CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 7, 2026

Jonathan Dean

Press Conference

Q. How are you assessing the way you've been playing attack soccer this year? Seems you're incredibly confident, and these runs you're making, seems like the fullbacks are being placed higher up the pitch. How much does that help you as a full-time right back at this point?

JONATHAN DEAN: I think especially after having a year under our belt of playing with people, it's also easier when you have connections in a partnership where you know the tendencies of who you are playing with and what they are going to do and being aggressive. We train it a lot, focusing on getting in the right areas and getting opportunities to set up crosses and things like that.

And also for me, thing that's helped is continuing to do it over and over.

Q. Have you tried to be a leader and a mentor for the younger players like Borso, and what do you get out of these relationships personally and being in that role?

JONATHAN DEAN: No, I mean, it's a great question. Ultimately in our careers, you were in that position before and it's ultimately how do you want that person to see or try to emulate who you were.

I think for him, it's a great opportunity, right, and continue to learn and grow. And he's a great guy, great player, obviously, to be with us this young. And he's done well and continues to do well.

For me. It's ultimately to help him and push him as well to get better.

Q. The team has had positive stretches in games but struggled to close it out recently. From your perspective, what do you think is missing in those crucial moments?

JONATHAN DEAN: Yeah, it's another good question. I think for us, it's see it over the line and finish games off. Like you said, we normally start really well and then continue over time, it's not like it's a long stretch. Feels like little moments here and there which over the year, you know, we hopefully can grow and learn from these mistakes or errors or whatever happens.

And I think, ultimately, it's us together, which we know, and continue to do that and I think we'll be fine at the end of the day.

Q. Not long ago Gregg told us he doesn't look at the table at this point of the season. Does he encourage you to do that or do you look liking at the table and seeing yourself in the top spot?

JONATHAN DEAN: I don't know about other people, but for me, I don't really look too much into it. Everything switches. It's tight throughout the year. We try to focus on ourselves and at the end of the day, try to play our complete game. And if we do that, we know we have a good chance of being at the top.

For us it's not to look at that because things change fast. It's to focus on day-to-day and getting better.

Q. Curious when you guys have a performance that sort of might be a disappointing one or one you didn't expect, how long do you allow yourself to get over that? Is it like a 24-hour thing and you move on to the next? Because it's an ongoing season and always a game coming up next. What's the sort of time frame where you look at what happened and then just move on?

JONATHAN DEAN: Yeah, I think that's a good frame of it, right. Whether it's different for everybody, but I think you've got to look and reflect on what happened for us.

Obviously we're very disappointed with that because, obviously, if we go into every game wanting to win, and sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn't. For us, it's a quick turnaround, right, especially this week and you have a game midweek.

For us, it's focusing more on looking at ourselves first and moving on to the next and hopefully we can learn from that and take it into the next game.

Q. Looking at this last -- or this next four-match run, obviously winning would be a great thing to start but what are some of the hallmarks you want to see in this final stretch before the World Cup break?

JONATHAN DEAN: For us, it's ultimately to end on a positive note before the break, winning, getting back to more clean sheets for the defenders and scoring goals, as well.

We've done that this year but to continue to do that on a consistent basis and especially leading up to the World Cup break and going into the second half of the season.

Q. Curious how much film you've been able to watch as you prepare for the Red Bull match, and how they have been able to be a successful team going forward this season?

JONATHAN DEAN: Good attacking players, right. Especially people in this league. For them, I think they are pretty vertical and they are threatening and behind and you can see they are scoring goals as well.

For us, it's heading into the weekend to try to eliminate their key attacking players. They have had a good start for the season and good players. So for us, it's try to neutralize that and continue to go from there.

Q. Looking at had Red Bull side, how impeccable is it as you're the fullback asked to press up high, how difficult are those going to be given how high of a line Red Bull likes to play with?

JONATHAN DEAN: Yeah, that's a good question. Hopefully causes them some problems, right, to where they are starting to have to think a little more defensively and that helps us high where they are not leaving attacks high all the time where they have to defend us. Hopefully gives us that little breather to where we don't defend all the time and they have to defend us. It's going to be interesting to see where they lineup.