CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 13, 2024

Chris Brady

Press Conference

Q. Through three games, how would you evaluate the performance of the team, and do you feel like the results have been -- you know, have the results really justified the performances of the team?

CHRIS BRADY: I think each game we've grown a little bit. Obviously with the first few games being ones where you try and build chemistry as best you can, but no, I would say that the scores themselves haven't been representative of the efforts and the outcome of what we've put out on the field.

I know that there's a lot of people talking about the actual points we've gotten away from those three games, but I will say that I have seen growth, the coaches have seen growth, and us as players have seen growth in the chemistry, effort, and tactically and technically what we are trying to do on the field.

I would say they have not been very representative of how we feel we've been doing but sometimes that's just the game of soccer, you know.

Q. You say you're seeing progress, 1.9, sure, I'll bring that up, of course. But are you seeing frustration from your teammates? Are you seeing motivation from them based on these results? How has the response been?

CHRIS BRADY: After each game, it's a little bit of frustration, as you can imagine, and I'm sure as some fans are feeling, as well that scores haven't gone our way. But that frustration, like I said, quickly turns no motivation when we get right back into the work week.

Looking forward to Montréal. We're quite eager to get back out there and reclaim three points on our home turf. So yeah, it's definitely replaced with motivation pretty quickly. I know, like I said, everybody is eager and everybody is anxious to get back out on the field and prove what we should have proved these last three games, which is that we're a team that gets three points every game.

Q. I wanted to ask, there's been a lot of discussion about Ryan Needs coming in as the set piece coach this season. On the defensive set piece side of things, for you as a goalkeeper, your role, and the way you look at those situations and approach them changed at all?

CHRIS BRADY: He's asked me to be a little bit more vocal about things. Being a little bit more of a leader back there when it comes to those defensive set pieces. I really like Ryan and I know the rest of the group does, as well, because he's very clear in the way he would like to do things, especially with the system he's come in and implemented this season.

In the last few years, it has not been as clear but having a specific set piece coach always helps. I know right from the get-go, first week of preseason, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and not change him for anybody. I think that's something we all really appreciate, especially when things don't go our way, or do go our way, not switching it up and making sure that the system stays the same and that everybody is familiar with it.

So we are all very happy with it. Like I said, he's asked me to be a little bit more of a leader, a little bit more vocal but it also takes a little bit more film work, a little bit more studying, especially with different opponents every week.

So that's something I do with him, working just to see tendencies that people will do on their attacking set pieces, things we need to look out for, and just things I need to remind our defense of going into each different type of set piece that we might face throughout the game.

Q. The Olympics are coming up later this year over the summer. I know there's a camp next week that you're probably not going to be at. How do you feel about that tournament, and is that a team you want to be involved with?

CHRIS BRADY: The Olympics, you mean? Are you talking about that tournament?

Q. Yeah.

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, obviously if I can go, I'd love to go. I'd love to represent my country. That's everybody's dream is to become an Olympian. But as I've said earlier in past interviews, that's kind of up to the coaches and up to the national team and their decisions.

So if I do get called in and I am able to go, I'll represent the City of Chicago the best I can. If I don't, I know we have Leagues Cup and a couple more games to play during that time frame. You know, get some points.

Q. Just a little bit off-topic a little bit, this game Saturday is an afternoon game, which is a very rare thing now in MLS. Is that something that you would prefer? And also, last year, I think you guys had one, maybe two afternoon games. How much does it kind of mess with your circadian rhythm and how do you adjust when you play an afternoon game, considering that all the other games are 6:30 or 7:30 at night?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, I personally prefer the earlier games, the afternoon games. I know we don't have many throughout the season because almost all of our games are played at that 6:30, 7:30 time slot. I've grown kind of used to it, and something I have to do then for those games is just kill a lot of time through the day waiting to go to the stadium.

Yeah, for those early games, I think the benefit is maybe you wake up, have breakfast and you get to go. There's no time a wasting. There's no waiting to see how the day might end up.

So yeah, there's no time-killing. There's just wake up, breakfast, head to the stadium, play a game and you've still got the rest of your game.

I personally like that. Some guys like the night games better, especially I know the ones coming from Europe, they prefer the later games because I think that's what they are used to.

But yeah, I'm game for whatever, though, you know.

Q. Curious, you've had a couple different defensive pairings in front of you, Tobias, Rafa Mauricio, Andrew getting injured and are Arigoni coming in the lineup. How has the need to be more vocal been with adjusting to new defenders and new center backs, new outside backs, nothing that's easy in the short term?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, it's important, but I'd say it becomes increasingly obvious that these guys that you just mentioned have made it really easy on me. They are very big on communication. So they are opening to listening to things, and they are very clear if they need to tell me something that they would like to change.

Obviously like communication is a big component of the game. But it helps having defenders in front of you who are willing to talk with you rather than talk at you or not listen.

So I mean, yeah, like you said with Toby, Mauricio, Alan, Gutman, Chase, Wyatt, Rafa, whoever is in there, I know that they are, one, going to give a hundred percent, and two, they are very clear in the way they want to do things. They are very communicative, and they are social about how they feel, which is something I appreciate. Because a lot of times new get defenders who are kind of quiet, it doesn't help that you don't know how they feel about certain things. That's not something I have to worry about.

Yeah, it just makes my job a little bit easier. But communication is always massive.

Q. And Terán is always the quiet one, I assume.

CHRIS BRADY: He's very loud.

Q. Obviously you would like to go to the Olympics, but maybe a year and a half ago, it was you and Gaga were the two names who were splitting all those minutes for those U-23 teams and this last weekend you get to match up with a guy like Patrick Schulte and that group has grown over the last year and a half of guys vying for that spot. What kind of motivation is that when you see that there really are guys everywhere now getting --

CHRIS BRADY: Like you said, a year and a half ago, there weren't many guys in that goalkeeper pool. But for me, it's just added competition, and you get that extra chip on your shoulder, especially when playing league games against guys like Patrick. Great guy. He's one that definitely pushes me to play at my best.

Like you said, when Gaga was still here, pushed me a lot. John Pulskamp who has been in the pool, whenever I get to touch base with him, I know we will during Leagues Cup if I play; he's one who is definitely pushing me to be the best goalkeeper I can be.

So yeah, those are just a few examples of guys who push me. It's just added competition, really. Just increases the level of competitiveness within me.