brought the team back from a short period of darkness following the departure of several club legends. Upon his arrival in 2007, Blanco immediately turned a bad team into a playoff contender and personified the club’s evolution in the next phase of MLS. He didn’t win a trophy but his impact is still felt. His goal against New England in the 2009 playoffs opened the door for a generation of new Fire fans. One of the great “villains” in MLS history despite his relatively short stay.

4. CJ Brown – As the original Fire player, he justified being the Fire’s first overall selection in the 1998 Supplemental Draft by finishing his 13-year career as the club’s leader in games played with 372 appearances in all competitions, starts, and minutes played. Along with the next name on this list, Brown was a member of every trophy-winning Fire side. His no-nonsense approach and toughness on the field endeared him to supporters and led to his Ring of Fire induction in 2012.

3. Chris Armas – Had it not been for an ACL injury that caused him to miss the 2002 World Cup, Armas might be a USMNT legend as well as one of the most respected Fire players ever. He was involved in every trophy that the club has won and was named to MLS’ Best XI in his first four seasons with the Fire. After the departure of the ’98 team’s veteran leadership, Armas became the torch-bearer for Tradition, Honor, and Passion in setting an example for the next generation of players. He retired following the 2007 season.

2. Ante Razov – The Fire’s all-time leading goal scorer found the back of the net 95 times in seven seasons. He held the club’s single season goal record for 17 years before Nemanja Nikolic eclipsed his 18 goal tally established in 2000, just recently. Razov was not only an important player on the ’98 team, but he was also key to three U.S. Open Cup wins and the team’s lone Supporter’s Shield trophy.

1. Piotr Nowak – There should be little debate about the individual at the top of this list. Nowak was the engine that powered the early success of the Fire. Without him, the club’s tradition of winning would have taken a decidedly different path as he helped immediately establish the Fire as a contender for trophies in MLS. The team’s first captain won MLS Cup while being named as MVP of the game and the U.S. Open Cup twice. In five seasons with the Fire, he scored 26 goals and assisted 48 times before being named as the first inductee into the Ring of Fire.

(Top photo: Jonathan Daniel/ALLSPORT)