Postmatch Quotes
Chicago Fire 0:2 Vancouver Whitecaps
Match Recap
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Raphael Wicky
On whether tonight's game was a lesson for a team about what it takes to play against one of the best teams in the League and maybe even the best team in the League…
“I don't know if it's a lesson. Personally, I don't think it's a 3-0 game. I think we struggled in the first 15 minutes. It took us a while to come into the game. I feel the team actually stepped up, created chances, created good moments, very good moments.”
“The lesson is, and again, it's the same what we spoke about in Orlando. The last thing is that we need to be better in finishing our chances because we create chances, every single game we create chances. We need to be better in finishing them and then it's too easy, the 1-0 is clearly too easy. It's one long ball and there is a goal. That cannot happen. It's too easy.”
“So, if on both ends of the field, we are not 100 percent, then it will be difficult. I think we put this team, which is one of the best of the league under a lot of pressure. We put them into danger. There were a lot of stretches in my eyes where we played really well, but then the lesson was that they were very clinical and we were not.”
On what it’s going to take for the team to fix the defensive lapses and to be able to score on the attacking end…
“Yeah, look, the first thing is we're going to keep working on what we're doing, not doubting what we're doing. Everyone has to step up and do 10, 15, percent more on both ends of the field, being more focused, more concentrated and not giving, in certain moments, them time.”
“Like today, the 1-0 is just too easy, tactical error, which we cannot do. I think everyone has to keep doing and keep believing in what we do, and then just do that little extra and especially not doubting.”
On what went wrong in the lead-up to the first goal…
“It was a free kick. I think it was a free kick, the 1-0, and Frankie [Przemysław Frankowski] takes, automatically, this position, basically like a right back. Sekulić was next to him. So when he goes and takes his position, he needs to do the job. He cannot start a job and not finish a job. That's pretty simple. I don't think it's anything to do with (Francisco) Calvo in that moment. It was the right side, our right side with Frankie and Sekulić, and it's just too easy. Those are two very experienced players.”
On traveling to the match on the same day and whether or not it had any effect on the team…
“The travel went fine. All easy. All really good. The question, you'd better have to ask the players who will be here after. I cannot tell you if it affected them.”
“I don't think that it's anything to do with traveling today. Travel was easy. We had a charter flight. We had time to rest. It took us a little bit to get into the game, but I don't think it has anything to do with traveling. It's more that we haven't played for four weeks again, but after 15 minutes, like I said, we stepped up and we had very good moments.”
Chicago Fire FC Defender Francisco Calvo
On the lessons learned from the game against Columbus Crew SC…
“I feel the same way as you and like Raphael, I'm pretty sure, I'm positive it's not a 3-0 game, hundred percent. But then when you have Zardes, which is the No. 9 of the National Team of the USA, you can't give them too much space. You can't give them time.”
“Columbus is a great team, but I think we put them in a lot of problems a lot of times, you know. So to be honest, in the field, I didn't see a lot of difference when we talk about playing football.”
“But then when -- I mean, if we don't score, then you make one little mistake and they are going to score. These kind of teams, they just do that. But then I'm still thinking that we are going to set our tone and we are going to score a lot of goals.”
On what it will take for the team to stay focused for the full 90 minutes…
“Yeah, I think we need to be concentrated 90 minutes since -- I'm the kind of player that played the games even five hours before the game, you know. I'm pretty sure a lot of players in my team do that. But we need to concentrate. Don't give anything away in 90 minutes because, when you give something away, you can see, they take three goals instead of -- I mean, just that 90-minute goal, which is a great goal, but then we give away two, and that's unacceptable. We're going to correct that and keep working.”
On Darlington Nagbe’s goal…
“I mean, it's a really good -- it's a great goal. It's a great goal. I have to see the play again. I mean, I was a little bit in the other side -- I mean, almost in front of him but I couldn't do anything, and then -- I don't know. I don't know. I don’t want to talk about that goal to be honest. I think it's a great goal and then you have to clap him because he put it in the right spot. That's it.”
Chicago Fire FC Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth
On traveling on game day…
“Yeah, obviously it's new, new for us, and every team is going to have to do it. To be honest with you, it was pretty easy to hop on a charter, had a 45-minute flight and we got to rest in the hotel, so the travel wasn't bad at all.”
On what it’s like to come in with new teammates and communicate and organize the back line against one of best teams in the Eastern Conference…
“I think, you know, I've been here for a while now and we've had a long time together, three different preseasons, so I feel comfortable.”
“I feel comfortable playing with everyone along the back line, and Columbus is a good team, but that being said, I think there was long stretches tonight where we had the better of the play. I think we just, you know, turned off at inopportune moments and they took advantage of that.”
On what went well and what can be built on going forward…
“Yeah, I think Raphael said it. After the first 15 minutes when we settled in, there was long stretches where we were creating a lot of good half-chances and moving the ball well from side to side and really pressuring them well when they were trying to build out.”
“Of course those are things we can build on, but that being said, we need to be better in these key moments when we give away, really, really soft goals. That's something that, you know, obviously we're going to work on in training and try to hammer out and get it right for Tuesday.”
