Veljko Paunovic, Chicago Fire Head Coach
On the importance of this match:
"Yeah, definitely very important win for us. Very proud of the guys and the job they did. We stick to our plan and we adjusted every time Red Bulls changed. So fantastic reaction. Fantastic win, and especially after the sloppy start we had this season, I think this win helps us to boost our confidence, to build on top of this, and face the next phase of the season with a different -- different perspective."
On being comfortable sitting back and absorbing pressure:
"I think it's very important that more than the opponent -- it's more important that they not necessarily create or counter for your opponents. I think that's what we created today. I think we surprised them with our setup. Also with our offensive alternatives we had, and that's something that especially in the first half, it was a surprise for them."
"So I think that's -- you know, it's important that you have a plan. It's important that you know what you want to do and it's important that you play according to the plan and try to stick even when in the moment that it's not working. That's why I'm very proud of the guys. They showed me today they can mature, mature soccer. Tactics; they can put the heart there and also use the brain. Ultimately when you have to execute, I think we were sharp. So very proud, again. Very important, and we move forward."
On this season's relatively slow start:
"I think we had some late additions -- I actually don't want to give any excuses. The point is there are a lot of circumstances that you have to deal with during the new season and during the preseason.
We didn't have good circumstances but then we lost the confidence because of that start and we need to really grind and work hard to get back -- to actually have the opportunity like we had today, to play against one of the best teams in the League, play in a discipline manner and be very consistent with our plan, and then, you know, we had a prize that we won the game, difficult game.
It was very hard, really, but at the end, these are the moments that you are looking for and I think we have -- we have a very, very good situation now where we can start building the next win streak that we are looking for."
On the importance of his veteran presence in the locker room:
"It's very important, yeah. There's a huge importance because they are the ones that will either kill you or help you. In our case, it's the second thing. They are calm. They are experienced. They know that we are working towards the solutions and that's very important. That's very important that you can rely on, not only the veteran players, but they are good guys."
On the performances of goalkeeper Richard Sanchez and midfielder Mo Adams:
"When the team works like we played today, when the team works together, you know, you can always see the qualities in individual players and you will see always that somebody stood out.
Today, we had, you mentioned some of them, but for me, I saw many more. I actually saw everyone from the first one from Richard till the last one in the game from Johnny Campbell. That mentality and that team spirit that we had, it was shown today. It was excelled and I think that's -- that's what we need. That's what we have to keep doing."
On Sanchez:
"I think he's growing, same as the team. I think actually he's following the pace, or as he's growing, the team is growing, too. It's very important, the position of the goalkeeper. It's something that gives the team confidence. It gives security at the back line, and, you know, just the organization.
As he is growing, the team is getting better, too. It goes together. It's important but we have also to know that we still have a long way to go and we have to still keep building, we still have to get better, but we have to improve in our performance overall, and that means that every single player, every single one in our coaching staff has to get better."
On the importance of winning the physical battle:
"It's very important. As I said, the team is growing. The team is learning to play against different opponents, and this is for us a huge step forward because we played against, as I said before, one of the best teams in the League; the team that is very well known for a great attacking style, and also very physical, very physical in terms of they cover a lot of ground. They have very sharp, very narrow style, and you have to match that. I think that was very important for us, and winning the playoff team, the second playoff team this year, no matter how sloppy was our start, it's actually another positive that we can add."
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Chicago Fire midfielder
On the importance of winning the physical battle:
"Against Red Bulls is always very physical. We tried to think of an intense game plan for them. When we win the ball, we made it very difficult for them as well, and I think we had in both halves very good situations for transitions to create good chances, even if we know that Red Bulls will have more of the ball and possession than us. But at the end, it worked."
On whether the team used any tape of the Chivas/New York matches:
"We were watching some clips of that game, it’s true. But, we were also watching different types of clips. You know that Red Bull is a team that always tries to push forward. You have to find a way out of it. I can’t tell you other secrets, because we will play against Red Bull again. But, I am very glad that it was working even if the Red Bulls had some chances to score goals, but we had a very good goalkeeper today as well."
On Richard Sanchez’s match in net today:
"I think you can see improvement in him a lot. Especially today, he was very helpful for us. He came out of the goal, saved balls, very good from him today. I hope he is going to be in the MLS Team of the Week, because he deserves it."
Importance of beating teams towards the top:
"I think it is very important to win against the Eastern Conference teams. We beat Columbus at home, and now we beat Red Bulls, two playoff teams from last year. But still, we are not so satisfied with our results before, so we could have done it better. There are still some pieces in our game, but at the moment I have to say it is more important to get results than perform at the highest level."
Dax McCarty, Chicago Fire midfielder
On the result:
"Yeah, it’s really important result. I, more so than most, know how hard is to win here when you’re on the opposing team. It’s a gutsy performance, a really gritty performance and basically it was one that we needed and a result like this doesn’t paper over all the cracks and all the things we want to get better on as a team, but it certainly gives the team confidence and I can’t tell you how much respect I have for that team over there, the Red Bulls, what the talent and ability they have in that locker room. To come into their building where they’ve been unbeaten, virtually unstoppable at home this year. To be able to grind out a win, you know that speaks volumes to the character we have in this locker room so I’m really proud of the guys."
On the Fire playing on their terms:
"Well, we had a game plan and I think the game plan worked very well today. You’re never going to have more possession than the Red Bulls here at Red Bull Arena. The way that they press, the way that they want to play, they want you to try and have possession. They say that they want the other team to have possession so they can press and win the ball and go to goal and spread other teams out. We didn’t want to give them that. We wanted to force them to be on that and break us down and to make sure we weren’t giving them anything easy so I thought it was a great performance from the backline today, obviously Richard Sanchez made some huge saves so it’s a really, really important game."
On performances of rookies:
"I thought Mo Adams was fantastic. His first game as a pro in the middle there with me where the Red Bulls sometimes have three, four, five or six players coming through the middle at times, I thought he was brilliant. He knew his role, he broke up a lot of plays. He tried to play simple he was very effective and I thought he was a really, really good performer on the day, same with Grant Lillard, you know he won a lot of his battles. He had a little bit of a shaky touch in the first half and I told him to calm down but I thought he was brilliant for most of the game."
On being in the visitor’s locker room:
"It’s weird, it’s always going to be weird coming back here as an opposing player, it’s, I don’t think it’ll ever be quite normal and seeing the fans and just how exciting it is to step on this field and in this stadium. I mean the pitch is perfect, the weather was beautiful. The atmosphere was great. Thought the fans came and they were loud and were supporting their team and urging them to keep going until the end to try to win the game. I’ll always love coming and playing here. It’s a little different feeling being on the other side of it but I’m really happy for our guys and our locker room. We needed that win."
