On Wednesday, the Chicago Fire held a joint press conference with the LA Galaxy ahead of the team’s eagerly anticipated early season meeting on Saturday at Soldier Field (7 p.m. CT | TICKETS).
Fire Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri were followed by Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney and forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
Mutual respect was a theme - both among superstars Shaqiri and Hernandez as well as former teammates Hendrickson and Vanney - but each made clear their intentions to win Saturday’s marquee matchup along the lakefront.
Highlights from Wednesday’s nearly 90-minute media availability also included injury updates, a walk down memory lane, and anticipation for Saturday’s large expected crowd. Read on for more:
STARS ALIGNING?
The first question posed to both Hendrickson and Shaqiri on Wednesday was one regarding Shaqiri’s health and his subsequent availability for Saturday’s match. The Swiss international was subbed out after 18 minutes in the Fire’s match against FC Dallas on April 2 with an apparent calf injury, and was held out of the matchday roster for the Fire’s match at Orlando City SC last weekend.
Shaqiri relayed his optimism, but was sure to keep expectations in check.
“I’m feeling good, to be honest,” Shaqiri said. ‘We are all the same way, we are in a good way. It's day-by-day. So, yeah, I'm feeling good.”
A potential Shaqiri vs. Chicharito matchup at Soldier Field on Saturday would be reminiscent of the LA Galaxy’s last visit to Chicago, when the high-profile duel of international stars and former Manchester United teammates Bastian Schweinsteiger and Zlatan Ibrahimović grabbed headlines in 2018. The Galaxy were 1-0 victors at SeatGeek Stadium on the day, courtesy of Ibrahimović.
Now in his second season in LA, Chicharito has been off to a flying start to the season. The 33-year-old currently shares the league lead in goals (5) with FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira and FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vázquez. He’s helped the Galaxy to a 4-2-0 start in the West, good for 12 points and second place in the conference as it stands.
The Galaxy enter Saturday’s trip to Soldier Field on the heels of a 2-1 win over LAFC last weekend. Chicharito told media Wednesday he would not let the high of taking points away from the team’s bitter cross-town deter them from their mission in Chicago.
“If you want to be a champion and you want to lift trophies, you need to play every single game like the one we just played against El Trafico,” he said. “Of course it has a special feeling, emotion and everything, but it's just an extra kind of thing. The standard should be as high as that game. We need to respect every single team here in MLS regardless if we're playing at home or away. We need to win every single game. Every single game is a final.”
Shaqiri and Chicharito - both veterans of the German Bundesliga, English Premier League, and the last three FIFA World Cups - squared off four times during their days in the EPL. The former plied his trade at Stoke City at the time, with the latter at West Ham. In those four matches, each player took home a single win and a pair of draws.
Shaqiri reiterated his intention to have a similar impact in Chicago as Chicharito has so far had in LA.
“I’m not coming here as a tourist,” he said. “I’m coming to work and I'm coming to bring the Club again to glory. This is my goal here to work every day hard and to help this team to grow, to try to compete with the best teams in the league and to try to win trophies. I think this is my goal, and this is the goal of the Club to go forward.”
OLD PALS
Hendrickson and Vanney appeared 117 times together as players in LA from 1997-2001, and will now get the opportunity to square off against one another for the first time as head coaches on Saturday. Both Hendrickson and Vanney spoke highly of the pair’s relationship during Wednesday’s call.
“We don't call each other every day, but when we see each other, it's very cordial, and we remember the times together, the good times together,” Hendrickson said. “When you play with teammates like that, it's a lasting friendship for a long time, and we have that friendship between us.”
“First and foremost, Ezra [is a] wonderful human being,” Vanney added. “I haven't obviously been around him in the coaching environment, but I imagine he's a fantastic man manager, clear in his ideas. It's good to see him have early success and to get that group at least stabilized.”
Hendrickson himself featured for the Galaxy 172 times across all competitions during a six-year stint from 1997-2003. Aside from Vanney, he also played with current Galaxy Assistant Coach Dan Calichman and Goalkeeper Coach Kevin Hartman during his days in Los Angeles.
“I remember those days, and I remember playing with Calichman and Hartman and Vanney and those guys, even the high performance trainer was our fitness trainer at the time, Jim Liston,” Hendrickson said.
“We won a lot of championships,” he added. “We won a lot of games. We played very good football, and those days I will never forget. Those kind of set the foundation for me going forward. But those days, as a player, you remember them, and you hope to duplicate them now as a coach and win some trophies. One of the things we always talked about with those teams is filling that trophy case. That's something that, as a coach now, I'm trying to do with this start. So hopefully I continue in that vein.”
When asked why it took so long for his former teammate to reach the rank of head coach after 15 years spent as an assistant, Vanney was glad that clubs around the league are showing an increased deference towards in-league experience.
“A lot of these jobs have opened up over time, and teams have just looked for guys with more experience or international coaches,” he said. “But I love seeing that the guys who have been around this league and have put in their time, have been assistant coaches, have developed their ideas, now getting opportunities, and guess what, those guys are doing well.”
“So pleased for Ezra getting that opportunity. I was happy for him. When I heard he was going to get the job and I was happy for him, and obviously Junior (Gonzalez), who is his assistant coach, was working with us at the time as our second team coach. Pretty quickly, I knew their relationship, and we knew we might be losing Junior. So when Junior decided to go and support Ezra in this, I was pleased. These are two guys I like a lot, and I believe they have great knowledge of the game and great knowledge of the league. So I'm very happy for them.”
HOPEFUL RETURNS
Shaqiri’s status wasn’t the only one in question ahead of Saturday’s inter-conference showdown. Captain Rafael Czichos (health and safety protocols), defender Miguel Navarro (left knee) and midfielder Fabian Herbers (right hip) were also unavailable for last weekend’s match at Orlando City while nursing injuries of their own.
Hendrickson noted that Czichos and Navarro are back in training this week, while Herbers’ status (alongside Shaqiri’s) remains day-to-day.
“That's going to be a gametime decision for us,” he said. “It’s something that we don't want to rush, so we're going to be very patient with that as far as that decision goes. But the rest of the guys are in training and ready to go.”
The Fire will be without midfielder Brian Gutiérrez on Saturday, who will serve a one-game suspension following a first half red card received against Orlando.
SATURDAY SHOW OUT
More than 25,000 fans are expected at Soldier Field on Saturday night, representing the second time the Fire will have crossed the quarter-century mark this season. 25,477 people were on-hand for the Fire’s 2022 season opener against Orlando City on March 5.
Shaqiri is not taking the early support shown by his new city for granted.
“I love it every time I play (at) Soldier Field. Especially the first game, I always remember because a lot of people came to watch me and the team. So I'm really enjoying every time to be on the pitch at Soldier Field. I hope the weather is getting better, so many more people (start) coming. This is also what I want to bring here, that more people come to watch our games.”
Given the expected turnout this weekend, those attending Saturday’s match are encouraged to both arrive 60 minutes early and save $5 by pre-purchasing parking passes if driving to Soldier Field. Regardless of when fans arrive, Hendrickson hopes they’ll leave with a memorable win and three points in hand.
“I think it would be great for the fans,” he said. “For us, it pushes us up into the standings, get into the top tier of the group, so to speak. But it's going to be a lot of fans out there. They are going to have some fans. It's stars out there - Shaq against Chicharito. The fans are coming out to see a very good game, and what better way to convince fans to come back than to come out here with a victory against a very good team.”
October 7 vs Charlotte FC
Chicago Fire FC celebrated Fan Appreciation Night on October 7, 2023 to give back to our dedicated fans and their commitment throughout the season!
