CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 1, 2020

Alvaro Medran

Press Conference

Q. I guess first of all, there's been some inconsistency with this team from one game to the next. Where does that come from and how does the group fix that?

ALVARO MEDRAN: We looked at the mistakes and it looks like it's just a couple of concentration errors. We gave them a little bit of time and space. The first few minutes weren't good against New York City, which is the opposite against Cincinnati where we had within ten minutes, we started off well and we had the goals in.

I think against New York City we started off well, but in a couple moment where is we relaxed, we had their goal and it was easier for them, so I think on our part, it's just moments of where we lack a little bit of concentration and that's something we can fix. We can go back and work together and just be more focused and concentrated and that's how we can go ahead and resolve that.

Q. You're playing Cincinnati for the second time in a few days. Do you expect the game to be very different? Do you still expect Cincinnati to sit in that low block when you play them?

ALVARO MEDRAN: We've definitely seen them play in the last couple games where they stay in that 5-3-2. I think it's probably going to be very similar but they know us well, as well. So it's going to be very tough, very competitive game, especially going in with their -- the grass. That's probably going to be an advantage, as well.

So we are going to go in there and try to do the same thing we did last game, which is going and start strong and score goals. It's going to be very competitive because of the grass, but we are going to go in and try to do the same thing we did before, score goals and come back with the three points.

Q. With so many games coming so quickly, how are you holding up? How are you handling the number of games, and how prepared are you guys knowing that Rafa will probably have to rotate a few guys in and out of the team with so many games?

ALVARO MEDRAN: The changing of players is a coaching decision, but we all know that whoever is playing is trying to do the best that they can, whether the person who is playing is doing the best that they can on the field and the person who is not playing when they get in to play, they are doing the best they can. Me for example, I have been playing a lot but I have confidence that the person who is going to go in for me is going to do the best that they can on the field when they go and that's how you have a competitive team.

As far as the games and how we're feeling, we're doing okay. Against Columbus, we ended up a little bit tired, that one was probably the worst but that was the first game in about a month. So now we are adapting to the rhythm. The coaching staff has done a good job of taking care of us and getting us ready. We are getting into a rhythm of games and when we go out to play, we feel like we have fresh legs. So they are doing a good job taking care of us and it's just a matter of getting back into the rhythm of games.

Q. How difficult has it been to -- how difficult has this year been given all the stop and go? Have people maybe forgotten that you guys are people as well as soccer players with the stopping and starting and protests and here we are talking about how things have been inconsistent?

ALVARO MEDRAN: Well, it's been a difficult year, a strange year for the whole world, and yeah, we are a new team. We have to remember we are a new team. We have a new owner that came in, Joe. There's a new coaching staff and Djordje and Gaston came in. What we need is time and what we haven't had this year is time.

We need a little bit more time to transition, but we are getting better and we are working harder as the year goes on and I think from here until the end of the year, we are going to show we are going to be very competitive. We are a good group and it's a good group of guys and it's going to be very competitive as we build on from here to the end of the year.

Q. Just to sort of continue on that point, and something that Rafa mentioned earlier, you guys do have a lot of games, but how much does that help you guys to get to know each other considering all the stop starts of this season?

ALVARO MEDRAN: It's been a little bit complicated. We had a preseason, and then we played three games and then we were stopped for three months and then we had another preseason, we played three games in Orlando and then we were stopped again so there have been a lot of preseasons and not a lot of games, not a lot of competition, but what that has helped with is getting to know our teammates better, so we do need more time to get to know each other better on the field, but I think like as I said before, in the long run we're going to see a better team.

We're going to slowly get to our optimal level and we're going to little by little keep getting better in the field. Yeah, we've seen that there are some mistakes that we've made but they are easy to fix, so we're going to fix them and keep going and just keep progressing and developing as the season goes on.