CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 3, 2021

Francisco Calvo

Press Conference

Toronto FC 3, Chicago 1

Q. Francisco, just first of all, how are you feeling physically? I know you've been dealing with a thigh issue for a little while.

FRANCISCO CALVO: I feel good. I feel good. I think that physically I feel pretty good. I want to thank all the medical staff here on Chicago Fire and also my physio. We came together and we get the injury out in three weeks. We are expecting a little bit more but it is nice to be on the field again and play with the guys again.

Q. So obviously asking you, the captain, the big question around the team these days: What was your reaction to Coach Wicky losing his job officially Thursday?

FRANCISCO CALVO: It's tough. It's tough to lose a coach, six games away from -- I mean, yeah, six games away in front of us.

But it's football. The locker room is a little bit sad about it but we just wish him all the best in his career and his family, and he's a great person. I don't have anything to say about -- anything bad about Rafa. He's just a great person and a great coach.

Q. When a guy like that loses his job because of performance, how do the players feel about that when they see a coach lose his job because of the performance on the field?

FRANCISCO CALVO: Yeah, of course we need to take responsibility for this, too at the end of the day, sometimes the coach goes first than the players. It's a hard job for them. It's hard work for them. It's how it is. Football is like that, and of course we don't want him to leave. But we need it take responsibility because our performance during the year wasn't good enough.

Q. How do you guys move forward with the rest of the season, five games left. You know the math as well as I do about the playoffs and everything. What are you guys looking for as a team to finish this season?

FRANCISCO CALVO: We need to finish the season with some pride. We know the playoffs are so, so tough good get and we need to be realistic. So we need to play these five games. We don't have nothing -- we don't have anything to lose. We need to go and rye to get on the field, enjoy and try to bring this club some points in the end of the year, and then go home and then just see what's going to happen with the players.

Q. Is there a thought -- you're not the only player in this boat, but guys who have contract options and no contract up for next season. So is there a thought about not trying to impress not just the Fire, but other teams both in this league and other teams across the world?

FRANCISCO CALVO: I can't talk right now about other teams. My job is Chicago Fire right now. So I don't want to talk about any other teams. I'm focusing here and then my future, I will see when the season ends, and the other guy, I'm pretty sure they are going to do the same thing.

Q. And then just playing for Frank Klopas, you guys played for him before a little bit in the season. Does it help at all to have a guy that familiar with the club, at least to kind of help through the rest of this season?

FRANCISCO CALVO: I mean, Frank is a legend in this club. He was a coach before with other clubs. I think he's a great guy. He's a great coach. He knows a lot about football. He has a lot of experience, and we just want to give him results, too. Now he's the guy in charge of the team and he deserves some wins, too.