With his first four days in Fire preseason camp behind him, newly acquired forward Kacper Przybyłko held a press conference with members of the local and national media for the first time from the team’s setup in Orlando on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old arrived in Florida on Saturday morning shortly after it was officially announced that he’d been acquired by the Fire in a trade with the Philadelphia Union for $1,150,000 in General Allocation Money. He spoke highly of his experience being brought in by the team so far.
“Everyone welcomed me so nicely,” Przybyłko said. “It's been so easy to adjust and to do everything with the team here right now. It's a great atmosphere here with the team. So I can't complain about anything. It's beautiful.”
According to Fire Play by Play Commentator Tyler Terens, who is embedded with the team at preseason camp, Przybyłko has wasted little time displaying the abilities he can bring to the Fire attack.
The 6’4 striker spent his first training session on Saturday working out individually, but - following Sunday’s day off from training - he showed off his athleticism in finishing drills on Monday before scoring in a closed-door friendly on Tuesday.
With the turnover the Fire roster saw following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Przybyłko knows the team will rely on his goal-scoring abilities in its upcoming campaign.
“It's like a new chapter for me,” Przybyłko said. “I’m not looking at what happened in the past with this team. I'm just coming here to help the team, to improve the team with my abilities. My challenge is now to help the team as most as I can, and that's why I'm here. I know that I have a very good quality in finishing, so that's going to be my part for this team this season.”
Przybyłko enters the 2022 season having led the Union in scoring each of the least three years. Since his arrival in MLS in 2019, his 35 goals scored are tied for the third-most in the league, behind only Atlanta United FC striker Josef Martínez (38) and Seattle Sounders FC attacker Raúl Ruidíaz (37).
In that same span, Przybyłko’s 49 combined goals and assists are the fourth-highest total of any player in MLS. He trails only LAFC’s Carlos Vela (59), New York City FC’s Valentín Castellanos (52) and Sporting KC’s Johnny Russell (51).
“All my former teammates, they have so much quality, but here there's also so much quality,” Przybyłko said. “It's all about working out the new team and to get to know each other, to have that connection. Obviously, it's going to change here, but my job is just being the one up in front, finishing it off, holding the balls, making some space for my teammates.”
Przybyłko will be depended upon to pair his skillset on the field with a leadership role in the locker room on a young roster that currently features 17 players aged 23 or younger. At the forward position in particular, the Fire’s crop of attackers aside from Przybyłko are 18 (Jhon Durán and Missael Rodríguez), 21 (Victor Bezerra), and 22 years old (Stanislav Ivanov), respectfully.
It’s a situation not entirely dissimilar to the one he just departed in Philadelphia, another team that’s among Major League Soccer’s leaders in signing young talent out of its academy. Like the Union, the Fire currently boast a double-digit amount of Homegrown signings on the senior roster entering the 2022 season.
“I have to be a leader with what I've already accomplished in this league,” he said. “I’m one of the guys who's with so much experience here. I know it was only three years in the MLS, but I also bring a lot of experience from my past years that I had also in Germany. So I want to be a leader. I want to help the young kids here. Like I said, I want to help the team as much as I can.”
Coupled with his responsibilities as a veteran on the roster, Przybyłko is embracing the opportunity to learn from new Fire head coach Ezra Hendrickson. Przybyłko figures to be a key addition to Hendrickson’s squad as he embarks on his season as a head coach in MLS.
“He's obviously a great coach,” Przybyłko said. “I realized that already in just these couple of days. I had already great conversations with him. I like his philosophy of how he wants to play, keep the possession. That's like something I really like."
Przybyłko’s immediate focus now that he’s arrived will be learning Hendrickson’s system and getting to match fitness ahead of the team’s season opener on Feb. 26 at Inter Miami. And while the hard work is just beginning, he’s already reflective of his professional journey so far, the life experience it has afforded him, and the opportunity now ahead to endear himself to the Chicago community.
“When I came to America, I didn't care about the languages and all the coaches because that's what I love about soccer...Everything is connected,” he said. “It connects so many people, so many different cultures, and I love to meet new people and new cultures, new languages.”
“That's also a nice part now to see that I'm moving to Chicago. I'm here in America, but there's so many Polish people. Obviously, it's nice because I want to teach my son also Polish so he can go to a daycare where he can speak both languages. That's very important to me and my wife. I'm very excited to meet all the people there, but it's not just about the Polish people. It's about everyone in Chicago. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone there.”
“That's so beautiful about my job. I can travel, and I can meet so many different people, different cultures. So I'm really excited for it.”
Przybyłko and the Fire will take on Minnesota United FC in their first 2022 preseason friendly this Saturday, Jan. 29 at Omni Resort at ChampionsGate. Fans can watch the match live at 12 p.m. CT on www.chicagofirefc.com/live and in the CFFC Mobile App.
