AC MILAN 3, CHICAGO FIRE 1
FIRE HEAD COACH DAVE SARACHAN
On the comparison between an international friendly and a typical MLS game:
"It's a different kind of game. When you play a team like Milan, it's
a pace that can be slow and then it can be fast. It has different
rhythms to it. An MLS game, the throttle's on for most of it, but
there's a different rhythm to it. There's a lot of mental work that
goes into a game like tonight, but it's just a different kind of
running. I think our guys obviously were fit and in good form because
we're in the middle of our season, so I thought we handled that part
very well."
On Fire midfielder Thiago's return to the Fire after knee surgery:
"I was pleased. We wanted to get him 35-40 minutes tonight and we got
him a good 30 minutes. He just needs to get his fitness and form
back, but he's going to be ready for us once we get back from the
break."
On forward Andy Herron's close calls on goal:
"Andy's trying so hard, it's almost working against him. We've talked
to him and said to just relax. He just needs to break the ice and get
the goal. I always give forwards credit for creating chances, and at
the end of the day he's sitting in his locker very disappointed
because he had two great chances. On one, the goalkeeper made two or
three saves in a row. He's still a guy, a forward, that has
confidence, and he needs to get the goal."
On the play of midfielder Justin Mapp:
"Justin has moments in the game where you scratch your head and say,
well, he could do more and then he has moments where he can turn it
on. At the end of the day, Justin is a kid that has a great future
and I thought he had more pluses than minuses during tonight's game.
He was up against Jaap Stam and that was a challenge. I thought
there were moments where he was fabulous."
CHICAGO FIRE FORWARD CHRIS ROLFE
On his goal:
"It was the most memorable goal I've had. It was a special goal.
That was a much bigger celebration than I've ever had."
On playing AC Milan:
"We were out there on Soldier Field. It felt the same. If I had sat
there and thought about it, I would have been like 'What am I doing
out there?' You don't have time to think about it. You're just
playing soccer with 11 other guys."
On the Fire's performance:
"It was all adrenaline. They say you play up to your opponents' level
and that's what we did."
CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER SAMUEL CABALLERO
On facing a team from his former league:
"I felt comfortable because I had played against this team before.
This was a great experience not only for me but also for the new guys
on the team. I felt very happy."
On the Fire's performance:
"Tonight we had a little bad luck. We made some chances and it was a
good game for us. It was a big team, preseason or not. The Fire did
what they could. We needed more luck."
A.C. MILAN HEAD COACH CARLO ANCELOTTI
On the game:
"It was a great game. We were in front of a team that had a lot of
rhythm, was very fast and played a great soccer match. We came from a
little more experience and even with a little bit of luck."
On the Fire team's play:
"I won't talk about the individual players but all together it was a
well-organized team, they played very well together. They had a very
fast rhythm."
A.C. MILAN GOALKEEPER VALERIO FIORI
On the Fire:
"They are a very good team. They had a lot of sharp players. On the
field, they were a little bit dangerous."
On his debut with A.C. Milan:
"It felt good. I've been playing for 18 years. Even if I had been
playing for 70 years, it felt good."
