On Thursday, Sporting Kansas City announced that the club has signed Alan Pulido through 2026. The Designated Player, alongside Manager Peter Vermes, participated in a press conference at Compass Minerals National Performance Center to discuss the contract extension with local journalists. Below is a transcript from the media availability.
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On the decision to re-sign Alan Pulido…
I'll go back all the way to when we first signed Alan. At times in my position, and I'll talk more as a coach, when you know that somebody fits the way you want to play exactly in your mind's eye. I thought I knew when we were negotiating a deal with both Chivas and Alan and his agent. When he got here for the first two days of training in preseason, I was taken aback. It was better than I thought in so many ways. The fortunate thing is that we were able to get him here. The unfortunate thing is that I think, because of the injuries that he sustained with the national team for the majority of the time, I think that we were unable to see his best other than when he first started until he got injured at the end of the season that first year. And that was at an incredibly high quality and high level. The difficulty in the re-signing was where was he going to be coming out of all this? I think the great thing is that between, I would say him and his agent and us the club, we had great communication from day one when we were talking about this. And this goes all the way back to August (2022) before where we already started talking about this and how could we get there. We maintained very open communication. This is a great relationship in that he knows how much that we would like him to be here. I know how much he enjoys it here. The fact that we were able to come to an agreement that we all feel good about is great because at the end it comes down to us both wanting the same thing and that is we both want to be successful. We want to win and there's no doubt that he has those qualities. One of the reasons why he was brought in here was to score goals and his strike rate is phenomenal. The fact that he's now healthy and fit and strong and I would say he's still probably only 90%. He's still probably not 100%. I think, unfortunately, we probably won't see him 100% until next season. But the fact that he is one goal shy of the Golden Boot with the fact that probably the first 10 games of the season he was probably 40-50% of himself says a lot about his quality. We're very excited that he's here.
On Alan’s recovery from his injury…
I think that was probably the most difficult part of all this for all of us to be able to evaluate and ascertain whether or not there was going to be a relapse or not. Two years ago when he was playing, I would say that once a week he would get somewhere between 30-40 cc’s of fluid taken out of his knee and he was training and playing the whole time. So there's two things. One is it talks about his commitment to playing and being here and wanting to fulfill his commitment. That's one. But the other is that it also was the reaction he was having from what his problem was. Since he's come back and played, not once has he had that issue. He trains like a monster. He trains hard. He's worked incredibly hard to get back to where he is. And it's very evident when you see him now. Like I said, I think he's only 90% but I'll take 90% any day of the week. But I know that he still needs some time because for every player that comes back from a significant injury, it's almost like the first year is a very difficult one. The second one is where he really starts to take off. I feel very confident in that aspect. Look, every player has risks that they take every time they go out on the field. It could happen to any guy. But from his injury, I think everybody is incredibly impressed with where he is at this time.
On what Alan brings to the team…
We had been looking for a forward for a long time prior to Alan coming and we just couldn't land on the person that we wanted to be honest with you. And then the opportunity came and the worst thing for me was that when he was playing in Mexico and I started talking to him and to his agent, I was like, ‘Hey, listen, you have got to stop scoring.’ Because he kept scoring and scoring and scoring and then Chivas got more and more excited about that as time went on. So that part was the difficult part. I've said this before and that is that I think that the most difficult position to find in the world is the No. 9. It's become even more rare because a lot of players today, especially in the No. 9 position, they evaluate themselves based on how many passes they connect or how they are in the buildup. But let's face it, the main component of being a No. 9 is to score goals. There was a player that I played against in the league who played for D.C. United. His name was Jaime Moreno. Jaime had this incredible quality and that was when he played in the game, he could play as a No. 9, he can play as a false nine, he could play as a winger, he could play as a No. 10. And Alan has the same qualities. Alan just does it instinctively. He figures out what the game needs at that time and he does it. There's not many players that do that anymore especially. I know you can tell with players. I've been around. I've played with guys. I know guys that I played with. We lost 5-4 but he scored four goals and he was happy as could be. I've been around those guys. (Alan) is definitely not like that. At the end, he wants to win. That's what he wants to do. But I think he also knows that he has a responsibility because he can score and that's what he does. So he wants to score to help the team win and that's a much different mentality. Again, I would add that he brings that quality of instinct to the game. I also know that it's not the same anymore. I don't know why. I'm not saying it's a sign of the times or what have you, but there are players in a lot of sports but some guys just do it because they're successful at it and they can make a really good living at it. There are other guys that do it because they love it. And I know that he loves the game. He loves the game and he also loves competing. Those things are incredibly important to have in the top players within your team.
A lot of times there are two different forwards. You either have a guy that's a target forward and all he does is he just gets it and he lays it off and he is always around the box -- he's called a box forward -- or you get a guy who's an underneath forward who can play in between the lines but doesn't ever want to be the guy to get the ball higher up the field. He wants to be underneath. (Alan) can do both. In the way that we play, that player has to be able to recognize the situations when you have to come in between the lines, when you have to stretch the defense, when you have to go out wide. He does that instinctively.
An example is when he was coming back from his injury, there wasn't anything that I had to do with him individually and go, ‘Hey, you need to do this or you need to do that.’ I just needed to work on the things that he was really good at and just make sure that he's back to form on them. I didn't have to go to him and say, ‘Hey, you have got to play between the lines.’ He just knows it. He instinctively knows it. And there's not a lot of players that can do that. There's a former forward who played for Argentina called Kun Aguero. He played very similarly. He could go to different places. I actually think that Alan is more mobile than he is, but they can do a lot of the same type of movements on the field and there's not a lot of players like that, especially anymore.
On Alan’s contributions to the club…
This is a very special moment. I think the one thing that Alan doesn't get enough credit for, I would say, is that a lot of guys in his position that are DPs and they come from different places is they're looked upon as, and rightfully so at times, that they're very self-absorbed and they're standoffish and all these other things. I'll give you an example of something. There are times in training where we play a tournament day, where you have 4-6 teams and everybody has to play against each other and you have a winner, you have a second place, third place, etc. There are times when we do that and I give a consequence. Imagine there's four teams, you have a first, second, third, and fourth. The first-place team maybe doesn't have to do any extra running. The second-place team has to do one or has to do two runs, and then third has to do three, and fourth has to do four. So we were playing on that day and he had just gotten to the team and his team won and he was in first place so they didn't have to run. And he went with the fourth-place team and he did all the runs with them. I'm here to tell you, I've been around a lot of players. I don't know a lot of guys that would step in and do that. And I always say that when you look at something like that, you can look at that in three ways. You can look at the guy who doesn't do that and that's a problem. Or you can look at it the other two ways. The other two ways would be either that's incredibly genuine or that person knows how to play the game and knows how to make sure everybody sees what he's doing. In either of those two cases, they're great because whether he's doing it genuinely or he knows how to play the game, in either way it gives a great benefit to everyone. He’s genuine about stuff like that. He's incredibly humble in and around his team, in and around the game, in and around the staff. He's tremendous like that. That says a lot about the other reason why he's here because I think if he was completely the other way, it would be a very difficult situation. I really do. But the fact that he's humble and he works his tail off and everything else, all his teammates respect that for sure.
Sporting Kansas City forward Alan Pulido
On his decision to extend his contract with Sporting...
I stay here and extend my contract because I am very happy here. I enjoy all the time when I come here to training. The team and the group is fantastic. The thing for me that is very important is when I didn’t play -- because last year I was I injured -- and I feel and I know all the team supported me (as well as) Peter, the club, the staff and the fans. This is the real thing I feel and I enjoy. This is a very important thing for me. I am very happy because the team has confidence with me and for me this is the most important thing. When I spoke with Peter, he said the same thing as how I think. I want to win a championship here and this is my mentality. I don't want to leave this group if I don't win something. This is my first objective and for this I re-signed.
On his comeback from his knee injury…
The last year for me is very sad. I am not happy about my injury. It's my first surgery in my career and I lost my mind, for sure, and was not good. But now in this position, I am very happy. I talk all the time to the trainers and I say thank you, because now I feel very good. And they say to me, ‘Alan, it’s not like because you come here one training that you feel very good. No, it's because you're training very good. You make the therapy always. You’re training 3-4 times per day. Your mentality is amazing.’ And I agree with that because sometimes when I woke up when I was injured, sometimes I didn’t have energy. I didn’t want to come to training. But my mentality, my professionality, I said, no, I need to go and I need to be the best. I need to improve upon my injury. I need to make a lot of things and I need to be confident. Also, when I come here, they always ask how I feel and this is energy for me. My family is close to me, but the last year for me is the most difficult year in my life for my injury. But I have a very good mentality and always when I come to training at different clubs, I try my best 100% because of what I have inside. I play soccer with heart and with my mind. I am proud of me about the last year. But also, I say it all the time, for me the most important is the team. I feel very good personally. I am happy but I say if I score in one game and the team loses, for me it's no good. Yes I scored, but I don't care. I want the team to win. This is more important for me. When we win and I score, okay, this is very happy for sure. Now my mind is focused on the playoffs and winning the last matches. I don't care if I score or not. The most important for me is we go into the playoffs.
On his relationship with Peter Vermes…
The relationship with Peter is amazing. It is good. Before I came here and I played at Chivas, I spoke with him and he said to me, ‘Hey, you need to come here. It Is a very good club. Everybody is confident with you.’ And of course, when I came here and I arrived here, I agreed. I now understand what he told me about because I have very good relationship with him -- not just specific in the soccer, but in a lot of things. I speak with him about the life, about other players, other teams, about the next matches. This is very good. This communication is good. I prefer that. I know he has confidence in me and I come here all the time with my mentality to be an animal, to be a monster in training and also in the matches. I play all the time to win.
On what he likes about Kansas City…
This city is very calm. When I came here, I bought a house because I liked it. I enjoy it here. The life in the USA is very different to Mexico. I like it. Only the weather is a little bit cold, but it's okay now. I like the city. I like also the team. The club is fantastic. The facility here is amazing. And also the people support me a lot - the players, all the staff – which for me is very important. The people that work here in the kitchen are always with a smile and this is amazing. In general, I like to stay here in this city and I like to stay here in this club because I enjoy all the time when I come to training here and also because I know in this team now we can win a championship and I am working toward that.
On future opportunities with the national team…
My first objective is, of course, the team going into the playoffs. This is my first objective. Also I want to score because my goals help the team to win matches. But also if I play like this, if I score, if I win with my team, of course the Mexican national team will hear and look at me. But my focus first is in the team and if I do a very good job here in the games, maybe they will call me.
