Eric Kronberg's having an eventful spring so far, and he couldn't be happier about it.
First, Kronberg became Sporting Kansas City's first-choice goalkeeper after eight years of understudying first Kevin Hartman and then the recently-retired Jimmy Nielsen. Then he became a father for the first time.
Which is the bigger challenge?
“I'll tell you,” Kronberg said with a laugh, “I'm more nervous driving home from the games than driving to the games.”
But while his sleep schedule isn't what it used to be since his daughter, Kaitlin, was born on April 1, Kronberg is enjoying life as a father – and as Sporting's No. 1.
“I think it's gone well,” Kronberg told MLSsoccer.com after a training session earlier this week. “We're starting to click defensively. I think the team's playing well in front of me, and I feel comfortable in goal. I feel confident, and really happy.”
Kronberg has started all seven of Sporting's matches this year, five in league play and two in CONCACAF Champions League play. He has a .8 goals-against average in MLS action, earning his second league clean sheet in last weekend's scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake.
“I think he's been very good. I really do,” manager Peter Vermes said. “I think he's done an excellent job thus far, especially being so new to being the fulltime guy. But he's handled it well, and he continues to get better each game that we play.”
And as he does so, Kronberg continues to emerge from the shadow of Nielsen, who became a local favorite as much for his embrace of fans as for his penalty-stage heroics in Sporting's 2012 U.S. Open Cup and 2013 MLS Cup final victories.
“It always is tough for players like that to be able to follow in somebody else's footsteps,” Vermes said. “But I truly believe that he's starting to forge his own path, and I think people are starting to see that he has qualities that are important to our team as well. He's going to continue to grow as a keeper, and that's what we need him to do.”
One quality that sets the 6-foot-5 Kronberg apart from his predecessor is his ability and willingness to come well off his line, as opposed to Nielsen's tendency to play closer into goal and let his defenders go after high balls in the area.
“It's a little different,” Kronberg said. “Obviously, it's just communication, having them trust me. It's definitely different for the backs to have someone that comes out a little bit more, but I think we're definitely adapting and it's benefiting us well.”
He hasn't changed everything, though, even on set-piece defense.
“Actually, I learned some things from Jimmy about numbers in the wall – when to pull guys out, when to put guys in, stuff like that,” he said. “So I'm pretty similar to Jimmy in terms of setting walls and who goes where, making sure everyone's focused.”
On kit style, though, the two couldn't be farther apart. Nielsen made pink his trademark, and Kronberg is happy to let him keep that legacy.
“Pink's Jimmy's color, so it might have retired with him,” Kronberg said. “But they didn't really give us an option to wear pink his year. I guess the league retired pink with Jimmy. But I've got my own colors now.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
