CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2020

Raphael Wicky

Press Conference

Nashville SC 1, Chicago Fire 1

Q. I've got two for you and they are a little bit different from each other. I guess the first one tonight, you guys I thought controlled play for most of the second half, but still came away with just the point. Is it encouraging the way you played, or frustrating that you couldn't get three? And then the second part, the second question is looks like the game with Minnesota on Wednesday is once again in question because they had their game postponed because of COVID for tomorrow. Is there anything the league can do or you would like to see the league do to avoid possibly repeating what happened the last time you guys went up to Minnesota, traveling for a game that wasn't played? Is there anything that you would like to see done to make sure you don't have a lost day one way or another?

RAPHAEL WICKY: To your first question, I'm proud of the reaction of the guys, we are in a very difficult place here, as we all know, National is a team that defends very well and doesn't concede a lot of chances; if you look over the whole season, who doesn't concede a lot of goals.

And we came back, which is not easy against them, coming back away; we did, and a good reaction from the team. And then a totally dominant second half with moments with hitting the post, and actually being quite good, organized, for not running into counterattack. Of course they had one or two opportunities or moments when they counterattack, and that's normal when you play against a team who is sitting that low that at one point maybe have a counterattack. We actually did well in that.

I'm happy with what I see from my team and I'm happy with the progress over the last two and a half, three months, the team, I'm very happy with that. That gives me a very positive feeling for the future whatever happens.

But I'm frustrated that we cannot win these games because we came here to win. I mean, a lot of these games in the last two months, two and a half months, were there for us to win, as well. Yeah, that's frustrating, but on the other side, like I said, I'm very happy with a lot of things I see from the team.

And your second question?

Q. Just Wednesday night, I don't know if you saw Minnesota's game for tomorrow was postponed because of a couple positive COVID tests for them. You're supposed to play there Wednesday. Is there anything could you like to see done to avoid the possibility of a repeat the last time you up to Minnesota?

RAPHAEL WICKY: Well, of course, I mean, we could like to know before obviously. Obviously this time -- I don't have all the details on how many cases and when the cases came out. So I think now maybe the league or the teams have more time to prepare and to analyze what the situation in Minnesota is, and hopefully we can get an answer by Monday or latest by Tuesday morning so that we can also prepare our week of training and not lose -- like last time, not fly up there and then have a last-minute cancellation.

But on the other side, look, it's not in our control. Everyone tries to do the best they can. Everyone tries to keep people safe, and so we trust the league, and yeah, hopefully we get a result and we get an answer sooner than later.

Q. With so much at stake this upcoming week, whether that matchup with Minnesota is still on or not, are you approaching this week as something of a referendum on your season, something that will define whether the first season for you and for the team was a success or not?

RAPHAEL WICKY: No, not really. Of course we all want to make the playoffs. We believe that we can make the playoffs. I see the progress. I see the progress and the process of this team, and I see a lot of progress, like I said.

I see it in every single game. I saw since we started against Columbus after the Orlando tournament, I see a huge, a huge progress on this team, and that is what -- that's what gives me the feeling, that's what I take and that's what I want to see, and then of course, we are all a competitor. We all want to win. We all want to qualify and play for a title and play for a trophy or something.

But it shouldn't be -- the two last games shouldn't define if this was a good first year or bad first year. It's honestly the way we play, what we do, how the team progresses, and that's something which right now gives me a lot of positive feelings. But we know that we want to transform that into winning. That's the step we need to work on.

Q. We all know very well at this point that you don't like to worry about things that aren't in your control, but with that said, there are a bunch of games tomorrow that can help or hurt you. Will you be scoreboard watching or will you put that out of your mind and wait and see what happens?

RAPHAEL WICKY: Of course, we are watching. Of course we want to go into the playoffs. We know that certain results would help us to be in a better position.

So I think that's human. We never wish anyone bad, but of course if a team who is competing with us doesn't win or loses, we are not going to cry. But in the end of the day, again, that's out of our control, and I said it a lot in the last week to my team and to my staff: We can always look at the others, but we have to win our game.

So we are going to watch these games and by the end of the day, if we have one or two games left, we're going to make our points. That's more important. That's what we can actually -- what we can work for and what we can control more than the other.