CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 6, 2023

Rafael Czichos

Press Conference

Nashville 3, Chicago Fire FC 0

Q. First, how are you feeling? I know it's early but are you optimistic about being available for Tuesday?

RAFAEL CZICHOS: I hope so. That was the reason I didn't went out so early. I felt kind of tightness in the muscle, and yeah, I didn't want to make it worse. So that was the reason I didn't gave the sign for substitution.

Q. Wondering, as the captain of the team, what are some ways that the leaders of the group can help step up to help turn things around in the midst of a winless streak at the moment?

RAFAEL CZICHOS: Yeah, first of all, we have to forget this evening as fast as possible. Today, we are allowed to be frustrated, but from tomorrow on, we have to keep our heads up and have to focus on on Tuesday. It's going to be a very important game. Everyone knows it in our team, and everyone will focus on it from tomorrow on.

So I think that we know that we have been showing way better performances than today. Yeah, of course, today was like from the beginning, one of our worst games so far.

But we know that we are able to play better, and that's what we want to show on Tuesday.

Q. Curious about how the locker room was after the match, I'm not sure if you were in the training room or not, but what was the message around the team, and what was the energy after a performance that you just said we're all better off forgetting soon?

RAFAEL CZICHOS: Yeah, it's very silent. Like I said, everyone is disappointed about the performance today. But like I said before, we have a game in three days already, so there's no time to keep being frustrated, and yeah, that's what we are focusing on on Tuesday, and I think the coaches will prepare us for St. Louis and then we want to show a completely different performance.

Q. Looking ahead to Tuesday and the Open Cup match, I know it's not the first Open Cup match you guys have played this season, but what has Ezra said to the team about how important this competition is to this club considering its history?

RAFAEL CZICHOS: Yeah, everyone knows that the club has a very good history in the Open Cup, and it's a very important competition for us. We want to win it. It's only like five more games I think. So it's a good chance to bring a title home and to qualify for the Concacaf. That's what we want and what we are working for.