CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 2, 2022

Federico Navarro

Press Conference

Q. Going into this season what are some things you want to improve on personally as you start your second season with the Fire?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: Yeah, well, now, right now, everything is kind of new. So I'm going to have to adapt to all of the new staff. I think we're all adapting to all the novelties, and we're just adapting to what the staff is asking of us, both in positioning and tactics and everything around the game. So I think as the team gets better, I will improve as well.

Q. I guess a similar question to that is last year you came in after Raphael Wicky, and now Ezra Hendrickson is the head coach. How has it been different under Ezra so far than it was last year under Rafa?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: Yeah. Well, last year I also came in a little bit late, a little bit after the season had already started. So I didn't really have the time to be able to get to know Rafa that well, or at least as well as you had. There wasn't enough time to get to know him with that relationship, the player-coach relationship over the time that I was here. And so now, with this, it's new again, but we've only had two weeks, but they've been really good weeks with some really good work being done. And now with Ezra, I've been able to start from zero, which I think is really good. It's been good for us because I get to know him a little bit better. I get to know what it is that he wants from me, what it is that he's asking from me and what it is he wants us all to do. And so now it's up to me to try to meet his demands.

Q. You mentioned in that last answer how you came into the team late. But you still had a very good season. I'm curious, though, as you enter your first full season with the club, what are your own personal expectations for yourself as you aim to build on that really good first season with the Fire that you had?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: Yeah. Well, I think that somewhere along there maybe I could have given a little bit more and done a little bit more to the games. I really try to be very demanding of myself. And I think that being able to play was really good. I came -- or for any player who leaves their comfort zone to be able to come and play, I think it's really good for them to be able to adapt, speed up the adaptation process. And so as far as what I can improve or what I want to improve, I think I need to slow down the revolutions a little bit. I think I need to understand the game a little bit better and become a better passer, send in some better balls along the lines. So I have that as a personal objective, short-term objective so that I can improve in that aspect.

Q. Speaking of things you want to improve on, how crucial was it to come onto a team and have players like Gastón Giménez and Álvaro Medrán on the team ready and able to help you? First question. Second question, now that you see so many young prospects and so many young stars come to MLS, how much does that ratify your decision to come to the Fire, to come to this league?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: Having Gastón as part of this team was something that really helped me be able to adapt quickly. It's been great. He's a player with a lot of experience, a national team player. And he's -- besides that, he's also a fellow compatriot, so he really helped me so much when I first got here, and he keeps helping me. We have a great relationship on and off the field. So that's something that's been very helpful.

With Álvaro, too, we have a very good relationship, both on and off the field. He helped me a lot. They're both players that have great quality and can play really anywhere they want. So I was really lucky to be able to meet with them at this point in my career and get to know them better.

And for the second question, I think my decision was ratified as the correct decision from the moment I got here. Without really thinking about the other players that are coming from South America to this league, I think this is a great league and it's going to be one of the best ones. So seeing now those other players looking at MLS and coming over, I think it's only going to make the league better and there's going to be great competition.

Q. I know that you already played your first preseason game, and I was just wondering, have you been able to adapt and follow the directions that you've gotten from the new head coach and the new coaching staff and have you been able to adapt and get along with all the new players that have come in? How do you feel? How has it been?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: In reality, it's all been very good. The new players that come in are very good players. They work hard and they come out of training sessions even better than the last one. So it's gone really well. This is new for them, but it's new for us, too, with the new coaching staff. And I do have to reiterate that the coaching staff works really hard, and they work really hard to put everything on the field and so now we just have to go and take their direction and do our best on the field.

Q. What's the mindset in the dressing room among the players about the possibility of getting more new players in? Do you guys feel like you need some more reinforcements to be competitive this season?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: The mentality of the group and in the locker room is always going to be positive, whoever may come. We all feel the same way. We're all synchronized with the same thought process that whether you're able to play or whether you're not able to play, it's always good to have new people come in and you're always trying to be a part of the team and be productive from wherever you are. So whoever comes is very welcome. We're ready for him to join into the club and we're ready for any new players that come so they can add to the team and we all can keep moving forward.