Carlos de los Cobos, Chicago Fire Head Coach:
On the result:
“We played a very difficult game tonight. This team is showing, starting with the last game, that they are improving. I was very happy with the first half from the team, I think the players did very well. I was very happy that Freddie (Ljungberg) adapted quickly to his teammates. He’s a professional, I think he has a good future with the team, as well as Nery Castillo. When these guys have more knowledge of each other I’m sure we will improve even more. Sean Johnson played well tonight. He made several key saves for us. This is the team for us. I think the first half was very good for us, like the first half of the season. In the second half some players didn’t have the fitness level and were tired and we lost some strength in the middle. It was a very difficult game for both teams. We wanted to win, as always. We understand we are at home and we have very good support for the team.”
Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson
On the game:
“You know beforehand that you’re playing against good players, which is always great. It’s good to play against players like that but once the whistle’s blown, you don’t really think too much about who you’re playing against – It’s just eleven players. At the end of the night, I think we played well. Despite the big names, I think we played our game. We were unlucky to not score but defensively we were strong.”
On his performance:
“I just tried to do my best to keep my team in it. That’s the important thing. I don’t really think about the saves I make or anything like that. At the end of the day, it’s good to get a shutout defensively for our team and to get a point out of the night which I think is good. We were hoping for three but coming out with one is fine.”
On the defensiveness of the game:
“We played our style throughout about 70 minutes of the match. In the about the last 20 minutes they were attacking us pretty strongly. We were very organized, and I didn’t have a problem. I think defensively we were strong for the 90 minutes. We were solid tonight.”
Freddie Ljunberg, Chicago Fire Midfielder
On the result tonight:
“I think at times we played very, very well. We were able to keep the ball and make some nice runs and created some chances. What we need to build on is what we did well today; we need to keep the ball and create chances. New York is a really good team and they struggled tonight as well.”
On the chemistry with his new teammates:
“The guys have been great and I feel like I work well with them and how they play. They communicate well and have really been trying to get the ball to me. Of course there are things to learn about each other. For example, there are times when they want to play a short ball and I hit it straight away and they aren’t ready for it, but that will get better over time. I was really happy to play in front of great support, it was electric out there.”
On playing with Brian McBride and Nery Castillo:
“I think it’s important that I play well with Castillo. We talked about Sean Johnson playing the ball long and us putting together two short passes. When we played the ball out, I think we played really well. I think it went well when I played with McBride as well. Both guys have different qualities we can capitalize on. The coach wants us to play really attractive football, and if we can keep playing the ball up from the back there’s no problems at all. I think we showed that at times.”
Chicago Fire forward Nery Castillo
Thoughts on the game:
“I felt a bit tired after the game since I haven’t trained daily for two months. It’s not easy to go in to the game when you are not fully fit, and when you go in to a game that already has a rhythm, it wears you out, but it’s good for me to start getting the chemistry with the team and I am glad we got the tie, which is not a bad result for the team.”
On the Chicago Fire fans:
I am happy that our fans came to [TOYOTA PARK] to support us. I heard them chant my name, which is really nice, and I just have thankful words to them.”
Delantero del Chicago Fire Nery Castillo:
Sobre su debut en la MLS:
“Me sentí un poco cansado después del partido ya que no estuve entrenando por dos meses. No es fácil entrar a un partido que de por sí ya tiene un ritmo de juego, y por lo general lo cansa a uno pero me ayuda a conocer a mis compañeros dentro de la cancha y estamos contento por el empate, ya que no es un mal resultado para el equipo”.
Sobre la afición del Chicago Fire:
“Estoy muy contento con los hinchas que vinieron a apoyarnos. Los escuché corear mi nombre, lo cual es muy lindo, y sólo tengo palabras de agradecimiento para ellos”.
