Chicago Fire FC were 5-0 victors against a team from Cancún FC on Monday in the team's first official tune-up of 2023 preseason camp.
Goals were scored by Kacper Przybyłko, Jairo Torres (2), Missael Rodríguez, and Victor Bezerra, as the Fire concluded the second leg of camp with a win prior to their return to Chicago on Monday evening.
Following the match, Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson, midfielder Gastón Giménez, and defender Wyatt Omsberg offered their takeaways from the match and their thoughts on preseason as a whole so far. Read their quote below in full.
Chicago Fire FC Quotes
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson
On how the first leg of preseason has gone for the team…
“Well we came into camp, wanted to of course, build up the foundation physically. So we wanted to make sure everyday that we got the proper physical loading without getting guys injured so we have that loading. But we also wanted to start talking about our concepts, our styles of play, the principles. Basically, we went over our whole game model. How we attack, how we defend, in the transition moments. Also set pieces. So we were able to cover a lot of different topics in the time here.
And that culminates with our game today. We had our first competitive match versus an opponent tonight and I thought the guys showed well. Obviously we still have a lot of things to do. The first 15-20 minutes or so, we had a lot of opportunities that we didn’t put away so that’s something that we want to fix, and that’s something we need to get better at. As the game played on, I thought the guys got into the game a little better. We saw a lot of things that we liked, saw a lot of things that we talked about and worked on during training so that’s always good from the coaches standpoint to see exactly what you’re teaching in training come to fruition in the game.”
On what the team is looking forward to in the second leg of preseason in Tucson…
“Yeah so, the next leg, first we come back to Chicago, train for a couple days. Tomorrow would be a regen, then we have a good training on Thursday. Give them a couple days off, then we go to Arizona. This is where we get into our competitive stage, this is where we have competition so the games, we’ll try to get four, maybe five games between now and March 4th. Our opener.
That’s where we get to fully evaluate people and fully evaluate how guys are grasping the concepts that we’re trying to teach. It’s been great so far, I have to really tip my hat off to the players that have come in physically fit so it makes it easier for us to teach our concepts so that was a plus. And the ball movement, the speed of play, everything is improving and we like that. We still have to get better in the final third because again, today we scored a lot of goals but there were a lot of opportunities that we could’ve finished on. Especially that first thirty minutes or so, but we’re working on it, we’re making progress and we like that. That’s all we ask for from the guys. So we’re very happy with everything, happy with everyone, and we’re moving in the right direction. So that’s very optimistic for us as a team.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender Wyatt Omsberg
On how the first leg of preseason has gone for the team…
“Yeah I think it’s been really good. We’ve put in a lot of good work, it’s been nice to get good weather and get a lot of training outside. It’s been long days, tough days, and a lot of double sessions. But I feel we built a good foundation here, got good fitness, and now we’re on to Tucson and get a lot of games there.”
On how the team played against an opponent yesterday…
“Yeah I think we came, it’s preseason but we talked about before the game that every time we step on the field, we try to win so I think we put in a good performance in our first real game and I think everyone did well and got a lot out of this game.”
Chicago Fire FC Midfielder Gastón Giménez
On how the first leg of training has helped the team so far…
“Well yes, we got the physical part going, which was very important for us. Today we found ourselves in the first game of preseason. Our first friendly where we were looking for rhythm and where we were looking for the football and above everything, just try to find our game. So slowly but surely, we find ourselves feeling much better physically and we need to keep working.”
On what they anticipate heading to Tucson…
“Well the second leg that’s coming, we expect more good games, and there’s no better training than playing in games so that’s the reality. So we anticipate doing it in the best way possible, with maximum effort so we arrive at the season in the best way possible.”
