CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 6, 2022

Federico Navarro

Press Conference

Q. As the season began you had to start on the bench because you were recovering from an injury. How hard was it watching your teammates when you couldn't be out there as much as they could and how happy were you to be back fully last week?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: As you said at the beginning, it was a little bit difficult because I missed a little bit of the end of preseason, which is so important for a player so that I could be well physically and be well with the team.

And so I was very happy with the way the team was playing but I was never -- I was always hungry to be out there and to be playing again. I always had the desire to be out there.

That said, there wasn't any time for any sort of lamentation or regret. I had to be working at 100 percent so that I could be at the maximum -- at my maximum effort and to be ready and available for my teammates and for the coaching staff.

Q. What do you think has made this team so stingy defensively?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: I think it's because of the work that we've been doing since the beginning of preseason. The goal has been very clear to defend at our maximum effort to go for every ball and to not let them score. That work that we have been doing and we are going to continue doing, I think you are seeing the fruits of it now on game day.

Q. Ezra praised your performance against Dallas last weekend. Just wondering how you felt coming out of your first 90-minute shift of season last weekend.

FEDERICO NAVARRO: I feel really good. I felt really good. I was truly very happy for being able to finish out the game strong despite not having played for 90 minutes in a long time. I you just have to keep working hard and to be able to be available for your team and for your coaching staff.

So I'm going to keep working hard and there's always room for improvement. I always have to keep working hard to move forward and keep improving. I'm going to try to take advantage of being able to play as much as I can.

Q. Your teammate, Gastón Giménez, always praises your work on the wing defensively and offensively. What is it like to play with Gastón, how do you feel about playing with him and your thoughts overall on the team's effort, their defensive work throughout the season in which they are five games in undefeated.

FEDERICO NAVARRO: Playing with Gastón for me, and I think for anybody, is very easy because of his quality, the quality that he has. Anything that you do well is highlighted when you play with him just because of the kind of player that he is. So the praises are all for him, and as I mentioned before, it's just the work of the team, the hard work that we've been doing from the very beginning and that we continue to do is really showing out on the field. So hopefully we can keep demonstrating that work and that effort game by game and I think that we are on a good path.

Q. You guys were without Czichos for the entire match Saturday and for most of the match without Shaq, and that could be the case again Saturday. How much does that change things for you guys, and how hard is it to go without them for not just one match but possibly not have one or both of them again this week?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: I think that the team has to prepare itself, we have to prepare ourselves for these types of situations and these types of moments because this is football, and it's inevitable that these things will happen or do happen.

Especially with having a player like Rafa, he's a big part of our back line, and Shaqiri, who is honestly a very important player, both of them are players that are very important to the team. We miss them without there but the team is going to know and is going to be able to move beyond that, and be able to surpass any sort of adversity that we might face.

We really hope that they will be back and that we'll be able to count on them for the upcoming game because as I said, Rafa and Shaq are very important and we need them. They are key players of our team but the team is going to get together and we are going to be able to surpass this.

Q. What is the competitive relationship like with Mauricio and Gastón in that defensive midfield position, and how have you both complemented each other's skill sets and worked alongside each other to make each other better this season?

FEDERICO NAVARRO: I will always say that there is no competition that is as healthy as the one we have amongst ourselves. We are always happy for each other if someone plays well and if someone has a good game and if someone does things correctly, and we are here to support each other, and also to compete against each other so that we can continue to grow.

So yeah, it's something that's very healthy and it's very good and it's really going to be able to help us improve individually throughout the year.