Dave Sarachan Quotes (44 Quotes)

Clearly, three points today, in a place that has not exactly been the easiest for us to play, is huge. It was a great team effort.

There are lots of emotions with Chris and his comeback. He is the heart and soul of this team.

We're thrilled to welcome Diego back to the Chicago Fire family. In getting Diego back, we're getting a known quantity. He's a competitor and a versatile player that will provide us with a number of positional options this year.

We feel there are still a lot of quality players in these rounds of the draft, so we did our homework.

Spartan Stadium is a tough place to play. I think the attitude coming in was very positive, but with San Jose getting the first goal, and now us chasing the game, it makes it doubly hard on us in a building where you don't have a lot of space.

The good part is that we are creating chances, the frustrating part is that we are not finishing enough. I do believe we have the depth up front, but it's a little bit of a concern.

We'll still have lots of numbers. Having 35 is huge for us. There'll be immediate competition. It'll be interesting because this year our need for bodies isn't as great.

We should have killed the first game off, and we know it. Knowing how to manage games when you are ahead or behind is a function of experience. I think our guys are a quick study though.

I'm not sure about the past history, but we feel we rise to the occasion. D.C. United we respect in terms of the quality they can bring, but we never feared D.C. United. Sometime you have an edge over certain team.

It would be impossible to measure the positive impact that Jesse has had on our club, both on the field and off. I've known Jesse on a personal and professional level for some years, and this decision did not come easily. Although his leadership and experience will be missed, we felt it was the right time to make this decision. I want to wish Jesse all the best as he moves on with his career in soccer.

The idea when you go on the road is to come away with points. We got one today, but I thought we earned three. We really limited Columbus. They didn't pose many threats against us, but somehow when you look up at the board it's 1-1. We have a competitive group inside that locker room that felt we could have gotten three (points), but it's an important point we got today and we're going to continue to build on that.

I think (the rest was) clearly a bonus for us because we had hit the wall physically and mentally. I think we've caught a great time to get our breath, get our batteries charged, get a few guys back healthy and rest a few guys that had had some knocks and bruises.

We've got a good mentality when we play on the road. It's never easy to come in to Crew Stadium and get a win, so this was big for us. We might have 56 straight days on the road, but it doesn't bother us.

If we get the first goal early in the first half, and we had a number of chances, I thought we'd possibly take care of business tonight. The good part is that we are creating chances the frustrating part is that we are not finishing enough.

All the games are going to be tight, and we just have to worry about ourselves and make sure we get into good form coming into next week and just compete.

Zach got sick in Mexico, and that set him back. Physically, he was out of the box for a little while, and it took him a little time to get back to the form we've expected of him.

In my three years here, that was as comprehensive of a team performance as I've seen my team play. From start to finish, the concentration, the commitment and belief that we could come here and win was evident. . . To come into RFK and win is pretty good. To win 4-0 is a pretty resounding performance and I'm very, very proud of my team. Very proud.

Jeff is very consistent, very steady and comfortable with the ball. He has size and strength to be a good defender in our league.

Jordan caught our eye at the combine. He could be a sleeper in this draft. We were looking for a defender to get ourselves stronger in the back.

It was a great exercise for us. We played a First Division team with many of its starters. Even though we didn't score any goals, I feel we created some very good chances and it was important for our players to get playing time. Overall I feel that we're making very good progress this preseason.

We respected Rochester from the opening whistle, and they were a tough team tonight. We knew that it could go that far and I was proud of my team after conceding a goal for hanging in there. We were a little bit whipped, but we just wanted to keep our composure during the overtime and make sure we didn't give up a second goal. I'm proud of my team and pleased to be advancing.

What you saw tonight was a team that didn't quit, that battled, that pushed the game the second half. I was disappointed with the two goals we conceded in the first half. But in the end, we got a tie, we're in the playoffs, we've reached goal No. 1 and that's very good.

We didn't feel good about giving up three goals last week. This week, we made a pretty strong attempt to do a better job as an overall group of being better collectively on a defensive end.

In my opinion it wasn't a penalty. It's a shame that, you know, when you add it up today, Columbus didn't really have that many clear chances, but were given that opportunity to equalize.

Andy Herron's debut was a beauty. He's a real forward and good around the goal and that combination played out real well. From day one he felt very comfortable here and our guys got to understand him pretty quickly, and vice versa.

That first game we surrendered two leads and gave up three goals and that is unacceptable to our standards.

As you get down to the last six or seven games, the points are very important. We knew it would be a real dogfight, a battle, with a team like Columbus coming at us. Getting the first goal was very important for us.

We want all 27 points. Twenty-seven would be great. We're going out there to win. Realistically, when the road trip is over, I'd like at least five wins, to be over .500. So yeah, we're shooting to take at least 15 points. We're not looking for draws. We have good leadership in our veterans and a strong blend of good young talent to win.

It would be impossible to measure the positive influence that Jesse has had on our club, both on and off the field.

I think, as first games go, we had our good moments and we obviously had our moments where we can obviously be better. The positives are that we got the first goal and also that we got the go-ahead goal at 2-1. The negatives are that we gave up a couple of goals that I thought could have been prevented and let them back in it.

When you look long term from today, Feb. 9, and extend it out to June 25, sure, it's a daunting calendar. But I think it's so much of an attitude and a mental approach to it. We knew that the first stretch of games was going to be on the road and being down here and away from the comfort of home is just something that we're going to have to get used to.

I want to thank Samuel Caballero for his professionalism and his time with the club in 2005. He was a great influence on our young defenders last season and I wish him much success with his new opportunity.

You don't make changes for change's sake. You put guys in that are healthy and in good form. Right now we have a very thin roster. We're going to count on everybody to get back into good form.

To the critical eye, Jesse and Chris do so much. To the casual observer, they're not flashy, but the distance they cover in the midfield is mind-boggling. They're both very experienced, and their partnership makes it very hard on teams.

In my three years here, that was the most comprehensive of a team performance as I have ever seen my team play. From start to finish, the concentration, commitment and the belief we could come here and win was evident. I don't know what else I can say.

It wasn't a penalty. It's a shame that it was called. ... It's unfortunate, because we felt we had three points today.

We've seen great progress in Scott throughout his two years with the Fire, so it's unfortunate that the timing of the roster deadline didn't allow us to secure a Senior Roster spot for him. He was a great young profession with our club since day one. I feel he still has a future ahead of him in MLS and wish him all the best.

At halftime we felt that as long as we are patient and do a good job with possession we could get the goal back. ... When you are down a goal and you're trying to push to get the goal there are going to be situations that will allow the game to open up and that's what happened. You still have to make the defensive plays out of those situations and tonight we didn't.

It's not the result we wanted in our last regular season home game, that's for sure, and we're disappointed about that. Just real simple, we missed a real opportunity tonight. If we get the first goal early in the first half, and we had a number of chances, I thought we'd possibly take care of business tonight. Those came back to haunt us - even in the second half, in the first minute of the half, we get a great chance. It's disappointing, but that's all I can say. We just move on from here.

Good teams can make one play into something and they did. They made a play that made the difference for them.

I'm thrilled to welcome Diego back to Chicago. He's a competitor and versatile player. He'll make a great addition to our roster.

We're going to take it one day at a time and one game at a time. We have to approach it that way, otherwise we could get overwhelmed.

Zach started Saturday and came through fine with his calf, so his health isn't an issue. He had a good week of training and a good solid game against New England.

From my angle I had no chance to see if it was the correct call. It was frustrating because we were battling and battling for every opportunity to get back in the game.