Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza participated in a teleconference with local media this afternoon. His full remarks can be found below.
On staying in shape and training from home…
I think I’m staying in pretty good shape. Obviously it’s not ideal when you aren’t playing soccer as much, but I’m definitely working out a lot and running a lot. It’s just hard to tell soccer-wise how in shape you are. Other than that, I’ve just been trying to keep busy every day and working out.
On Major League Soccer’s decision to postpone play until June…
I definitely wasn’t surprised. We don’t exactly know what’s going on right now. All you can do is work hard and stay ready for whenever that (return to play) comes. The health (of everyone) comes first, above and beyond anything else. That’s what it’s going to take, and I’m okay with it. Obviously you miss soccer and you miss going out, but at the end of the day, if this is what it takes, okay. You take it. I’m not sad about it. I know health is first. It’s not a surprise. We’ve seen other states have big problems, so we need to push it back for those reasons.
On the possibility of playing matches without fans later this year…
If we have to start with small steps, that’s okay—that’s how it must go. If the games are able to be on TV, even if fans aren’t at the stadium, that’s fine. I have not spoken with any of my teammates about that. We’re just waiting to see what our league and organization (decides), but I think the majority of our guys would be okay with that, just because we have to get our freedom back. We’ll have to see how it goes. This is something new for all of us, and it’s a test at the end of the day. No one knows how to go about it. We’re ready for whatever comes. If that means training in small groups and not being close to each other, that’s okay. I’ve seen teams in Europe starting to do that.
On whether having a targeted return date helps in his training preparation…
It does help a little bit on my part. Right now I’m working hard, and you know that if you have an exact date, you know when to de-load for a few weeks and gain your shape. I’m going with what the team and Commissioner Garber is saying. We’re going with the workouts that our performance coach is giving us, and from there you kind of (shape) your workouts. Next week is a de-loading week, then we’ll start to build up for another three or four weeks. It does help a little bit because you can plan your (fitness) schedule around that date in terms of how hard you work.
On how World Cup qualifying might be impacted by postponements related to COVID-19…
That’s something that I’ve tried to pay attention to, but at the end of the day, if you don’t get back to club soccer then it’s very difficult to think about the national team. You’ve got to get the clubs going first, and the World Cup will come next. It’s going to be difficult. You’re probably going to have to do a quick round robin with teams, just because the Olympics got moved to next summer and then you have the Euro, Copa America and Gold Cup all going on. If you have all of that, something’s going to have to change. We know the World Cup is the most important event in the world, and it’s where stars come out. It’s definitely something that I’m paying attention to, but it’s going to have to be drastically changed in terms of how teams qualify for that.
To me, the World Cup is the most important (tournament). The idea for the Olympics as that you take a younger (roster), so that takes care of that right there. The World Cup is the one that kids around the world watch. A lot of kids fall in love with soccer at that time and it changes their lives forever. Somehow you have to figure out a schedule and move some other (games) around to make the World Cup happen.
On the challenge of acquainting newcomers to the team…
It’s been very difficult because when you see them in preseason and in training every day, it’s easy to see in their body language how they’re feeling. Being with so many players from different countries and different cultures, you kind of figure people out a little bit. You learn how to read them. Right now it’s a very difficult moment, so what you try to do is send a message when you can. Sometimes we do Zoom workouts in groups, so you try to remind them of things. Ilie Sanchez helps a lot, too. The thing is that this is going on around the world, not just in the United States. It’s happening in Israel and Mexico and Croatia. It’s happening everywhere. It definitely makes it difficult because you want to keep them motivated and ready for when the season comes back.
On how Kansas City has handled the stay-at-home order…
I live in a very populated part of Kansas City, and so far I have no complaints of how the city is handling it. Everyone here seems to be following all of the procedures and everything that has to do with COVID-19. We’re obviously allowed to go to grocery stores because you need food to survive. Other than that, you can order from restaurants. I live in the Westport area where people tend to come for restaurants and bars. It’s pretty quiet. You don’t see anybody. It’s like no one lives here. That part I am very happy with, just because people are following the rules and procedures that need to be taken in order for us to be healthy. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing. I couldn’t tell you about the other areas of town, just because I can’t go there. You’re trying to be a good citizen just like anybody else. It’s obviously a bit different in New York City where everyone lives on top of each other. It makes it very difficult in a city like that. We’re a bit more separated here which makes it easier, but at the end of the day we don’t know what the damage is.
On the pride he takes in initiatives like Sporting Community Kitchen and other community programs involving Sporting Kansas City…
It’s no surprise to me. Every year when the season ends, we talk about what’s next and how we can do better for the club. With Sporting Community Kitchen, I was very happy when I saw that. I actually saw a few pictures on Instagram where people were handing out meals to those in affected areas. That’ great to see because it’s not all about soccer at the end of the day. It’s about the people around town and helping the community. A lot of us volunteer time throughout the year to help our community, and obviously this year will be tough because when we get back, we could have games every three days. It’s going to be tough for the players to help the community at first, but there will definitely be time to help those affected by this and hopefully we can get the city (back to normal) as soon as we can.
On his message to fans who are feeling anxious at the moment…
We’re all living in this new world. We have no idea what’s going on. I watch the news every day, and one guy’s saying one thing while another guy is saying something else. At the end of the ay, health is first. We all want to be at the stadium, shaking hands and celebrating together. But being healthy is everything in this world. If that means playing with no fans, that’s the way to do it. That’s just the way it goes. The health and wellbeing of everyone is the main (concern), and hopefully we can get back and be together by the time this year ends.
On what he does to stay busy throughout the day…
I started cooking more. That’s something that probably takes me three hours every day. I burn my food every time. Other than that, I watch a lot of TV shows and I’ve been watching a lot of old soccer. Last week I watched Wigan Athletic win the (2013) FA Cup. I watched that game the other day for the first time. I go running a lot and I work out a lot, and that pretty much takes up a lot of my day. I’ve probably worked out more than ever before. I’ve also been talking to family and friends. I have a lot of friends in Honduras and England—players that I’ve played with in the past. It’s great trying to catch up with everyone and keep myself busy. I play a lot of board games, so that makes it interesting—learning new games. I’ve learn how to manage my time.
