Sporting Kansas City Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes met with the media on Thursday to discuss the team's schedule for the MLS is Back Tournament among other timely topics. His remarks are below.
On whether MLS has spoken with coaches about peaceful protests on matchdays…
We’ve had quite a few discussions here about a lot of different things. That specific topic we have not (discussed) with (MLS) up until now. I’m sure they will by the time we get there. We’ve been in step with the players all along, so I don’t think it will change anything. It’s just that they haven’t spoken to us about that yet.
On whether Vermes has any fear or trepidation about rising COVID-19 cases in Florida…
For me, zero. The way that we’ve been going about our business up until now has been very good. I think it’s going to continue when we get down there. I’ve gone through all of the protocols they’re going to have down there. If you read through it, you would probably say it’s over the top, but it’s obviously necessary at this time. I feel very comfortable with the protocol and we’ll be in a really good place.
On the kickoff times of Sporting’s group stage matches…
The two times of 8 p.m. Eastern at night are great. The 9 a.m. Eastern is going to be a difficult one for both teams. It’s just not normal to play that early in the morning, especially a game and with no fans. Those will all present some difficulties. The one thing about the guys thus far is they’ve shown a good attitude and mentality. It’s really about us playing our first game and kind of getting back into the groove. Hopefully by that third game we’ll start feeling pretty good about ourselves.
On whether the tournament schedule will prompt Vermes to give playing time to more young players…
The fact that you’re playing a Sunday, a Friday and a Wednesday is actually a pretty good amount of time between games. At the same time, you haven’t played any real games up until that point. It’s really going to be about taking inventory of the team after each game and really seeing where the guys are. It’s one thing to have the rest in between, but there could be an accumulation aspect that we have to be aware of. We’re going to have to assess it after each game the next day, just to see where those guys are. That’s when you usually say, “Okay, did we suffer any injuries?” Some guy might say his hamstring is tight, so then you make this really difficult call. Do you keep playing him or do you give him the rest? It’s really going to come down to good communication between the players, the medical staff and me and the rest of the coaching staff.
On the challenges of playing a 9 a.m. local time game against Real Salt Lake on July 22…
We’re going to have to get up earlier because we’re going to have to fuel the body in a different way. A lot of times we do our pregame meal between four and five hours prior to our game. So you can imagine what time that puts you at. So we’ll have to deal with fueling the team a little differently in that situation. I’d also think that maybe even at halftime we’d have to do something a little different for that game because it’s going to be really hard to get the guys up so early in the morning. You’re talking about 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning. That’s going to be tough.
On the challenges of playing with sharpness after a long layoff…
When you watch a lot of the games that have taken place around the world, you see that the sharpness of the players is lacking. We’ve obviously been doing individual workouts and progressed to small group workouts. But until you start competing against each other, you’re waiting for that to come and waiting for guys to get into rhythm with each other. The other difficulty is we’re constantly playing against ourselves in intra-squad scrimmages. So our guys know the other guys pretty well and vice versa, and the second thing is it’s getting old. We need a different opponent. What I think will happen, especially in the first game, is there will be this incredible energy between the two teams in the first 10 or 15 minutes because it’s, “Oh, here we go, we’re playing again.” But then hopefully the game will settle down a little bit. I don’t think anyone will be in game shape, but I think it’s possible by the third game that you could really start to get back a rhythm of play.
On Sporting’s COVID-19 test results…
I can say that no, we have not had any positive tests yet. And that’s a lot of people.
On whether hot and humid playing conditions will lead to a lot of goals in Orlando…
I hope we score a lot of goals and don’t get many against us. I think the heat’s going to have a major impact. That’s why I’ve said the likes of Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Miami and Atlanta will have a leg up on the rest of us—just because they’re acclimated to it by training every day. Is the heat going to lead to a lot of goals? Potentially. I think there’s a high potential for that. I think that’s also why it’s going to affect game fitness as well early on, just because teams won’t be used to it.
On when Sporting will depart for Orlando…
We’re going to leave July 5.
On Minnesota United FC, Sporting’s first opponent on July 12…
They’re a very good team in that they’re strong up the spine. They have a lot of experience not only as soccer players but within our league as well. There are winners on that team. It’s a team that is similar (to us): small market, punch above your weight class. Those always end up being tough battles and I don’t expect it to be any different than the kinds of games we see against the Real Salt Lakes and Colorado Rapids of the world. I think our group is really tough in that regard because they’re all similar-type clubs in terms of size, market and all of that stuff. You’ve got to do a lot more with a lot less.
On whether Sporting will scrimmage another MLS team before their first match…
No, MLS put a protocol in place where you have to be down there at least seven days before you can play a scrimmage (against another team). Our objective was that it was more important to get down there as late as possible. Because why would you think you’re going home early? We think we’re going to stay late, so it was better for us to be at home longer.
On whether every Sporting player will travel to Orlando…
There may be some guys coming off an injury that I may leave back, just because I want to take all healthy bodies down there. Because we’re playing a lot of games in a short period of time, the staff’s concentration is going to have to be on the guys getting ready for games. It’s not going to be rehabbing guys. So whoever we all feel will not have an impact in playing we’ll probably leave behind.
On the status of defender Winston Reid, who has spent the last several weeks in England…
Yes, he was back and he was at training today. He’s taken his tests and everything and he is negative. He went through the protocol, taking his tests back to back. He’s actually taken three in a row.
On the younger players that Vermes is planning to take to Orlando…
All of them, because they’re all healthy.
On the potential roles of Gianluca Busio and Jaylin Lindsey…
It’s hard for me to predict, but what I would say is I have utmost confidence in those guys. They’ve really taken those steps and worked hard in this quarantine period to come back in a good place, as well. I think they’re coming back a lot stronger than when we left. They’re in a good place and they’ll be available. All of those guys are healthy at the moment, so I’m not going to be afraid to use any of those guys.
On how he plans to rotate his roster with up to five substitutes per match…
I could easily put two teams together right now. I feel very good about that. Will I go that way? I’m not sure yet. The five substitutions—as much as it’s a good thing from a physical perspective, it could be really slippery slope when it comes to the flow and rhythm of a team. There’s times when you’re playing a game and haven’t made a sub yet and the team is on. Then you make one sub and it has a major effect in a negative way. And then sometimes in preseason, we change five or six guys out of a team at halftime, and the second team comes back in and it changes everything. The first thing I’m going to have to look at in these situations is going to be the physical component of each player because it’s going to be so warm. If a guy can’t go physically, he can’t go physically, no matter what I want to do tactically.
On the progress of Winston Reid…
He was working out while he was over in England, but he’s got to get back into the full-team training. That’s going to take a little bit of time, but he does have a good base of fitness. What I won’t do is put him out there in a risky situation. I want to make sure that whatever I put him up against, he’s prepared for it—whether it’s 10 minutes or a half or whatever. We’ve got to make sure he’s prepared and that he’s confident to do that, as well. It makes no sense to hurry any player up just to get him on the field.
On MLS plans to continue the regular season after the tournament…
I know that there’s not only a huge motivation from the league’s point of view, but us here at Sporting, we’re doing everything we can to try and make sure that when we come back, we’re not only able to play in our stadium, but we possibly might have a good amount of fans in there as well—socially distanced and all that stuff, and we’ll take steps from there. That’s our objective.
On the likelihood of the regular season continuing into the fall…
I just think that there is a lot of different messaging out there. As well all know, it changes a lot and quickly on a daily basis. I’ve said this in the past: I’m the optimist. I think we’re getting back and I think we’re going to be playing games in our stadium with fans. I look at it like individual workouts. Everyone thought it was crazy when we came back to individual workouts, and now here we are playing full-team. We’re in our locker room, we’re having breakfast and lunch every day. Things have progressed. We’ve done a really good job keeping ourselves in a good position. Guys have been safe and guys have been disciplined. I think that’s going to continue and I hope it helps as we come back from Orlando.
On the players’ commitment to the safety protocols…
When you think of the everyday life of any of us, if you’re going to your work and then you go home – that’s one thing. But you still have to grocery shopping. You still have to do other things. The guys are doing those things and so far, so good. But you’ve also got to keep your guard up and I’ve been very adamant about that with the guys in saying, ‘Listen, you guys have worked really hard and we only have a short period of time left, so let’s make sure that we continue to be vigilant and just being smart.’ The guys have done a good job. I’m not surprised. The guys understand what we’re trying to do. They’re committed. They want to play. They want to get back to their profession. They realize that they’ve put all this work in up until now, they want to get back to playing some games.
I think the other side of it is that there have been guys in the league on different teams that have tested positive…it’s going to happen. As long as you have a procedure in place to deal with it, I think that’s the really big thing. I’m not naïve to think that everything is going to be perfect, because it’s not. It’s more of us making sure and we’ve done a lot of other things behind the scenes – tracking the guys, knowing which teams they plan on, we’ve spread the guys out so they’re consistently in the same locker rooms so if a guy was to get sick we would know who was in his locker room with him and test those guys right away. There’s been a lot of thought into it. We don’t want it to happen but let’s be realistic, it’s probably going to happen and when it does, we want to be in a good position to control it and make sure it doesn’t spread all over the place.
On if there’s a difference in players’ attitudes from preseason to now…
I said back in January when we started preseason that I was really impressed with the offseason training program and how the guys came back and they were fit. I was pleased with that and I was pleased also with the way their mentality was during preseason. But I would say that the way that they’ve handled the individual workouts – which could have been really monotonous – and then small group training, where you really couldn’t do much even at that point, it could have been a time when you could have just got really frustrated. The guys have really shown a tremendous amount of commitment. It’s not just the fact that they showed up. It’s that they show up and work extremely hard. And there was no moaning about it. The guys have been really focused and really committed. I keep using the word committed, because it’s not easy to do that especially when you didn’t even know what you were getting ready for. For a long time, there was a lot of talk of things but nothing was set. The guys have really shown that continued commitment even without having – and most athletes are very goal oriented – without having whatever that first game date was going to be.
The guys have been really focused and the other thing too is I’ve always felt that one of our strongest things here has been our culture. I’m proud of the way the guys have rallied around their teammates who have really emotionally been affected by the racial issues. (The culture) has gotten even stronger. I love the fact that our guys are supporting each other. We probably spend more time with each other during the year than we do with our families. We are a family so I’m glad to see that the guys have shown that respect for each other and that support. That’s been great.
