“It’s an honor for me to wear this jersey" | Rafael Czichos eager for the real thing following preseason debut

Saturday’s preseason friendly match against Toronto FC marked the unofficial debut of newly-acquired Fire defender Rafael Czichos.

After the visa process forced Czichos to remain in Europe and delay his arrival to the team’s preseason camp following his acquisition in early January, being on the ground in Austin and getting his first taste of MLS action on Saturday was a welcome feeling for the 30-year old German center back.

“It felt really good,” he said following Saturday’s match. “It’s an honor for me to wear this jersey. Unfortunately we lost my first game here for this Club, but this game will help us for the future.”

The Fire fell 1-0 to their Eastern Conference counterparts in what was their second of four preseason friendlies, but Czichos did well to make his presence felt over a 60-minute shift in his first run out for new head coach Ezra Hendrickson.

The Bundesliga veteran was stout along the back line lined up between young South Americans Carlos Terán and Miguel Navarro.

“It’s not perfect right now, but I think in two weeks when we play in Miami, it’s going to be way better,” Czichos said of the defensive organization.

“Right now I’m satisfied with my backline. We have to improve our game. We have to keep working.”

With 412 career appearances in the German pyramid behind him, Czichos is aware of how much his experience will be leaned on under a first-year head coach with a young roster coming together around him.

The Fire’s 2022 season debut is 12 days away, and ahead of that Feb. 26 trip to Inter Miami CF, the former FC Köln standout will be called upon to help elevate the play of the entire group from his place in central defense.

According to Hendrickson, Czichos is delivering on those expectations in camp so far.

“Rafa has been great,” Hendrickson told media last week. “He is a leader. He's shown that on and off the field so far with us and on the field, he's a great passer, he's a great defender, and he's someone that we wanted to have come into this organization. So we're very happy to have him and we think he's going to be very good for us.”

“That's what I'm here for,” Czichos added. “With my experience, I have to be a leader. That's what I'm going to try to bring into the team.”

“We have a really young team, so we need mentality on the pitch. We need leadership, and yeah, that's going to be one of my tasks.”

The Fire have two more warmup matches set before they depart from Austin ahead of the season opener at the end of the month. On Wednesday, they’ll face FC Dallas at St. David’s Performance Center (11 a.m. CT, ChicagoFireFC.com/live), followed by a meeting with hosts Austin FC on Feb. 19 (12 p.m. CT).

With his visa delay behind him, Wednesday’s match in front of him, and his first MLS regular season rapidly approaching, Czichos is just grateful to be focused - at last - on his football.

“It was an amazing feeling to be back on the pitch after such a long time for me,” he said. “I thought my break would be like two weeks, but then it was four weeks, so it was way too long for me. To run alone in the forest or to work alone in the gym was really frustrating. That's why I'm really happy to be here.”