Sporting Kansas City confirmed Tuesday that the club has signed four MLS All-Stars to new, multi-year contracts: defender Matt Besler, midfielder Roger Espinoza, midfielder Ilie Sanchez and defender Graham Zusi.
The Sporting KC quartet joined Manager Peter Vermes for a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at Pinnacle to make the momentous announcement. Full remarks can be found below.
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On Sporting KC re-signing Besler, Espinoza, Ilie and Zusi…
We’re happy to announce that we have re-signed Ilie Sanchez, Roger Espinoza, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler. Most of you have seen over the years that we’ve had a very consistent approach in the way that we’ve formed our roster. For guys who have been around for a long time, there’s a reason why. They fit into the culture of the club, they fit into the model of play very well, and they’ve helped the organization get results and championships.
On the process of re-signing the four MLS All-Stars…
Three of these guys—Roger, Graham and Matt—were coming to the end of their contracts, and we’ve been working on those since the beginning of the year. We’re happy to announce that we’ve gotten all three of those done. With Ilie, it was more us wanting to sign him to a more long-term (deal). He had a two-year contract with a one-year option in his old contract, and we felt that he was a player we wanted to keep around for a long time, so we did a brand-new deal with him. All four guys are on multi-year deals, and we’re excited that they’ve re-signed. It’s great for the organization and great for the team. All four guys have been great in the community, and we expect all of that to continue to be the same.
On whether there was any concern about Besler, Espinoza or Zusi leaving Sporting KC…
I remember bringing Roger, Besler and Zusi into a classroom and saying to all three of them, “Hey, we want to re-sign you guys. We’re going to start working on it. We’ve got some legwork to do with the league, but just be a little patient and we’ll get this thing done.” None of them showed any signs of wanting to go somewhere else. This was maybe the first or second week of the season.
On the players’ loyalty and commitment to Sporting KC…
A lot of players have come and gone since I’ve been here. Those guys have stayed for a long time. Roger left for the English Premier League and then came back, and then we found Ilie and signed him to a long-term deal. This says two things: one is that they’ve done well here and had success. The other thing is they want to remain here. A lot of guys want a change of scenery and think the grass is greener somewhere else. I don’t think any of these guys believe that.
On the professionalism displayed by all four players…
We think all of them are in their prime. All of them take care of themselves very well physically, and we just feel like they have a lot of years left to give in this organization. We take everything into consideration: physical, tactical, psychological, medical and lifestyle. We look at all of those areas when we’re making an assessment on a player, whether it’s on the outside coming in or a player we’re trying to re-sign. I can’t say enough about all four of these guys. They’re incredible professionals and great team guys. They exemplify all of the things that we want to be as a club, and they’ve helped develop and group the club along the way. It really made the decision very easy. They all understand our model of play, as well, and they’ve all won within that model of play. They still have a lot to give, so we feel very comfortable about where we are in these agreements.
On rewarding players who perform at a high level…
When players at this club do well over the course of a year and we think that they may have outgrown their compensation, we’ve always been really good at making sure we reward them in kind. With that, the expectations and the standards go up, as well. It’s part of the process of bringing a player in, evaluating them, seeing how they fit in, seeing how they perform on a regular basis, and then you make decisions from there.
On Ilie’s performance at Sporting KC over the last two years…
I remember talking to Ilie when he first came into Kansas City, and I told him that Kerry and I had watched him a few years earlier. We were just unable to get him at that time. The mechanisms in MLS didn’t’ really exist at that time for us to bring him in. I told him at the start of 2017, “We knew then and we know now that you’re going to fit perfectly into the way that we play.” I also remember telling him, “I could tell you everything great about our club, but it’s not going to be anything like when you get here. I guarantee that you’ll think it’s even more.” I remember him telling me a few weeks after he was here, “Coach, you are so right. It’s so much more than I expected.” He’s a very good player in the way that we play. Some of it has to do with the formation and the way he was educated as a player. The other part is that he’s and incredible professional every day. It made it really easy for us to try and sign him long-term.
On Graham Zusi’s transition to right back extending his longevity as a player…
It’s helped him immensely, but I think no matter where Zusi would be playing, we’d still be re-signing him. He’s been a great player at this club for a long time. He has a humble confidence and a lot of humility, but at the same time his position has helped him become focused in one area. When you go back earlier in his career, we played him out wide or sometimes in the midfield. But now he’s really found his place, and I think he feels very comfortable. Because of the way that we play, he also gets a tremendous opportunity to go on the attack. He just comes forward at a different time in the game, and I think he enjoys that. It’s helped him solidify his place in our team for a long time.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Ilie Sanchez
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KC…
I think that the culture that these guys built for all those years is growing on me. Also, I think that the best years of my career are in front of me. I decided that I wanted to be at this club for all they have given to me these two years.
On the culture surrounding the club…
I’m so happy. It’s always the same feeling since I first came here - from my teammates, from my coaches, from the ownership group that is here today and also from the fans and the city. I am so happy because it has been so easy to be here. I think that was a part of my decision when I decided to sign this new contract - this love that I feel from all of them, starting with my teammates.
On the appeal of MLS and Sporting KC…
I played in Europe and I have to say that what we have here – not just with the facilities, but also with the culture of the club – makes it a place to be. I think this league is one of the most attractive leagues in the world. Also, I want to say that I think on most everything, this club is above all the other organizations. I don’t want to be too brave to say we’re above in everything, so I say most everything. You just have to see how we have been working for all of these many years before me, now with me and I hope that in the future we will keep doing the same things to be above in almost everything.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KC…
I enjoy it. I feel challenged every single day. We have a chance to win every single year. So I want to continue to be a part of it.
On playing professionally in his hometown…
I’m always prideful of getting to represent Kansas City. That will never change. When I first started out, I don’t think I could have imagined what this has turned into. There are a lot of people who have played a major role in getting us to where we are now. It starts with our ownership group. They have invested a lot of their resources to create this. I feel like I’ve played a very small part in creating this, as well, along with a lot of other people, these guys in particular that are sitting next to me. You get pride when you think about what you’re creating, but at the same time, you feel like you’re still creating something and you’re building. I want to continue to be a part of it and push it as high as we can go.
On staying in peak physical condition…
After training, there’s a regimen that we do. As you can see, this is a world-class facility. We have a lot of opportunities and a lot of access to different things we can do to take care of our bodies. Every guy has a different routine so you have to find what works for you. Whether or not you’re a guy that like massages or stretching or ice baths or a combination of any of those. There’s a bunch of different things that you can do. It’s all about tinkering and finding what works. For all of us, it’s about setting an example, as well. We’re fortunate enough to still be playing this game. Now, as we enter the second half of our careers, it’s really about showing what it takes to become a professional and stay at a high level and hopefully pass down as much information as possible to some of these guys coming in. All four of us, we care a lot about this club. At some point, we’re going to have to be done playing. Hopefully it’s not for a long time. I think all of us feel the same way. We want this club to be in a better spot when we leave than where we started so we’re going to try to pass on as many things as possible.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KC…
I got to see what is out there, coming back to Sporting knowing that the culture and everything was still here. It’s a no brainer for me to keep going and working hard for these guys and work for the future.
On the club’s commitment to excellence…
I think the club has made it a priority to work on everything, not only on the structural side but also the players. We feel like we still have a lot of years here with the new facilities, with the new equipment we have. We can play much longer. It doesn’t happen in many teams in the league. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re here. We feel like we’re going to have the best opportunity to succeed and win many championships here. That’s what we’re working toward.
Sporting Kansas City defender Graham Zusi
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KC…
It was a pretty easy decision, it sounds like, for all of us. Like Ilie said, the culture that this club, from the ground up, that they’ve created, it’s something that we want to be part of. We’re not looking back on what we’ve done so far, we’re looking forward. We have a lot left to do.
On if he thought about his time coming to an end in KC…
No, I didn’t to be completely honest. I think that we’ve built some great relationships here in Kansas City with the ownership group and the coaching staff. I think there’s a trust there between the two of us. Peter said, ‘Listen, we want to get this done. It might take a little bit of time and you’ll have to trust us.’ That’s exactly what we did.
On his versatility…
I think being able to play a couple different positions has helped me quite a bit. In particular, the move to this right back spot – I’ve said it before – physically I feel as good as I have in years. There’s still quite a bit left in the tank. The more positions you can play, the better, and the harder it is for them to get rid of you. That’s how I’m going about it.
