CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 4, 2021

Carlos Teran

Press Conference

Q. We got to see a little bit of you last season and what you can do on the field but what should fans expect to see from you this season?

CARLOS TERÁN: Yeah, last year I had a few months -- well, actually it was more like a few days to join the team and get in with the rhythm of the team so this year, I was able to start from the beginning, do the full preseason, the full year with the team, and I just am going to give it my all and do my best every day to make the team better and go day-by-day and just prepare and getting better.

Q. With so many center backs on the team this year, what is the competition for places like, and what can you learn from some of the more veteran guys like Francisco Calvo and Johan Kappelhof?

CARLOS TERÁN: Well, here we are a team. It's a healthy competition, and I with the more experienced players, I make them better and they make me better. So we just try to come in and learn as much as we can. With Calvo and Johan, we have to learn and take everything they have to teach because they are experienced players, and we have a lot to learn from them so that we can make the whole team even better.

Q. Thanks for making some time for us today. There's always talk about first players were young coming to MLS who have to adjust to some of the challenges of the league, all the time zones, elevation, weather, all of that. I know you were here a little bit at the end of last season but how do you anticipate dealing with all of those challenges for a full season this year?

CARLOS TERÁN: That's part of this year. Every place is different, that's different stadiums, different cities, different climates, different field surfaces and that's why we work hard every day so that we can go and face this and give the best of ourselves whenever possible.

Q. This group of young defenders keeps growing with you, Espinoza, Navarro, Pineda, Andre, Nicholas Slonina, all under 23. There's been this focus by the club in bringing in young defenders, particularly from South America. How would you describe, you know, the environment of all you guys working together as a group of young defenders, particularly with so many guys who speak Spanish?

CARLOS TERÁN: It's a great environment here at the Fire. There are a lot of young players, and with that group it's just a great environment. We get along really well, even with players like Nick Slonina who speaks Polish, he speaks Spanish very well, and Andre Reynolds, we get along really well and we understand each other very well and we support each other a lot. We are just trying to make ourselves and each other better and go in every day so that we can make the group better.

Q. I'd like to ask about your brief experience playing after you arrived last season, but more focused on the field, but what did you learn from your two brief appearances about the level of play in the MLS and what it might take to succeed in this league going forward.

CARLOS TERÁN: I learned that it's a very competitive league and it really makes you grow, both in terms of maturity and on the sporting side of things. You have to really be up to speed and be up to par so that you can compete at this level and just keep working hard so you can be at this same level and put in good work and compete day-to-day.