CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 16, 2024

Chris Brady

Press Conference

Q. Obviously been some news in and around the organization. You've been someone involved with U.S. soccer, as well. Curious just your thoughts on Gregg being brought in not only as head coach but director of football.

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, I mean, I'm curious to see how it goes. I've met him a couple times in the past. It's good we brought in someone with such an extensive resume. But yeah, I've only really met him, shoot, when he introduced himself and back with the U-20 national team.

Just really excited to see what's in store.

Q. In terms of being challenged by potentially a new work environment, how excited are you to get a new voice in your head or someone else to push you?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, I mean, I'm super excited for possibly a new play style. It's exciting to try out new things, do things differently. But yeah, for having a coach who's so experienced, like I said, being able to give you his two cents, it's very valuable to me.

Like I said, I'm excited to see what changes might happen next season.

Q. I know the topic of the week is Gregg Berhalter. I know you only had him very briefly in that pre-World Cup U-20 combined camp. I think that's the only time you got to work with him. But with that in mind and maybe conversations you've had with teammates here, U-20 teammates, whatever, what are you expecting is going to be different with him as a head coach?

CHRIS BRADY: I know he's very detail oriented. I know even when he came in, you could kind of tell he's super big into analytics. He reads a lot into just even a personal conversation. Like he's very analytical. He pays attention to all of the little details, and that's something that excites me because I feel like I have similar character traits to that.

Someone like that for me, it just shows he's really on it. Like he really knows what he wants, what he wants to do. He's listening for certain things.

But yeah, that's kind of -- in my interaction with him in that camp, that's kind of what I got from it, and then meeting him again when he came and introduced himself, that's sort of what I got.

Yeah, we'll see.

Q. Over the years, Zack Steffen in Columbus, Matt Turner with the national team, he seems to have a pretty good track record with goalkeepers. They tend to do pretty well under him. Is there anything specific that you think he might be able to help you with after a difficult season this year?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, I know he's big on building out of the back. That's something you saw with his time in the national team and going back to his team in Columbus, so I'm excited to work on that part of my game. Like I said, with Joe's question, it's always good to work on something new.

Yeah, excited to see his preferences with that and the area, I guess, I can grow. Always looking to get better.

Q. A few weeks ago you almost kind of stopped us as we were heading out in the locker room and made sure to shout out Tom Barlow and what a good teammate he's been in training. In your second year as a starter, can you also talk about the relationship that you've had with the other goalkeepers that have been training with the first team?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, so with -- I could start off with Spencer Richey. He's great to have, especially in training sessions in the goalkeeper sessions because he's really good at stopping -- not necessarily stopping a drill, but when a drill is over, he gives his pointers that are always super applicable because obviously he's also a goalkeeper, but he's also very experienced, so he's been through all of it. He's someone that I definitely found myself listening to deeply when he gives recommendations on how to do certain things differently to obviously better my game.

Then with Jeff, he came in with all the experience in Sweden, and he's got a clean side volley on him, so that's something I've been learning from him about, but he's also just a great human being, so that's something I've been taking from him, especially in and around the locker room. I know guys, they love talking to Jeff. He's very friendly, very sociable, and that's something that I've tried to grow my own character and base that off of him.

Yeah, I'm definitely happy with my goalkeeper core right now.

Q. I wanted to ask you about Pochettino. Obviously he's now rebuilding the national team. Has there been any contact or are you paying attention to what's going on there, potentially for any goalkeeping opportunities that may be available? Wondering how you've been monitoring that situation, and has there been any sort of feelers sent out?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, since the Olympics I haven't been reached out to by anybody at U.S. soccer. But like I always do, I pay attention to what's going on at the U-20, U-23 and the senior team levels. Always ready. Always ready. My door is open.

But for me, my focus is more so just getting better each game, with each game, with each season, and just trying to grow into the best keeper I can be.

Then for me, that's sort of something that comes later.

Q. Obviously we're entering sort of Frank's last game. He's been a big supporter of you. You've been with us, standing up for you when you weren't called up for the Olympics. He was mad about it, basically. What sort of reflection do you have about Frank and getting coached by him and now sort of this being the last time he's going to be the head coach, if you can share any memories or feelings about Frank.

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, the biggest thing that stands out to me is no one loves this club more than Frank. You can say what you want about him, but no one has the type of passion and connection that he has to this club, and I know he loves this club deeply, and he wants to see us go very far.

But that's always throughout ups and downs, that's sort of the one thing that always stuck with me, and all the other guys on the team would agree, all the other coaches would agree. You kind of see it when it's walking around, like that's a part of who he is, is the Fire, that's the biggest thing for me that stood out with Frank is nobody who's been here or will be here loves this club more than him.

Q. Fire II have a playoff game this weekend and building off of Tim's question about the other goalkeepers, Patrick Los has been playing a lot for them, Stitch has been training with the first team a bit, too. I'm curious what your relationship is with those younger goalkeepers in the academy and what you've seen from them as they develop?

CHRIS BRADY: Yeah, I would say if I'm thinking about myself as sort of a leader and a roll modal, I wouldn't say I'm too vocal. I would say I lead by example in what I do. When I do get opportunities to train with them, I hope that they're picking up on the things that I do that maybe they can apply to their game.

But off the field, very friendly. I know we've grown up together forever throughout the academy and such, but I will be at that game, so I will be cheering them on. Yeah, best of luck to them. But it's good to see the way that both of them have developed into such adult keepers, I guess, because in the back of my mind I'm always remembering them as these little, like, U-13, 12, 14 age keepers, and now they're grown. Yeah, it's good to see the way they've developed.

Q. If there is a game on Saturday for you, for this team against Nashville when it was such a frankly annoying goal to give up, is there an extra little want-to maybe just because that was obviously for you guys one of those games where you felt like you could have got something from it?

CHRIS BRADY: For sure. Like you just said, I 100 percent agree with you and I know everybody shares the same feeling, that we should have gotten away with a result. If not a win, definitely a tie. But yeah, that game was a shame the way it ended, and I know we have a lot more to give, even though, like you said, it's the last of the season. I know we're going to be wanting to go out there with some passion, especially with all the changes that could potentially happen.

We're all on edge. We're all ready to go. We're all fired up. I know this week of training has been particularly sharp, and I think that has something to do with it, but yeah, I'm ready to go out there and stick it to them because I don't think that result showed what that game should have showed.