CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 22, 2026

Gregg Berhalter

Press Conference

New York Red Bulls 1, Chicago Fire FC 1

GREGG BERHALTER: Disappointed not to get the three points. I thought on the night, the performance was good enough. Thought the team played well, and you know, it's bitter to not get all three points in that match. I think for us, it's really about the desire to get that second goal. It was there for us, and I didn't think there was enough hunger. And it ended up costing us.

You know, it would have been nice to get a shutout but they had one really good look at goal. They scored and that was it. So for us, now we put our attention on Monterrey on Tuesday.

Q. Curious about finding the second goal. Seemed like everyone was thinking a little too much in the. Final third after that second -- or that first goal. What do you think made it so difficult in the final third?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think it's just decision-making. I didn't think we decided well in the final third, whether that was the final pass, the final shot. I thought there was opportunities to make a better pass that would have opened up someone up or a more precise pass, and end of the day, it happens sometimes. But it's disappointing, and we are certainly knocking on the door and weren't able to get the second goal.

Q. I'd love to ask about the midfield choice, and you put Sam into the lineup. Curious what you thought of his performance and ultimately that decision.

GREGG BERHALTER: So we defended 4-4-2, building up a 4-3-3, so three-man midfield and build up, defending two-man midfield. You could call it a four-man midfield when Joe and Phil are tucking in, providing cover in the midfield.

We felt like we weren't going to be -- it was a good, stable shape and I thought Sam did a great job. I thought Mauricio did a good job. Sam performed really well. And happy for him. He's a guy that came from Colorado, and you know, got the opportunity and took advantage of it.

Q. Still going back after this game or is it TBD?

GREGG BERHALTER: It's TBD. We have another game on Tuesday. We're going to evaluate that.

Q. I wanted to ask about Lewandowski. How happy are you with him, and second question today, the majority of fans were Polish people here, and they were waiting for Robert for a long time. So can you explain what was behind the decision to keep him out of the field for so long, until the last 30 minutes, basically, he was playing?

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, so one of the things we have to consider is the amount of games he's been playing lately. You know, he hasn't had a preseason, and we threw him right into it, and he's been going hard and playing a lot of minutes. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give him some rest as we head into the game on Tuesday.

I think it's going to happen when the fans want to come see him; that they are disappointed that he's not playing from the beginning. It was nice that he got on. It was a nice reception and we know New York are/New Jersey has a lot of Polish people, a lot of Polish heritage. I'm one of them. And it was good to see the support today.

Q. Next time, he will get more time when he's in New Jersey?

GREGG BERHALTER: Potentially, yes. Potentially, yes. Thank you.

Q. I'm going to piggyback on the question about Polish heritage. Talk to me about how does it feel, does Robert finally arrive in the MLS, because we spoke many times and you said let's be patient, let's be patient, he's going to come. Obviously the winning streak is over. But the unbeaten streak is still very much alive. And also it was his birthday yesterday. How did you celebrate?

GREGG BERHALTER: There was definitely a cake. You know, I'm not sure he eight the cake because he has a very strict diet and he's a professional. He spent his 38th birthday with the team in the hotel, very lowkey, but we get to sing for him and he got to talk to the team.

You know, this is how we envisioned it, I think, the reception from fans. I think New York/New Jersey Polish community came out in massive support and it was -- that's what it's about because they play in packed stadiums and really create that atmosphere. You know, the reason why they are coming is to see him. He's an absolute legend of world soccer. We have been extremely happy with him, and you know, we are in the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup and hope to have a good performance and continue on in that tournament.

He has very high expectations for performance, for team performance, individual performance. He has a lot of experience. He's been talking to a lot of the guys, no just in the forward position. There's other positions. And he's made a huge impact.

So you know, I think not only on the field but off the field. He's a model professional. He's a role model for the players, and you know, a great guy to have on the team.

Q. Wanted to get your thoughts on two reports from the broadcast tonight. One was that Mbekezeli Mbokazi might be out for the season, and the second was that there's a DP signing potentially lined up as one of the options for the team in the coming days and weeks. Was just curious if you'd had any follow-up on either of those.

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, so we talked about Mbekezeli. I think the information I gave, that he's definitely out for the season, is definitely premature. I take responsibility for that. He's in a rehab program now, and he's progressing. There's no exact time frame when he's going to be back but there is a possibility that it is before the end of the season.

Regarding DP signing, I don't think it's secret information that we're trying to make more signings that can help the team, and we have to evaluate whether that's a DP, whether that's a normal roster player and whether that's in-league. A lot of possibilities for us, and we are evaluating all of them.

Q. So one of the things we've talked about a lot over the past games and weeks is the squad, utilizing the whole bench in different places. We saw Victor getting start today and first assist. Can you talk a little bit about what you saw from his performance?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think he played well. It was good to get him on the field good. To have him respond in a positive way. I think him and Leo both did a good job. And you know, it was I think a solid performance. It was great to get him on the score sheet with an assist, and until he tired, I thought he was solid.

Q. Curious about Robin, he's constantly put in shifts for you guys. How has that reaffirmed that that was the right person to bring in on a long-term deal this off-season?

GREGG BERHALTER: You know, I just don't think that we need to reevaluate it after every game, right. He's a smart soccer player, a solid soccer player and he's a tremendous guy for this team.

For us, I don't think it would change if he played a bad game or change if he played a great game. We're very happy to have him. He's a player we admired for many years. And we're glad he's part of the squad.

Q. I wanted to build on the transfer question a little bit, I know you love answering those. Is it difficult right now, balancing these different approaches that you could take and some players you're competing against the biggest teams in Europe for those players, how has that been for you?

GREGG BERHALTER: It's been good. We have high ambitions. We want to really strengthen the squad. And it's been a fun part of it. The entire staff has been working hard, and you know, with two weeks left, we are going to see what happens.