CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 29, 2026

Gregg Berhalter

Press Conference

Chicago Fire 2, Seattle Sounders 2

THE MODERATOR: We will get started with any opening statement that you may have.

GREGG BERHALTER: Sure, proud of the effort of the group. I told the team after the game to come back into the game after a very slow start. Shows a lot about the character of the group. And then to come from behind twice also shows good character and good determination.

I think at the end of the day, we'll take the point, not necessarily happy with the point but we'll take it. The guys have worked tremendously hard in this month of August. We're undefeated in league play and just having lost one game in nine against Monterey. So, happy with the group. Good effort, and now we get some rest before we prepare for Toronto. Thank you.

Q. Just curious about what do you attribute to those slow starts in the first and second half? Because obviously Joveljic is a good striker, but it seems like he was given a little bit too much space on that second goal.

GREGG BERHALTER: I don't know. That's a great question. I have no idea.

Q. Understood. Safe travels home.

GREGG BERHALTER: Thanks.

Q. Coach, Maren was involved in both goals today and he played four positions on the field. What were you explaining to him throughout that and what did you think of his performance overall?

GREGG BERHALTER: We kept telling him to switch, switch, switch positions. No, Maren played a very good game. I think he took him a while to get into the game as well but once he came in he came in and did a great job.

Maren is our Swiss Army Knife, and it's ironic that he's actually Swiss because he can play any position and he's versatile and he can do any job. Really happy with his performance and he means a lot to this group.

Q. I think one of the things we expected with Robert coming in was that there would be more balls into the box. You finally got a header goal from him today. Is that something satisfying to see him build his confidence up that way?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think the most important thing is we had nine passes inside the penalty box today. That shows that we're on track. We need to get the ball into the penalty box. Robert needs to get service, and when he does, you can see his quality.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about what you saw from D'Avilla for this one? One of the things you mentioned earlier this year was you could see the talent level from him but sometimes the consistency wasn't there. He didn't have a perfect game, but he was able to recover and did really well throughout a lot of it.

GREGG BERHALTER: I think that's exactly right and that's what we've been working on with D'Avilla. If the game isn't perfect or you make a play that you don't love, how do you keep going? Today was a perfect example of D'Avilla not having a great start to the game, but just growing into the game and he became a force as the game went on.

Q. This is the second game in a row where Bamba has been a fourth winger to enter the game. What do you think you can do to more out of him at the moment?

GREGG BERHALTER: We made four subs in winger position?

Q. No, it's the -- Puso, Maren, and Zink were all in the game before him.

GREGG BERHALTER: Okay. He was the second winger to come in the game?

Q. The second, but the fourth winger to come in.

GREGG BERHALTER: I think we have a starting lineup and then we made a sub and Puso was the first sub off the bench and Bamba was the second sub. And it just shows our depth right now. Bamba, look at the performance he had off the bench today. He did an amazing job and we talk about the solutions being important to the game, and when you can bring a guy like him in, it means you have a quality squad.

Q. You have four days left until the deadline closes. How are we feeling?

GREGG BERHALTER: We're going to have to, I think, assess after the game, assess where we're at. We're working on a number of things and we'll be able to share more information soon. Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Thank you, everyone.