CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 5, 2026

Gregg Berhalter

Press Conference

Q. Coach, just to get it out of the way, is there any update on Mauricio Pineda, his availability situation? And also Robin Lod, is there any update on him and if he's going to be able to come back this season?

GREGG BERHALTER: Robin is doing well, progressing well from his injury. I think he's doing on-field rehab starting beginning of next week, and he obviously won't be back for this game, but there's a chance he'll be back for the first game of the playoffs.

Mauricio should be available for training tomorrow potentially.

Q. Is there anything in particular you want to see from your group that going into the playoffs would give you a boost of confidence?

GREGG BERHALTER: No. I think we're confident. I think we're progressing. We're getting to where we want to be.

The guys have been focused this week in training, and for us, it's about just continuing on. You want to always carry momentum, so for us we know it's an important game. It's a game to end the season in a good way, get 10 wins at home, and also against a good opponent, an opponent that has a good streak going.

For us, we see this as a preview to a playoff-style game.

Q. How do you prepare for this? Can you use anything from that first game where there was so much rotation on both sides, strikers were different, and Columbus had a different head coach as well?

GREGG BERHALTER: No.

Q. So how does that, if anything, help for the postseason where you do want to have a fresh look at a team like Charlotte where you've had two successful performances, but you want to kind of go with a clean slate and how can we move on from that?

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, I think that the coach has done a great job with Columbus. I think they were in a tough spot, and Laurent came and did a fantastic job. I think he's a good coach. They have a very clear way to play, the DNA of Wilfried, and we know the threats that they pose.

For us, anytime you get to play an in-form opponent, a good opponent, you want to take advantage of that opportunity.

For us, it's a good opportunity to play against a good opponent as we prepare for Charlotte, who is another good team.

Q. Coach Gregg, Columbus fought their way back into the playoffs. What makes them such a dangerous opponent right now?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think it's like all the teams in the league. If you don't prepare, you're in trouble. And if you prepare, you have a chance. For us, it's Columbus or whoever, Colorado last week or Atlanta the week before. All these teams are difficult to play against.

For us, it's about focusing on what we do, try and improve what we do, and embrace the competition, because we know they're a good team.

Q. Coach, I asked this question to Jack Elliott. What do you think is the weakest of the Chicago Fire right now? Which point do you think is the weakest for the Fire?

GREGG BERHALTER: What did Jack say?

Q. Jack said there are several points teams can work on but we're working together as a team to strengthen the group as a whole.

GREGG BERHALTER: There you go. Good paraphrasing. Thank you, E.

I think, along those lines, we're always looking to get better. I don't think we're ever satisfied with where we are. There's always things to improve. Even with a win last week at Colorado, at altitude, we're still saying, okay, what areas could we have been better on. The cross on the second goal, we should defend better.

There's always areas. The midfielders should close the line and not get penetrated on the switch of field. There's always things to improve on. I think that's the mark of a good team, is you're never satisfied, you're always trying to improve. You're playing the game against yourself, in a way.

Q. Last year was a little bit different in sort of the perception of you guys going into the playoffs where you guys were the hunters, in a sense, trying to go against a top team or whatnot and prove yourself. This time it's a little bit different. You're the hunted in a sense because you guys are potentially a top 4 seed and teams will be looking to prove themselves against you. Did you notice that sort of mentality shift? How do you approach that from where you were previously, sort of the team that's knocking on the door, to now the team that's inside the door?

GREGG BERHALTER: No, I think that there's a long way to go. The teams that I would put in the category that you referenced would be Nashville. They're about to set the record for most points in a single MLS season and they've done a fantastic job, fantastic consistency all season. Then Miami because they're defending champs. Those are the two teams that really have the pressure on them.

We want to get a home seed. We want to win the game on Saturday. We want to have a good performance on decision day. From there, we just take it one game at a time.

We know there's a lot of difficult teams in the playoffs. We know the east is a very difficult conference. For us, it's just taking one game at a time.

Q. Robert Lewandowski broke his throwing drought in the last game, so obviously that's a big boost for him. But have you seen anything different from him now that he's got over that hurdle and gotten back on the score sheet?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think this week in training he's moving a little bit more free and a little bit more relaxed, and I think you see the high-end quality plays come out when he has that demeanor.

What I would say is he puts so much into it, and he's so concerned about the team performance as his own performance. It's actually amazing to have a player at that age that's still so focused on his performance and he leads the way in a real positive way.

Q. We know the importance in MLS of getting high performances from your designated players. How much of a boost is it that in addition to having Robert scoring, to have Jonathan Bamba playing the best he has in a long time now?

GREGG BERHALTER: You know, I think that's a result of Jo's just tremendous work rate and the perseverance. He's the hardest one on himself. When he's not producing like he thinks he should, he's very, very hard on himself, but he still works hard and tries to work his way through it, and this is an example of him doing that.

Really happy for him. He's in great form, and it's at the perfect time.

Q. What can this team do now that it wasn't capable of doing at the start of the season?

GREGG BERHALTER: Well, I think we're a completely different team. The game that you guys referenced in Columbus, if you look at the lineup there, Chris Mueller started the game. I think -- Chris Mueller is not playing anymore, and Dylan Borso came in the game and he's playing in Scotland now.

We're a completely different team than we were back then: Much stronger, much greater depth, and real competition at every position.

I'm excited about this group. I think if we can continue to play well, I think we'll be dangerous.

Q. Jack said that the playoffs start Saturday. That was his nice little quote. Is that helpful to have that mindset, though, before there is an international break where guys are going to have to leave so you get that intensity up from everybody before some guys have to go out and worry about some other things for a week and a half?

GREGG BERHALTER: Yeah, I always think about that type of messaging with the group. I think as much as you say that, the reality is we're not eliminated on Saturday. That's the reality.

But I think when we look at our goals and what we're trying to do as a team, this game is very important. So I can understand that analogy.

For us, this is a big game for us and we're excited about it, and we want to finish the season at home in a strong way.