CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 28, 2023

Fabian Herbers

Press Conference

Q. Curious your thoughts on your -- both the team's recent spell of success and your recent spell of success scoring two and two, playing that winger position on the right with Maren being out and just kind of how you're feeling overall at this point of the season.

FABIAN HERBERS: Yeah, I think we had two good team performances on the road. I think that's what it takes to win on the road in MLS. It's never easy to go on the road. We know our record historically. It's always, yeah, difficult to go away, time zones, the heat, change of climate and everything, but I think the team stuck well together overall, and myself, stepping in with Maren being out with the small injury that he had, yeah, you know, I always come in and try to do the best for the team and try to give my best to come through my work, give it everything and then try to be in the right spots at the right time and yeah, fortunately it worked out a few times, you know, these past two games and I'm happy to get on the score sheet and obviously to help the team get those two wins.

Q. In terms of getting those goals, I'd call those right place, right time, which is really just positions, right, it's knowing where to be at the right time and executing. I'm curious just the mentality that goes into that and the way you stay calm in those situations because it's such a quick reaction, right?

FABIAN HERBERS: That's correct. Both were probably similar goals. The first one was a nice cross in the back of the defense from Guti, where I just ran nicely into it and at that point, you just have to make sure you get it on frame and you don't really try to aim for any pocket, left or right, you just try to get it in frame and not have one of those YouTube clips where you hit it right over from close range or left or right of the goal.

That's what I did with the second one as well. It was more a lucky bounce, I want to say because it was a cross from Jairo that was defended on the goal line there, so it came back to me bouncing and you know, there, as well, you just try and hit it low, hit it on target and you know, luckily it went in. You know, I didn't hit a defender, I didn't hit the goalkeeper, so I think any other player that would have been there, you know, I would have tried to do the same but there was just -- yeah, the lucky bounce that I got and happy it was me at the time and happy I could help the team.

Q. I recently asked Frank, the chemistry that Alonzo and Jairo Torres have on the field, when they have the opportunity, with the national duties of Miguel and Shaqiri, how is the chemistry when those two players come in and play, because they have been playing for the past three games?

FABIAN HERBERS: Yeah, I think both Alonzo and Jairo Torres were guys that haven't gotten a lot of minutes from the starting 11 this season. I think, you know, at those times when there's international duties, when there's injuries occurring on the team, you depend on your depth, and I think both players, Alonso and Jairo, they developed a good chemistry on that side. I think they contributed really well to the team, I think Jairo, especially, got unlucky, especially in the first game against Portland where he had two great chances, couldn't finish it off. But it was great runs that he made behind the line and then those type of runs stretched the defense and those type of runs helped us out to create space in the middle for our midfielders to play as well. Both had really good games and contributed nicely to the team performance and to those two wins as well.

Q. What's been the key to the success in your recent games with the team, what's helped to you succeed so far?

FABIAN HERBERS: I think the main part was staying together in those two road games. We had a really tough loss against Columbus in the home game in the last minute where they scored the last goal from a very wide range, and you know, then it's just about sticking together in hard times. In hard times it shows the character of the team and despite not having the best season obviously, it does show that the team does have character and that we do know how to fight and stick together in those tough times and we still can come out with wins on the road.

So that should give us hope for the last spell here for the last 15 games to try to do everything to get into the playoff spot. We're still battling for points. We still have to make up points to get over the line but I think those two games are really a statement that we don't give up and that we want to keep pushing for the rest of the seasons.

Q. As a player and for the team, those results, how do you guys use that momentum to push yourself off the playoff line?

FABIAN HERBERS: It's a very binary sport, I want to say. The results, at least, are very binary. You either win or lose. I mean, obviously there's a tie as well but I feel like especially in the beginning of the season when you've had really, really good performances as a team, but we didn't end up winning those games, you know, which was really disappointing. So now to see that we can't stick together and the results can bounce our way because sometimes there's a little bit of luck involved, as well, you know, where you just have the right bounces just as I had in my -- when I scored those two goals, you know, in a different game, maybe the goalie makes a save and as you get countered on and then they score and you lose the game.

It's a fine line in those games and it really helps the morale of the team, especially at this point of the season where the first kind of, I don't want to call it hype, but the excitement of the first games of the season is gone and now you kind of get in the rhythm, playing week-in, week-out, sometimes three games a week, and it's really important that those results bounced our way, and I think it gives us a push and like you said, the momentum, hopefully to go forward and have more of those results bouncing our way and you know, collect those points that we need.

Q. Kei was named to the 2023 MLS All-Star Team. Any words for him?

FABIAN HERBERS: Of course, he's a good teammate, on and off the field, great personality, one of a kind for sure, but also fun to play with. I think, you know, the game that he had at Kansas City, I think it was -- even though he didn't score that game, I think he had a really, really good game. He battled for the team until the last minute, always working against the ball, you know, really hard, and even winning headers in our own box helped us defensively a ton. He was a big factor why we won that game as well. He's a really good competitor in the box and obviously in the defensive box, he's a very good goal scorer. You know, he's incredible. His timing is really well, and he's a lot of times at the right time at the right place to score those goals.

So yeah, very deserving, very happy for him. You know, can't believe the guy is 38, but I don't know how he does it. But I will ask him for the secret sauce there so I can go far as well.