Sporting Kansas City enters the 2017 season as the fifth youngest team in Major League Soccer. Although the team has introduced nine players age 26 or younger, Sporting KC still boasts a veteran core that won MLS Cup in 2013 and has lifted three trophies over the past five years. Ahead of Saturday’s season opener against D.C. United, we caught up with Peter Vermes about his veteran squad and the thought process behind selecting a team captain.
Have you chosen your team captain for Saturday?
"Matt Besler will be our captain. Having said that, the success of this team will not come down to who is and is not our captain. The success of this team will be determined by the core group’s ability to invoke the four fundamental values: team first, work ethic, intelligence and most importantly, a winning mentality."
What do you look for in a team captain?
"There are a few things. The first is that I want someone who has been with the club for an extended period of time. I think it’s helpful to have your captain be a player that has a good understanding of not only your model of play, but of the culture of the club. Another consideration is that the captain, in many respects, has to be an extension of the coaching staff because their objective is to invoke, protect and defend what the coaching staff believes. The third factor is that the captain has to believe it himself because it’s hard to sell something that you, yourself don’t believe."
Are there certain personality traits you look for in your captain?
"Absolutely. I want somebody who is dedicated to the club, but also someone who will express his views and the views of his teammates. Communication is a huge piece of what we do. We need to make sure everyone has an understanding of what it is we want to accomplish and how we are going to accomplish that. I don’t think those decisions are just mine or that of a team captain. They are all of ours because we are all working and pursuing this together so it is extremely important that all of us are formulating the plan, helping administer the plan and then constantly protecting the plan. As a coaching staff, we are in constant communication with all of the players."
How did your experiences as a player shape your views of what you expect from your veteran core?
"I was fortunate enough to have been the captain at Rutgers University, with the New York / New Jersey MetroStars, the Colorado Rapids and with the U.S Men’s National Team. The one place I wasn’t captain was in Kansas City because our captain was Tony Meola. What I learned from my time in Kansas City is you don’t have to wear the captain’s armband to lead. It’s one of the things I try to explain to some of those other core guys because they have a job that is equally as important as the captain. If they truly believe in what they are doing and if they are bought in to what we are doing then they also have to be protectors, defenders and helpers with the other players."
How important is it to have a mix of different personalities on your team?
"When you are building a team you can’t select all of the guys with the same personalities and characteristics. As much as you know the kind of people you want on your team, you have to have diversity within the group and the key, though is making sure you allow individuals to bring their strengths to the forefront.
"Take Matt [Besler], Roger [Espinoza] and Dom [Dwyer], for example. Matt has a very calm demeanor on the field and it’s a good quality to have in a leader. He also has a great conscience for putting in the work off the field, he’s the guy reaching out to the communications staff five minutes after we drafted Colton Storm to welcome him to the team. On the other hand, Roger is unbelievably intense and we need that guy’s passion because the team feeds off of that. Dom is the upbeat guy on the team and his energy is contagious. It’s imperative for not only myself but the rest of the coaching staff to allow these guys to have the freedom to use these strengths to be catalysts in the locker room and to pass this stuff on to the other guys because these are all great qualities to have on our team."
