Chris Brady Q&A: Olympics, Chicago Fire's Season So Far, Red Stars at Wrigley

Chris Brady has continued to develop in his second year as the Chicago Fire’s goalkeeper and he’s hoping that’s enough to get the call-up for the Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Fire’s 20-year-old shot-stopper has faced the fourth-most shots on target (82) and made the fifth-most saves (54) while standing in goal for a side that currently sits 14th (3-6-8, 15 points) in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. The results haven’t been pretty, but the Fire’s propensity for defensive gaffes and overall offensive struggles this season have done nothing to aid in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Brady is on the bubble for one of the coveted goalkeeper spots on head coach Marko Mitrović’s squad and it shouldn’t be long before he knows if he will be competing in the Summer Olympics. Mitrović said earlier this week that he would begin requesting players be released from their clubs for this tournament soon after their friendly against Japan on June 11 in Kansas City.

Brady sat down with On Tap Sports Net after the Fire’s training session on Tuesday to discuss the Olympics, the Chicago Fire’s season, and attending the Chicago Red Stars match at Wrigley Field.

Chris Brady Interview

This interview has been slightly abbreviated and edited for clarity.

The US Men’s Olympic Team plays tonight. How are you feeling about your chances to be called into the squad for the Summer Olympics?

“I'm excited to see how the game plays out tonight against a good opponent in Japan. Obviously, it's our last preparation prior to the Olympics. I'm excited to see who Marko [Mitrović] puts out there - I know there's a couple of new faces in camp. I know all the guys so I wish them luck.

“What I can control is I hope that I've made a good case for myself thus far in these past three or four camps that I did go to. I'm hoping that my case is strong enough to get me included in that roster. I would be pretty disappointed if I was not included in the roster and I'd be pretty disappointed if I was not released.”

Last year you left the Fire’s match in Toronto early after sustaining a cut above your eye, how are you feeling about this weekend's match in Canada?

“I was gonna say I'm looking forward to hopefully playing a full 90 [laughs]. But I'm ready to get back. The three days off were nice, but you always end up missing playing. So ready to get back out there. They’re missing [Federico] Bernardeschi. So we can definitely get out of this with three points.”

The Fire entered the international break without a loss in your last three, what brought about that change from your perspective?

“We were in it together when it was shit. And we're still in it together when things are sort of turning around for us. Not to jinx anything, I just think that's a credit to all the work we're putting in as a group out there.

“And then I think we're a lot more committed now than we were in the beginning of the season to the game plans that they give us. And I feel like all of us have sort of bought into no matter what we're presented with whether we like it or we don't, we're all unit. I feel like that's a big reason why things are starting to look better for us. But hopefully we keep it going.”

You have a little over a month before the Olympics/Leagues Cup, how do you ensure the momentum continues?

“It's sort of similar to approaching this three-day break we just had. We need to do what we can with the games we have in front of us and then hopefully end on a good note before a break. It always feels better.”

Patrick Los appears to be the next goalkeeper in the Chicago Fire’s Homegrown pipeline, what do you think of the 16-year-old’s game?

“I love the kid. I’ve trained with him since I got here. He was a little kid when I started training - I mean, I was too for sure. He was always a hard worker. I remember his dad trained us with Igor [Dimov].

“He's one of those guys who’s not afraid to put his face in front of a shot. He's got that sort of chip on his shoulder, that bravery about him that I think really makes him a good keeper. And watching him grow up it's been something else. It's always a pleasure to see guys younger than you grow up. I feel like he's definitely got some qualities that are better than mine. He's for sure got a bright future ahead of him.”

You were one of the 35,038 in attendance at Wrigley Field to see the Red Stars play Bay FC, what did you think of the event?

“It was pretty packed. Wrigley holds 41,000, they got 35,000. It felt pretty packed, too. I get recognized quite a bit. I actually went down to the supporter’s section before kickoff. It was pretty funny.

“It was a fun game to watch, especially at Wrigley. I love going there for the Cubs or whatnot so it was a good experience. Very fun.”

What’s On Tap Next?

The Fire will be in Canada to face off against Toronto FC on Saturday. The match kicks off at 6:30 PM CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Follow @soccer_ontap on X for more Chicago Fire news and updates!