Sporting Kansas City's Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes stopped by The Program with Soren Petro on Sports Radio 810 ahead of the club's Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Quarterfinals match against Union Omaha on Wednesday night.
- Listen: Peter Vermes on The Program (15:10-43:40)
Vermes and Petro begin their conversation recapping Sporting's 2-1 victory against Nashville SC on the road on Sunday evening. The Sporting KC boss talks about getting players back from injury and getting back to their typical style of play. Vermes discussed the two goals Sporting scored against Nashville, Felipe Hernandez's 38-yard free kick and Graham Zusi's 24-yard wonder strike, and the strategy behind those chances being created.
Petro mentioned Sporting's ability to hand teams losses in tough environments. Sporting snapped Nashville's 25-match home unbeaten streak on Sunday and handed them their first loss at brand-new GEODIS Park.
The next topic was the player's development as the season goes on. Vermes discusses the two matches before Nashville in which Sporting suffered back-to-back home defeats. He talks about players learning from their mistakes and correcting them and the ability to learn and grow as the season goes on.
Before Vermes previews Wednesday's Open Cup he discusses MLS's deal with Apple TV and how good it is for fans that there will be no blackouts anymore. Vermes is excited about more MLS content on Apple TV and a centralized location for all matches for all fans.
The Open Cup Quarterfinal was previewed with Petro asking Vermes about the must-win nature of the match. Vermes talks about not overlooking Union Omaha, the club's desire to lift the Dewars Cup and gives insight into the mentality of going out and competing in every match.
As is standard, Petro concludes the show with his final four, questioning Vermes on topics such as Rutgers, Vermes' alma mater, and their move to the Big 10, the best jersey in MLS aside from Sporting's, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and his cracker preference.
Fans can listen to the interview in its entirety here. Sporting's busy week begins with the Open Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday and wraps up with a Western Conference road test against the Seattle Sounders. Fans can purchase tickets to the Cup tie at SeatGeek.com and can tune into Sunday's MLS matchup on ABC.
