CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 7, 2026

Philip Zinckernagel

Press Conference

Q. What's the process been for you and what does it mean, the contract extension?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: Does it mean anything? It doesn't really mean anything, but it's nice to get the recognition. It's a commitment from the club, and it's something that, you know, they showed that they are happy with me as a player and as a person.

So, yeah, obviously it's something that I'm really excited about. The process has been, actually, a long time we've talked about a new deal and all of this stuff, and it's been going on. And I think this was just the right timing for me and for the team and for the group.

So yeah, just happy about that.

Q. One more question about the new deal. Gregg last week, we had a chance to talk to him about it. He credited your patience with getting this done and saying that the team needed to improve and wanted to make moves for the team to improve. You've played at a lot of different clubs in your career. What does it say that you and the team have that kind of a relationship where there's enough mutual trust to believe that you will be treated correctly once the opportunity is available.

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: I mean, it's obviously something that comes with the relationship I have with Gregg and the club. Like I said, we've talked about this for a while and I know the club also wanted to bring in a big name in Lewandowski, and for me, that was fine because it was something that I could understand, and this would improve the team. You know, the excitement about the club and to raise the fan base and improve the level of the team.

Yeah, end of the day, Gregg was -- he kept his word about this deal that we've been talking about for a long time. But I wasn't in a rush and I don't think he was, either. It was just like finding the right timing, and I think this also opened up some other spots for the team so that we could be even stronger. That's how you want to do it.

Q. Thanks for making some time today. Appreciate it. Just looking ahead to Wednesday now, you're going to be sharing a field with Robert Lewandowski, Messi, in front of 50,000, 60,000 people. What are you expecting that experience to be like, and how do you make it not surreal when you're trying to do your job in that sort of setting?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: That's a good question. I think, you know, we had the pleasure of playing him last year in this stadium and it was almost full, as well. We've done it before, and obviously with Lewandowski, we have another superstar.

But I think once the game is on, you know, you just focus on the game. You don't think too much about the Messi or the Lewandowski. Try to just focus on the game. Yeah, I'm just happy that we have one of the superstars on our team this time, and yeah, it's exciting. It's exciting times with the clubs, and you want to play those games with a full stadium. Those are the fun games.

Q. But how do you put that out of your mind? I mean, obviously you're a soccer fan, you knew of Messi and Robert long before you played on the same field as them. So how do you kind of -- how do you do that, though?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: I think the excitement and all the -- you know, the hype about the game is there. It's there for a reason. But once you blow the first whistle, you're so into the game, it's just a game like any other game.

For me personally, I've played some big games before with fans. Actually even more fans. So I think players are looking forward to experiences like this and once the game is on you, you're just locked in.

Also, in my characters I'm not playing as a fan in front of Messi, so I'm probably not going to be that intimidated. If I was a direct opponent, I would probably be thinking a little bit about it but I'm not going to.

Q. This begins the streak of the Fire facing some really tough opponents. What's the mentality of the group going into this stretch of difficult games, teams that have ambitions to win the MLS Cup?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: I think the mentality of the group right now is really, really strong, and I think we have shown in the last 3 or 4 games, even if we get behind in the games, we have enough quality to get back into games.

I honestly think we've been a little bit unlucky. I think we were unlucky in Seattle. I think we were unlucky in Toronto, and I also think the game against Monterrey was very, very tight and all those games could have been 3 victories in my opinion.

I think the team is in a good spot, and I think mentality-wise, we are kind of disappointing that we haven't won those 3 games, so that shows that on paper, 3 difficult games that we have the belief that we should have won those games. It just shows where the mentality in the group is right now because maybe beforehand you would say, okay, 3 games, tough, tough away, Seattle, tough game, Toronto, could be okay, 2 points. But we want to win every game and we have shown away, we can beat anyone.

Q. Does this provide extra motivation for this one knowing that you played well enough to win but the win slipped out of your hands?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: Sure. You want to get back to winning and you have that feeling after this weekend that we deserve more. The thing about playing Miami is because they are so good defensively, they leave a lot of space in the back and they can be vulnerable. We see there are chances for us.

Q. I want to ask about two of the new signings, I know there were a lot this summer, but Noah, you played against him in Miami a couple times. What have you seen from him so far and has he given you any expectations for playing his old team?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: I think he looked really good when he came on last game. He's only been here for a few days. We haven't been able to train too much. But yeah, I liked his calmness on the ball and he can take on opponents from a defender, which is something that can help us in many games.

The fact that he can cover more positions is also really good for us.

Q. The other one is Andre, obviously got Norway, Denmark, Sweden represented, Robert from Finland as well. What are you expecting from him?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: I know him actually, a little bit, from playing him in Norway and potentially also in Belgium. He's a good guy and he's a great defender. He comes with some personality that will be great for us on the team. Yeah, just excited to see him in Chicago.

Q. What is that role for you as you're trying to welcome more and more people? You credited Hugo with helping you when you first got here. What is that role like now as you guys are in pressure-packed mode wanting to win but also bringing in really talented players?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: I think it's a great situation for us. I think obviously it's a little bit tougher when it's in the middle of the season because you want to give the new players time to adapt and find their role on the team but at the same time, there's no time for that. So they just need to be ready from day one. So obviously if we can make them feel more calm and feel good about it, it makes their job easy. But I think he's played in Belgium, he's got a lot of experience and it should be fine for him.

Q. One more about Miami. You talked about the spaces being available because of their attack. What do you think you can do to try to get 3 points at home?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: Because they attack with so many players, they are vulnerable, especially on counterattacks. If we can be a little bit better I think last couple games, we've been better at combining outside the box and finding each other and bringing more players into the box and having numbers there. Yeah, we just look really dangerous. I think we look more dangerous now than in the last game against Miami. If we can have a good defensive shape and attack them with all we have, when the chances arrives, we should just punish them.

Q. Congratulations on your extension, well-deserved. I'm just curious, I won't repeat some of the questions that were asked already but I do want to ask what have you seen from Puso and working alongside Maren Haile-Selassie?

PHILIP ZINCKERNAGEL: Thank you, and you know, I think accuse oh and Maren has shown that they both have a lot of quality, and I mean, especially Maren, he's on fire at the moment. You know, I think he's a very underrated players. I think he's a great talent and he has a lot of defensive abilities, and he's super clever.

Puso is a bit faster and a bit more direct player that can cause a lot of problems on his own hand. We've seen that especially in some of the games where they leave him a bit more open, he can do something dangerous.

Yeah, the squad -- the depth of the squad is really strong at the moment, and yeah, I think like I said earlier, we look really dangerous attacking at the moment. With a bit of luck and a bit of quality and also with the more time that goes with all of us playing together, I think we can score a lot of goals. I think on the weekend, we could have scored eight maybe. That's pretty positive.