CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 7, 2026

Gregg Berhalter

Press Conference

Q. How exciting is it when you're looking at this game on Wednesday where it's two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference facing off at what should be a sold-out Soldier Field and you have major superstars on both teams in form. What expectations are there within the squad and within the organization for what should be a very fun night of soccer and otherwise?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think that this is the aim of Major League Soccer is to play games like this in front of this many people at sold out stadiums with marquis players. We always talk about Major League Soccer being the league of choice for top players and this game is an example of this. We see a lot of top players featured in this game.

Q. Speaking of top players, there's an obvious one, Messi. With the two games against the Fire, he hasn't scored or assisted, so what have you learned from the previous meetings --

GREGG BERHALTER: Can't say that -- we aren't going to talk about that at all this week. That's the ultimate jinx.

Par maybe it's luck, to be honest, right, maybe it could be luck a little bit. He's a top player and he gets a ton of chances and he scores a ton of goals. You know, we have 180-minute sample size is not the biggest sample size. We need to be focused on him, there's no question about it. They have a lot of good players but he's certainly top of the list.

Q. You talked about the luck and there's things you can control and things you can't. In the past couple games, there have been preventable goals that the team has not been able to prevent. What's the focus been like on training this week and how do you think you can lock it down a little bit more against Miami and all their talent?

GREGG BERHALTER: We haven't really trained, right. It's been -- we played on Saturday. It's Monday. We had a training solutions yesterday -- there hasn't been a ton of work but there's been video, analyzing the goals in Toronto, analyzing some of our defensive shape stuff. I remember last year talking about this. It's always going to be a collection of things that happen that leads to goals. It's always going to be not just the defenders are responsible but the team shape, type of thing, that you want to talk about and discuss.

And that was no different today in the video room. We looked at our team shape and looked at how can we be more compact, prevent central passes, close the spaces quicker, and we just have to do that. It's a team effort. We score goals as a team. We scored a goal the other day where Brady starts the attack and we end up scoring but we also defend as a team. It's all 11 players responsible.

Q. Back to the whole event about Wednesday night. How do you keep the team focused on what it has to do on the field and not, man, they are sharing the field with Messi, Lewandowski, in front of 60,000 people and the game is going to be watched internationally? How do you keep them just focused on what's in front of them on the field?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think it's pretty easy because these are the games that if you're a player, you can't wait to play in. These are the games that, you know, you Marc your calendar in the beginning of the year that you're so excited for.

So then it's about locking in. I mean, the adrenaline is going, and these are the games that are really easy to get up for.

And you know, I think both teams are going to be really excited. Miami is used to playing in front of a lot of fans but I have to say that since Robert's been around, we've been playing in front of packed stadiums, also, and it's a great feeling. I hope the players enjoy it.

Q. How has Robert's presence changed, I guess, the vibe around the team when it goes on the road and how much will that help you Wednesday night because obviously -- as you said, there's been a lot of big crowds that see you guys.

GREGG BERHALTER: Well, I hope, Wednesday nights, it's a pro-Chicago crowd, it's a pro-the-guys-in-red crowd. I know it will be. They are excited watch us play at home.

But even on the road we have seen a ton of Polish fans and we've seen a number of signs. There's been a great response around the league for Robert.

And for the team, it's nice to play in front of full stadiums. We haven't always gotten that but now it seems like when we are on the road, all the stadiums are sold out.

Q. Inter Miami are the fifth team with the most goals in the east but they also lead the conference with goals scored and Messi leads the league with 18 goals. How do you plan to exploit their defensive woes while containing prolific attack?

GREGG BERHALTER: That's the big secret right there, how to do it.

I remember last year, when we played Miami, it was a similar conversation, right, and we said one thing we know, there's going to be goals. And it was 0-0. All it proves is I don't know a lot, right.

I would suspect there's going to be goals. That's what I suspect because both teams are very offensive teams and have been scoring at a good rate. But at this stage, I don't know. Who knows?

Q. Kicks off a 5-game stretch playing the top teams in MLS. Is there any additional pressure on these games knowing the team's ambitions this year of proceeding in the postseason are probably going to be meeting up with the Eastern Conference teams and there's a chance that Vancouver could make it out of the West to the conference final?

GREGG BERHALTER: I don't think we realize the difficulty in this upcoming stretch in terms of the opponents, and we are relishing the challenge. I think it's a great opportunity for this group.

But for us to be successful in this block, we have to take it game by game. You know I'm not going to get ahead of ourselves and start talking about this package of games. Our primary focus right now is Inter Miami and how do we beat Inter Miami, and that's it.

But we know that it's going to be a great chunk of games against great opponents and some great environments, so we are excited by it, but it really is one game at a time.

Q. Noah has been here less than a week and playing his old team already. How has it been having him in the locker room?

GREGG BERHALTER: For him, I can imagine it's a little bit complicated. He was raised there. He won an MLS Cup there. So I understand he has very strong feelings toward Inter Miami.

And for us, it's trying to get some information off of him. But it's pretty clear what they do. They are a very good team and they have very good attacking players. They have a very good squad.

So it's really about just coming up with a game plan that we can contain some of what they do, and really limit some of their danger.

Q. I was curious about the competition Noah is bringing so the center back room. What are they bringing in this week-period that you've had together?

GREGG BERHALTER: For us, we know that we do have depth there. We know Noah can play center back, which he showed in the second half of the game. We brought him in for that reason, the versatility between playing left back and center back, which we think is important.

With Sam and Jack, Sam is very good on the ball. Very good passing. Very about breaking lines. He gives us that element. Jack's very good in the air. Able to, I think, good 1v1 defender. Good defending in the penalty box. He has all the attributes as well and very good on set pieces.

So you know, a combination of those 3, you know, we'll be able to get the job done.

Q. Curious if you have any updates on the status of Bamba and Mbokazi and Franco?

GREGG BERHALTER: With Bamba, he had an intensive field session today. He was in treatment all weekend but was able to complete a good field session today. My guess is there would be should availability but I will have to see tomorrow.

Bamba and Andre are out, obviously. But making good progress. Andre was able to join the team in partial training yesterday, on Sunday, and balm bow had a really intensive field session today. They are all making progress.

Q. With Chris Mueller announcing his retirement, he's been around the club with you for a while and it's been a tough process watching him not be able to play. What are some thoughts you have on just his retirement and the effort he's made to continually try to get back on the field?

GREGG BERHALTER: You know, I think with Chris, it's a really interesting story, right, because he's here every day and he's a big mindset person, and he's big about taking one day at a time.

But he was tested. He was tested with this rare condition that not many athletes get, and he had to actually go through it, and he had to put into practice what he was working on and what he was reading about and what he's researching. I think he did a fantastic job to get to a point to return to the field. And that in itself, to me, is a huge triumph. He should be extremely proud. A lot of people just would have quit. He was out all last year, and was able to get back and start a game for us and contribute.

So hats off to him for all that effort. And he's had a fantastic career. There's not going to be many regrets when he looks back on his career. He's done everything he wanted to do. He played in MLS and was a top performer in MLS. He went abroad. Came back. Finished in his hometown.

We're going to miss him, but whatever he does, he's going to be successful.