Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes
On what he has seen from Krisztian Nemeth…
It’s the same stuff we’ve seen all along. He moves very well off the ball. He’s got a very good nose for the goal. He plays the position very much like you would expect from an eastern European forward. His movement was good and he was very clinical around the goal. He was playing in the central forward spot today, but he can play any of the three spots around the field.
On what has surprised him from Nemeth…
He’s done a lot more defensive work than I thought that he would, to be honest, and it’s not because I thought he couldn’t do it. But I think there is sometimes we have a high demand on some of our guys. He made some very good decisions on where he should go and where he should be defensively. I think it really helped us out winning some balls back. He did well.
On the objectives from today's scrimmage...
(Getting the guys) 45 minutes, for sure. We wanted to start playing a little higher up the field and start getting somewhat closer to our model of play. That’s the big thing, we need to play a lot more now. We’ve went through a lot of different things in the first phase here and now we have to start pushing the way we want to play. We have to start playing a lot more and it’s not just 11v11 games, it’s also playing a lot more in training.
On the status of Ike Opara...
Ike has done a good job of surviving through this first phase because he had to kind of go through the soreness and the days when he was in a little bit of pain and all that type of stuff. That piece was important for him. He got through it. I didn’t want to play him in either of the two games yet. I thought that it would be good to put him through all the training sessions and then use the games when we come back for him to start getting involved.
Injury updates on Graham Zusi and Chance Myers...
Graham is a lot further ahead. He should start entering training once we get back. Chance has been doing little stuff. Yesterday, he actually entered training because there wasn’t much competing against any other players. Chance has still got a little time left where he still has to get through the everyday trainings and things like that. He’s not there yet. He still has, I would say in my opinion, another couple months. The great thing is, like yesterday, he was in training and he was running down the side and crossing balls. It just wasn’t where there was competing anyone else. We’re not there yet. When I say a couple months, I’m talking about where I can say, ‘Hey, you can go play a full 90 and all that type of stuff.’ It’s still going to probably take him, I would say, another eight weeks. I could be off a little bit, but it’s all going to depend upon — when he starts getting back to everyday training — how fast he recovers and can deal with whatever pain he has and how he is getting acclimated back to playing with us.
Recapping the first phase of preseason…
It was a good start (to preseason) in that we got through this phase with really no injuries to most of the guys. We got enough minutes in the games that we wanted to. The roster right now is good and it is something that we’ll continue to evaluate as we go as we always do. As of right now, things are good. I like a lot of our younger kids that have come in, in Connor Hallisey and Amadou Dia. I also think that James Rogers has done a good job as of recent, too. It’s been good with all the guys.
Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic
His thoughts on the play of Krisztian Nemeth...
He’s just a very intelligent player, I’d say that’s his biggest strength. He reads the game really well, holds the ball up really well. He’s a very smooth finisher.
On the first phase of preseason…
It’s been great. The weather has been incredible down here, the fields have been great. FC Tucson has really taken care of us. We have a lot of new guys in camp and a lot of talented guys. I have been really impressed with the guys we’ve brought in. It’s starting to come together a little bit. Obviously, with new guys joining in it’s going to take a little time to get used to the way we play and the style that we play and the pace we like to play at. We’re progressing every day.
On the return of Chance Myers and the demands on an outside back...
There’s usually a lot of pace on the wings. It’s definitely a position where we need to be extremely fit, especially with the style we like to play. We’re counted on a lot to get forward and get involved in the attack. Defensively, we have to be on cue as well. There are a lot of demand on that position physically and mentally as well, because we need to organize the team and keep it balanced. There’s a lot that goes into that position. Fortunately, Chance has played that position quite a bit and has tons of experience. From what I’ve seen, he’s coming along really well and progressing really well. We’ll be excited to have him back whenever he is ready to come.
