CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 18, 2025

Gregg Berhalter

Chris Brady

Sergio Oregel

Mauricio Pineda

Press Conference

GREGG BERHALTER: It's a great day for the club to be able to announce the re-signing of three academy products in Chris Brady, Mauricio Pineda, and Sergio Oregel.

Every pathway is different, and that's why this signing is so special because you see that it's not the first contract that's the most important. It's continual contracts. It's getting your next contract, and all of these three players have shown their worth in -- to the club and have been rewarded with this with new contracts, and they are all taken different pathways and that's what we really love about this.

When you think about Chris Brady is a guy who -- top, talented young player, has had a lot of games as a young player, and now he re-signs and commits to the club.

When you think about Mauricio's pathway, he went to four years of college, graduated from college and is able to re-sign with the club, and really brings veteran experience to the team and the calm and the leadership that the team so dearly needs.

And then Sergio is an example of, you know, someone who has represented the club at every level and maybe some people would say, Oh, you know, he's not the right fit for MLS, or in the second team, he wasn't so -- we weren't so sure about him.

But he shows that he's able to play the MLS, excel at MLS level and now has been committed to the club for a long time. So we're really excited about these three signings and what they represent for the team.

Q. Thank you so much for the time and congrats to all of you. I guess I'll start with Sergio. Sorry, buddy. This group, the three of you guys, you were the one in the contract year. Is it a sense of relief, excitement, not only to get this new deal but obviously you've known and trained with Mauri for years and known and played with Chris for year, to get that deal and do it all as a group what does that do for you?

SERGIO OREGEL: Yeah, it's a sign of both. Coming into this year, I didn't know what to expect based off the years before and I didn't know what my future was going to be like.

Coming into this year, having the trust of the coach and the players, everything was totally different and just giving me the opportunity to show what I can do.

So yeah, I'm excited for everything that's to come. Thankful for the chances I've been given, and yeah, a sense of relief that I'm going to be staying here for three years.

Q. Coach, what will be the message for the generations that are coming that some day want to be there, and how can they take the opportunity and come here to the Chicago Fire, what without them?

GREGG BERHALTER: You know, the great thing about our setup here at the training center is that the kids get to see these guys every day, and they can relate to them and they can see the pathway. They can see that it's actually possible for a young man from Chicago to grow up in this area and make it to the first team.

You know, we're very proud of our record of having 14 players in the first team from the academy, and you know, excited about what these three players can continue to do for the club.

Q. Chris, congrats for this moment. And what will be your message? I would like to hear from you guys how you are feeling at this moment that you are in an MLS team and what would you say to the new generation that they want to get some day there where you are.

CHRIS BRADY: I think that it's very possible. I think building off of kind of what Gregg said, I've seen different organizations, and especially facilities where you have your academy training kind of to the side and without view to the first team.

But we're not like that here. Like he said, it's very transparent all the way through the entire pathway, and so I think that instills a little bit of belief in every young kid who is here that there's a very, very clear path way that it is achievable, it is possible. And I think just trusting in yourself and making sure that you're doing everything to work hard, put forth your best effort, it can happen. So just keep believing.

Q. I have two questions, one for Sergio and another one for Mauricio. Sergio I'm going to ask you the question in Spanish.

SERGIO OREGEL: It's kind of crazy to think that people see me in that way. I take it a lot to the heart and you know, those little festivals and all that, I was actually in their little village as well.

So being able to see all the people to be proud of who they are and proud of where they come from, that's literally everything I stand for everything and that I support as well.

Yeah, it's a big thank-you to the community for the way they see me. I get a lot of support from DeSporto Latino (ph) as well at the games, just knowing that the people support and care for you in that way, it does mean a lot.

Q. You recently, two weeks ago, I think you signed a contract with the indoor league in Chicago where you can show more talent, and more talent is going to be viewed by the people from the Chicago Fire academy, and with this signing of these players that now are home grown academies (players). I want to ask you, also, you signed this past week three new players for the Fire. Would they be in the same group or the same position that they are playing, or will there be any room for them to keep growing in the Fire?

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, you know, I think that to maintain a connections to strength and the connection between our club and the City is very important but you're also talking about three very talented players and important roles to the team.

We know that to win in Major League Soccer, you need strong teams, you need deep teams and you need a number of players that can step on the field and perform at a high level and these players have shown that.

For us, we welcome competition, especially amongst the team. It makes the team stronger and to build a strong team, it's necessary.

Q. In terms of not only getting this contract, understanding you've had so many roles in this club since you came back after college, you get the extra year and potentially two more. How much, I don't want to say relaxing or comforting is it, but just to be able to get that empowerment from the group, not only your teammates supporting you always, but to get it from the front office; that they want you around long term once again?

MAURICIO PINEDA: Yeah, I think like Sergio mentioned earlier, I think going into this year, we went through a lot of changes, obviously. So as a player, you always get a little bit anxious not knowing what to expect from the year.

So being here today makes me very proud, very happy to be signing a new contract, and also, playing a big role on the team and helping the team in the best way that I can has made me very happy this year.

Yeah, I think the two years to be here makes me very happy but not relaxed, just because I want to give everything for the team and want to give everything to the group to be the best that we can be. Definitely not in the position to relax but definitely very happy for it.

Q. I guess starting off with a quick question for Gregg, this is an accomplishment for the individuals that have gotten new contracts but it's also an accomplishment for the club and what it's doing for the academy. By my math, the Fire just crossed 10,000 minutes this season from academy products. How important is it for the club's vision or like the vision of what the club is going to be going forward to continue to produce and have guys like this that those players can look up to as examples of what you can accomplish if you stick with it.

GREGG BERHALTER: Thanks, Tim. Hope you're feeling better.

Q. Thanks.

GREGG BERHALTER: Thanks for staying away and not giving us your illness.

It's everything. I think this is the pinnacle, right. This is the tip of the iceberg, when you get to see these guys on the stadium field with the first team but there's so much more that goes into it. There's so much investment that goes into our youth academy. There's so much investment of time, money, sweat, tears, you name it, you have that in the academy. But it's nice to see that it's possible.

You know, for us, the connections between the City, I can't stress this enough. You know, building the connections with the city is extremely important.

You know, one thing I've learned about Chicago is they take care of their own and they would like to stick together and for us, it's really important to have home grown products on the field.

And so, you know, not only is this a great signing for the first team but I think it's a great message to the academy players that it's possible to make it to the first team, and it's possible to thrive in the first team, not just -- not just get there.

Q. You get this deal, the last deal you signed before you played any MLS minutes and before you established yourself, how do you think you've grown in that time both as a person and as a player as you've amassed all these minutes at MLS?

CHRIS BRADY: For me it's night and day. When I signed that deal, I was still sort of in a developmental stage, I guess, if you will, where as you said, I had not had any first team minutes but I was still pushing to break into the first team. Thankfully that happened.

And since then, I think there's been a lot of growth on the field with just I think the way that I manage games, and the way I can relate to my teammates, the way I understand the chemistry on the field, things like that. But I think in this past year as well I'd like to point out just the big growth in my game with the ball at my feet is a big thing I want to shed light on.

But growth like that I think can continue to happen and that's why I'm so happy I've gotten this opportunity, this new deal, is that, you know, more progress is to come.

Q. For Chris or Sergio, a question about Mauri. What does he do for this locker room, because he loves being the center of attention but what does he do as a calming presence that's always willing to throw himself into whatever role he need to?

CHRIS BRADY: I love it just because how like impressionable he is, and I think he takes a lot of the pressure of the game off the guys by just being that friendly face, the jokes, all of it. I'm here for it, and I love that he brings that to the locker room. It's hard to replace that. You can't. So I'm happy he's here.

SERGIO OREGEL: Yeah, I would kind of say the exact same thing. Going into the Miami game, I remember being a little bit nervous and just knowing that I have a brother there by my side just to like help me relief all that stress, and then, you know, it's also that tough love that he gets at me sometimes but it's because he wants the best for me.

So just being able to have him there, we play with each other in the off-season a lot. So just the understanding we have with each other is something I love.

Q. For Coach, was this important for you to get this done now as the team is preparing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017? Does this take pressure off so you can focus on these last games of the season?

GREGG BERHALTER: You know, I think pressure is always there, right. We have our goals and we know what we want to achieve as a team, and you know, I'm not sure that this is necessarily going to take pressure away from anyone because --

Q. Or motivation.

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, I think more importantly, it's just recognition. Recognizing that all three of these players sitting at this podium contributed to the group and are important pieces of this team.

And you know, they also have come from our academy and we are very proud of that. For us, I'm not sure how you guys feel about it but we still want to perform. We still want to win games and get ourselves into playoffs and win in the playoffs.

You know, this to me is more of a recognition piece for all the hard work that these three players have done throughout their careers.

Q. This weekend we have Minnesota on the road, a very good team, played last night, 120 minutes, late goal. Curious, your thoughts on that match-up, and just the excitement around the prospect of going 11-on-11 for 90 minutes, knowing how well you guys performed, all things considering, down a man in the previous match up.

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, I think that's certainly part of it, right. Bitterly disappointed to lose that game and not advance in the Open Cup.

But also, you know, the other side of it is in the League, we want to continue to rise and we know that Minnesota is a team that is in good form, have played well in the League and you know, can be tough to break down at times and tough to beat.

But, you know, for us, we love going on the road. We love playing in hostile environments, and this will certainly be that.

Q. Going off from the match on Saturday, what aspects of Minnesota's style of play do you think you find difficult, a challenge, for the team?

GREGG BERHALTER: You know, everybody talks about their set piece record, right. 22 goals now on set pieces, all competitions, right. That's a lot of goals.

People also talk about the crosses in the penalty box that they put, their offensive transition and their compactness defensively. So they are a very good team, and they stick to the way they want to play, and that in itself will be challenging. They win a lot of games, and you know, for us, it's a great challenge, something we're excited to face.

Q. You are about to coach your 200th regular season game on Saturday. So can you please reflect on those 199 games so far, and about reaching the milestone with so many home grown, so many Chicago area players, like the three next to you.

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, you know, it's something I don't really think about too much. But you think about just in general the growth of the league and how the league has improved and how the quality of the team has improved and the individuals, and you know, to think it's possible to have a young home grown goalkeeper on the field and playing so many games, you know, that's not common.

To think about having Mauricio, a player who went to four years of college and now has still had a long body of work with the team and has continued to do well, is also great for the team and the club.

And then in Sergio, you know, is a player that I hope the league will keep developing these types of players. You know, very, very smart, very technical soccer players, and I think for the league to continue to grow and improve, you need players that can perform technically at the level that Sergio can.

So you know, just really happy about the fact that we're announcing these signings and that they are going to be with the club for a while.

Q. Last week it was a little bit surprising that Barroso was listed unavailable on Friday when he's been training. He's been training this week. Are there any restrictions on him for Saturday?

GREGG BERHALTER: We'll have to see. It's really a question of, can he get to his top speed. He's got some lingering pain from the hamstring when he really opens it up, and we know this game is going to need to open it up. So we are going to see, test him tomorrow, and be able to evaluate.

Q. Whose FIFA rating wasn't right and whose is most accurate? What's the biggest issue in the locker room with FIFA ratings or EAFC ratings, excuse me.

GREGG BERHALTER: Sergio's?

SERGIO OREGEL: Mine was 57.

GREGG BERHALTER: 57.

SERGIO OREGEL: But I think it's seven more than last year, so I'm happy.

Q. For the record, would you say you're faster than Justin Reynolds?

SERGIO OREGEL: Oh, yeah, I'm faster than Justin.

GREGG BERHALTER: That could be it, right there, Justin's speed.