CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 11, 2021

Gaston Gimenez

Press Conference

Q. Thanks for making time this afternoon. We saw this with Frankie before he left, we're seeing with you, too, where a guy comes back from a major international tournament and really starts playing at a higher level for his club. What explains that? Why is that something that happens?

GASTÓN GIMÉNEZ: I don't know, honestly I really don't know. I don't have a response for that question. I just know that when we're with our national teams we try to do the best we can with our national teams and then we come back and we have to go in right away to be with our club's team.

It's a quick turnaround and something we want to get in there because our national teams need it when we get there with them and our clubs need us when we come back, so it's really just a matter of adapting quickly and being where we are to help our team out.

Q. Have you played against Federico Navarro in Argentina, and if so, what can you tell us about him?

GASTÓN GIMÉNEZ: Yes, I know him from watching him play a lot. He's younger. And I still watch a lot of football from Argentina. I watched him play and know that he's a player who is very aggressive, very physical. I think he's going to bring a ton to our team. So we are here waiting for him to join us and hopefully he will adapt quickly and help our team do things the right way.

So yeah, I do know him and I'm well aware of him and hopefully we are waiting for him to get here as quick as possible.

Q. There seems to be some newfound stability defensively and I've attributed that to a change in formation to three defenders at the back, and I spoke to Rapha last weekend about it and he said it's brought some stability to your team. Wondering if you agree with that, and maybe if you can add any more reason to why this three-at-the-back formation has been working so well for you?

GASTÓN GIMÉNEZ: Yes, we have found that stability defensively since we changed the formation. I agree with you on that. I think this has helped us create for of a balance, more stability. We're more compact when it's time to defend, so our lines are much more together and that makes it more difficult for our opponents to attack against us and to be able to get off shot and shoot and score against us.

It doesn't mean that they are never going to create opportunities. It just means that we're more balanced there and ready and that helps us, also, when we are balanced and able to go forward in the attack so that we can also create opportunities on the attacking end.

So having that kind of balance and that equilibrium helps us keep the score against us at zero and helps us keep a clean sheet as much as possible throughout the games.

So it's something that has helped us a lot and helps us also when we are getting forward and going toward attack.

Q. A player like Federico, you mentioned he's aggressive and physical and he's a midfielder that's going to be more defensive-first. Does that help you and players like Alvaro, Luka, be able to think a little bit less about defense, especially when you guys are in possession when you have a player in midfield who you know is going to be defense first?

GASTÓN GIMÉNEZ: I just want to clarify that he plays the ball really well. I highlighted his physical abilities because he is a player that is very physical and aggressive and he plays really well. He has very good tactical abilities, as well. Yeah, it's always good to have a player like that who can do that work so it frees me up to be able to create and kind of go forward a little bit and create more chances, but he is fully capable of having possession and of helping us keep possession.

The most important thing is that he comes and adapts to the team and to the League and to help us so that he can help us keep growing. So the adapting will be really important because we need everybody on this team to keep moving forward and keep growing, so the people who come can help us grow by adapting and doing well individually, always thinking about the betterment of the team.