Konrad Warzycha is grateful for the game experience he picked up while on his short loan to the NASL's Carolina RailHawks. But he's also glad to be back with Sporting Kansas City and training at the center back position once more.
“I played Saturday at right back, for the last 18 minutes of the game,” Warzycha told MLSsoccer.com after playing the full 90 in central defense in Tuesday's 1-0 Reserve League loss to Real Salt Lake. “It was somewhere I'd never played before, but surprisingly when you're playing the game you kind of pick up things. I didn't get caught out of position.”
Sporting are already deep at the right back spot, though, and manager Peter Vermes' plans for Warzycha – who was drafted as a midfielder in 2011, spent last season recovering from knee surgery and moved to center back this year – haven't changed.
“You can't force their hand on anything,” he said of Carolina coach Colin Clarke's decision to use Warzycha on the outside. “They're going to use him how they want to use him. But he plays best in central defense. That's a good position for him right now – so I'm glad he's back with us now, to be honest with you.”
Warzycha was loaned to the RailHawks in late August, with the loan to run through the end of the NASL season. But with Carolina now guaranteed a spot in the league playoffs, Sporting decided to use their recall option and bring Warzycha back to Kansas City.
“He's back, full-time,” Vermes said. “We've reactivated him.”
Warzycha, who has one MLS relief appearance this year and two games in Sporting's US Open Cup-winning campaign, called the loan experience a positive one.
“I looked at it as a chance to get competitive games, with it being their playoff push,” he said. “I just wanted to help them any way I could.”
