Chicago Fire FC were 2-0 victors over visiting NYCFC at SeatGeek Stadium on Wednesday night, courtesy of goals from Robert Berić and Federico Navarro. Read thoughts from head coach Raphael Wicky, Berić, and defender Johan Kappelhof following the match below.
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina …
“I mean, look, he had a very good game again, very calm, but I am going to be very, very careful with these expressions. He’s young. We all believe in him, but it’s important that at that age when you have good games that you stay on the ground. And it’s my job, and our job, to keep you on the ground. I have no doubt he will because he is a very mature 17-year-old, he’s very professional. But I once was young, I was professional when I was 16, and once you have everyone from all the sides telling you how good you are, it’s not always easy to stay level-headed. So that’s the most important thing I think right now.”
On Slonina dealing with the fan excitement at such a young age…
“Well look, those are questions for him. You have to ask him how he feels about that. It’s just very, very important. He can be proud of what he does, but he has to keep working hard, he has to stay very, very focused on the next game and the next training. And I have no doubt he will do that, the way I know him now - a year-and-a-half, almost two years. But it’s not always easy when you are so young.”
On the fan atmosphere and the grass surface tonight compared to Wednesday...
“I think, let’s not compare. Let’s not compare. Saturday there was an American football game on the field and the week before, as well, so let’s not compare. It’s not fair. Tonight, I think let’s talk about the game. I think we have seen a great team performance. I think we’ve seen some really good football. I think this was against one of the top teams again in the East. We have shown what we are capable of. I think the crowd was good. The field was good, but let’s not compare things. I am just really happy about the performance from the team from tonight and I think it was a well-deserved win.”
On the goal and performance from Robert Berić…
“Yeah, look, Robert had a good game. Not only because of his goal, but obviously he’s a number nine, a striker, they always want (a) goal. I am happy for him. It was a great finish with his left foot. It was a great pass, I think if I am not wrong it was Gaston playing a quick free kick, I am not sure, Medran, okay. But yeah, it was a great finish for him and I am happy for him. He had a good performance for the team, as well.
On the performance of Federico Navarro…
“Yeah, good performance for him. Very good. He brings to the table what we expect from him. He had an early yellow card, which is not easy in that position then to manage your game over 90 minutes, especially when you are as aggressive as he is. He did very well being aggressive, but not over aggressive, not really risking a second yellow card. So, I am happy for him and great performance, as well. But overall, I have to say it was a really, really good team performance tonight."
Chicago Fire FC Forward Robert Berić
On the feeling of the team after a victory...
“I mean, I'm glad that we won. It's always nice to have this positive energy. We play again (Sunday), so yeah, that's a good motivation for it. We have Toronto away, I think that's a game where we can also take three points. Yeah, I'm happy.”
On stopping a long scoring drought...
“It was not easy. I have (had) a tough season. On top of that, we are not doing amazing, as you know. So, yeah, it’s a tough season. I'm fighting every day, every game, and trying to do my best. That’s it.”
On Álvaro Medrán's assist...
“We had one second before this eye contact, and he played the ball. In that split second, there was a space. He made a perfect pass for me and then I scored. So, I think it was a nice action.”
On playing at SeatGeek Stadium...
“Yeah, it's funny, right? It was my first game here, actually, since I arrived. We train here, we are everyday here, but still we never played (an) official game here. It felt good. The stadium, it's nice, it's a soccer stadium, I can say. We had this one, we won the game and it felt good.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender Johan Kappelhof
On the team’s performance and playing back at SeatGeek Stadium…
“Yeah, I think it's a good performance today. It's a very good team performance. You could see, like, everyone working very hard for each other, covering each other, fixing each other’s mistakes. And we were solid up front, we finished two chances and we collected the three points , so a very mature victory. Being back here is, for me, is familiar, of course. For a lot of guys (it’s) not but for me it feels good to be in this stadium. Played a lot of games here.”
On overcoming frustrations late in the season...
“Is it frustrating? Yeah, I think we should have had more points with the quality we have but the season is still not over. We can still fix the season and climb. So we are looking game-to-game and that's our main focus, the next game. That's the only thing we control, what we're doing at training and keep going, keep believing. I still believe in all of us so we keep going.”
On Federico Navarro’s performance...
“Yeah, of course, he needed some time to adjust, new country, you know. But you can see he's a ball winner, you know? Like the 50/50 balls, he's there and that gives a boost to the team. Someone there to win, go full in every duel and cover the spaces. He can run a lot, so that's really important for the team.”
