Following the Club’s training session at SeatGeek Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, newly-acquired Chicago Fire defender Carlos Terán was interviewed for the first time since his arrival in Chicago on Oct. 8.
The 20-year old Colombia native recently completed a mandatory quarantine period and discussed his on-going transition into the Club.
“(I’m) very happy,” he said via a translator. “It is a wonderful city. I have to get used to the weather a little bit, but for the rest, everything is very perfect.”
Terán was signed from Envigado FC of Colombia’s top flight on Aug. 21 having made 17 appearances (16 starts) in the league from 2019-20, as well as three starts in the Copa Colombia tournament. His move to Chicago was delayed in light of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, but he is now training fully with the team.
After his first few sessions, Terán is feeling welcomed by the staff and his new teammates -- many of whom are relatively new to Chicago themselves.
“They are more than good players, they are good people,” he said. “They have helped me to acclimate myself very well to both the club and the city.”
Terán is the latest of several South American additions brought into the Fire under first-year Sporting Director Georg Heitz, joining Designated Players Gastón Giménez (Paraguay) and Ignacio Aliseda (Argentina) as well as defender Miguel Navarro (Venezuela).
He also becomes one of 12 players aged 21 years or younger that are currently signed to the Fire's first-team roster. The Club's emphasis on bringing along young players was a factor in Terán’s decision to come to Chicago.
“They have shown me a good project, as I have already expressed,” He said. “A new owner, new direction, new players. They have a great project both with young players and as a Club.”
With Terán now joining the mix ahead of the Fire’s visit from the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at Soldier Field (6:30 p.m. CT | WGN, ESPN+), he’s looking forward to the Club’s push towards the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs and beyond.
“I obviously hope to win many titles in this Club, to win the league, to win everything that we have to play, and to once again be the great Fire,” he said. “That’s what we came to do.”
