KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With center back Matt Besler gone for World Cup duty, Sporting Kansas City needed someone to wear the captain's armband in his absence.
Manager Peter Vermes chose another quiet leader in veteran midfielder Paulo Nagamura, who captained Sporting KC in Sunday's 2-1 away defeat to Chicago and will do it again when Toronto FC visit Sporting Park on Friday night (7:30pm, SKCTV, Buy Tickets).
“It means a lot,” Nagamura said on Thursday, during the club's weekly news conference. “It's an honor to wear the armband for such an important club in this league, and I'm really proud of that. But in the same way, it's just another game. I'm the kind of player that normally demands a lot from my teammates in the field, so it's not going to be any different.”
That's why the 31-year-old Brazilian was chosen, Vermes said: “I just think he has incredible experience. He's an incredible competitor. I think he's got a ton of respect from his teammates, and just got great leadership qualities at the end of the day. I think the guys trust him.”
That's all part of being a veteran player, Nagamura said – especially with Sporting's formation in flux because all five of their central defenders are expected to be unavailable for Friday's match because of a quintuple whammy of injury, international duty and red-card suspension.
“I know what my role is on the team,” he said. “I know that being a senior guy, normally you have to pass your experience to the young guys and help them grow as a player and in the team. So tomorrow's going to be another tough test that's going to require every player on the team to be on the top of their game, and hopefully with my help – and not only my help, but also the other players – we can achieve that.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
