Sporting Kansas City Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes spoke to media Wednesday amidst the suspension of Major League Soccer’s 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His full remarks are below.
On FIFA considering the implementation of five substitutes per team when matches resume…
It’s something that we were already contemplating here in (MLS), so it’s great to know that they were thinking the same, because it’s (definitely) for the safety of players. Normally speaking, I would probably say know. But because we’d get a real first-hand feel for the implementation of it, I would be very open to seeing what it was like. One of the things about soccer is that less substitutions have kept the continuity of the game—it’s kept that rhythm. When you see college soccer and club soccer where there are unlimited substitutions, I understand why you do it, but the game loses rhythm. That would be my only concern.
On Sporting’s training program during the moratorium…
We’ve been looking at this in two-week increments as we’ve gone into this moratorium. For example, the first week coming out we created an unloading week, and then we had a couple of weeks in a row that were heavy weeks in the way that we were training the guys. Joey Harty and Alphonso Thompson, our fitness coaches, were leading the charge on that with at least two Zoom calls a week, which had six to eight guys training on Zoom together. They ran them through a program where Joey or Alphonso was instructing it, and that added a camaraderie aspect to it. There was also one yoga session a week. Then there are other individual (workouts) they have to do on the other days on their own. We have weeks that are loading weeks that are really heavy, then we have unloading weeks that are kind of taking them off that. The bottom line is we’re trying to keep them at a good level of basic fitness. I’ve said this before, but that’s going to be the most important aspect of us returning to play. It’s not going to be soccer as much as it’s going to be, “How can we get fit quickly to be able to play the way we want to play?”
Communication remains the same. Sometimes it’s phone calls and sometimes it’s Zoom calls with the whole team. These are a little more difficult, just because they’re used to dealing with me more on an individual basis. A lot of times when I talk to them as a group, it’s usually not a conversation—not because I keep it that way, but because I’m usually informing them about something and then we move onto something else. If I have to make an adjustment or (listen) to somebody, it’s usually one on one. I’m also trying to be respectful, because even during the season, I don’t want to be old to the guys where I’m talking to them all the time. I want to keep my freshness with them, and I’m trying to keep that space during this time as well.
On MLS taking the lead on a new youth league for academies…
The first step of U.S. Soccer announcing they won’t be a leader in that space is an important one because nobody is investing more money into player development than MLS. For us to lead that space, it only makes sense. I also think that we have to be very careful. There were some really good things that came out of the DA, and there were also some things that were done poorly. Hopefully we can learn from the things that were done poorly and expand upon them. What’s important is that it’s not only about the MLS academies. It’s about the non-MLS academies and standalone youth clubs.
They also need guidance and assistance, not that they don’t have good directors in their clubs, but I think our country is due for a good leader in this space who works with all of the groups in a very collaborative manner. I don’t think that’s taken place in the way that it should have. There’s been too much dictation and at times unrealistic terms or standards set. It’s hard to expect certain clubs to pay for everything. It’s just not feasible. They have to generate too much revenue, which is not part of their model. There has to be a different way of laying this out.
I also think that MLS academies have to make sure that we continue to have challenging competitions that optimize the potential that we have within our clubs. That would also include international competition for some of your younger groups. I think it’s feasible, absolutely, but I also think MLS doesn’t have to be the fastest to the table with a plan. We have to be the group that comes to the table with the best plan. I don’t think we have to be quick in putting something together. It’s about quality and high-level competition for all of the groups, not just MLS academies.
On how COVID-19 has affected MLS financially…
We all know that this situation has affected the global economy. Sporting Kansas City and MLS are not immune to that. We do have something that we can at least hang our hat on. We have incredibly stable ownership groups in this league. I don’t think any of them ever got in for the short term. I think all of them got in for the long term. It’s like the stock market. If you look at the stock market over its history, there’s been times of downturn. But it always overcome that, surpass that and get stronger over time. I feel the same thing will happen with MLS. Regarding players, I think they are as motivated—if not more motivated—in that they want to get back on the field as soon as possible. I know there are negotiations between the league and players, but I’m not privy to those. I’m very confident we will navigate this environment, and I truly believe that at some point we’ll be stronger than ever.
On cities gradually beginning to open up again…
Every market is different. I live here in Kansas City and go out for a jog by my house. There’s a golf course close by and I’m amazed. The parking lot is completely full, the driving range is completely full and there are people on the putting greens chipping everywhere. Our environment is a little different compared to New York. The other thing you have to take into consideration is this: an athlete’s profession is different than if you’re in journalism or marketing. One of the biggest assets they need is to be physically prepared to do their profession. The guys on our team and most athletes around the world are in it because they are professional, and they understand that they have to stay fit for themselves. I believe they’re very creative and innovative.
There are also a lot of things around today that you didn’t have 20 years ago. I think our staff has done an excellent job keeping them connected, so I feel very assured that we have taken all the precautions necessary to make sure our guys are in a good place. At the same time, you need to have common sense with some of this stuff. There are some things I think we could do with them that are safer than if they were just out on their own doing things amongst the public.
On Kansas City’s famous win over Manchester United 10 years ago at Arrowhead Stadium…
Well, the first thing is that I’m 1-0 against Sir Alex Ferguson, so that’s great. On a serious note, it was a watershed moment. That day, a lot of people came out to watch that game who really weren’t Kansas City Wizards fans at the time. But then they walked away thinking, “Hey, this is pretty cool.” Obviously the best was yet to come when we entered Children’s Mercy Park. It was a great opportunity to catch a group of fans that wasn’t supporting us and also gave them a look forward to what could be. It really was a watershed moment.
On forward Alan Pulido’s early-season performances with Sporting…
He came to the league as a new player and wanted to make an impression, and he made a very good impression in the first two games. You want that rhythm to continue, especially as a goal scorer, because it’s all about getting into that groove. For him, it’s obviously a little disappointing that we had to stop, but I think we also realized that this situation is much bigger than us and our game. It’s important to get over this piece first, and one thing I can say about Alan is that he is a winner. He’s a guy who fights for the team. Because he does that, he always puts himself in a position to play well. I don’t think you’ll see anything different from him when we return to play.
Alan has a fantastic attitude and a very strong mentality. It’s one of the reasons we were so interested in him because we felt he would fit in very well at our club with the way we play. I know it’s only two games, but if you take what he did in the preseason and the first two games, he’s already surpassed those expectations. We’re very happy for him. He’s also a fantastic guy who has adapted personality-wise to the culture of the team. That has made his transition very quick.
On the process of identifying prospective players to add to the team…
That never stops, even with COVID-19. I’ve been amazed by the number of players I’ve been presented. It’s funny because as this (suspension) stretches out, I’ve been getting more and more. I think people are starting to feel like we’re coming out of this. The stoppage has also allowed us to look at ourselves internally even more in so many ways, especially financially. There are so many things that we’re looking down the road on—the number of teams, the competitions we’re playing in, which kids are making the next jump up within our system. It’s just giving us a chance to hit a pause button and really take a deep dive into all of the things we have going on.
On MLS and Liga MX collaborating to compete in future competitions together…
We have discussed the topic of a connection between Liga MX and MLS in the future. There is no doubt that this would be a powerful brand in the marketplace. I also think that there could be some real synergy between the two leagues, such as the Leagues Cup. There’s a lot of interest in that, but I think the potential for that to grow and get bigger is definitely something that all of us see the potential in. COVID-19 has probably slowed the process down, but once we do come out of this, it will be a topic of discussion. It would be exciting for both leagues, for sure.
On the process of determining proper return-to-play protocols…
It’s a collaboration with the league. There are some cities that are a lot more open than others, and some cities that will become open a lot more quickly than others. If you had to wait for all 26 cities to open up, you could be waiting for a long time. We’ve talked about the possibility of having (up to) four locations where you could aggregate a number of teams in each of those locations and then play games that would count towards league play. It would be more a tournament style, and as you’re doing that over a certain number of weeks, as other cities open up, you could start to go back to your home cities. It’s definitely something that’s on the front burner at the moment and something that has a lot of legs about possible implementation. You also have to realize that you’d be moving mountains to make that happen. There would be a lot of logistics, so there are a lot of people behind the scenes looking to see if that could actually happen. I’d like to think it could.
I have connected with some people in the German Bundesliga because they are getting back to training. It’s different there because MLS is a single-entity group and clubs over there are individually owned. All of the teams are doing things differently over there based on that they feel is best, but we’re using some of their information. I spend a lot of time talking to all of the chief soccer officers in MLS, almost on a daily basis. I also speak to a few head coaches here and there. Our biggest thing is preparing for individual workout sessions that we will probably open up with first, then progress to small group trainings and eventually full-team trainings. Hopefully that will come sooner than later.
On Wan Kuzain advancing to the finals of the eMLS Tournament Special…
It’s funny because I could see Kuzain being good at video games. He’s a very smart, technical player on the field, so I could see him being a really good gamer because some of those qualities probably translate.
