With Sporting KC returning home to Sporting Park to host the Columbus Crew on Sunday afternoon, SportingKC.com caught up with NBC Sports' broadcaster Kyle Martino, to preview the match. The match will kick off at 3:00 p.m. CT on Saturday with coverage available on the NBC Sports Network, Sports Radio 810 WHB, and La Gran D 1340 AM.
Jonathon Feyerherm:Columbus made two significant changes in the offseason with the arrival of new Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter and the signing of captain Michael Parkhurst. What have you seen from both of them that has led to Columbus' early season success?
Kyle Martino: The immediate thing is almost a sort of stubborness to play out of the back and I think a lot of what's been successful and impressive of what Berhalter's done is showing a faith in the team to completely change their philosophy and have them buy in. At times, you've seen them try and spread the centerbacks, bring Wil Trapp back and build out of the back and get stripped and have chances created against them early on in games but they stick with it. Parkhurst with his intelligence and calmness on the ball, it fits perfectly within in what Berhalter wants to try and do. Sunday's match will be a very difficult test. Typically, they do it away and try to build out of the back, keep the ball on the ground, and play a possesion based attacking style. But doing it against Sporting KC at Sporting Park is a completely different test all together.
JF:Columbus has had the majority of possession in every one of their matches this season but are going against a Sporting KC side that leads MLS in possession for home matches. How do you see Sunday's match up against these two sides who have both been among the more attacking teams in MLS this season? Will Columbus have to rely more on the counterattack in this match to get their chances?
KM: How Berhalter picks his starting eleven will tell a lot about how their strategy into Sporting Park changes. I think that Dom Dwyer will be a really interesting player in this whole scenario because of how tenacious he is and what a pest he can be when he doesn't have the ball and putting pressure on Wil Trapp in that area where he likes to come back and pick it up. That will I'm sure alert and send a signal to everyone behind him to push up and make it difficult on Columbus. It's that break point where if Sporting KC can force Columbus to get out of the rhythm and change their entire strategy. I think the first 15-20 minutes will be so telling to see if the high pressure from Sporting KC, specifically with Dom Dwyer trying to disrupt that lynchpin and conduit that Wil Trapp has become for Columbus, will sort of dictate the rest of the 90 minutes.
JF:What will be the key match-ups, players, and/or factors that will determine the outcome Sunday's match?
KM: I'm interested to see where Graham Zusi is going to play, whether it's as one of the three in the middle or one of the three up top. I think he brings something different in each position. He's been coming off the left up top most often this season and I think it's going to be key that Sporting KC are able to get him on the ball when they can switch the point of attack and let him cut in and be a goalscoring threat off that right foot. I think too often he's floated and gone and try to find the game because Sporting KC at times have had a difficult gameplan of trying to bring him in when he's asked to sit wide. I'm going to be watching that really closely to see where Peter Vermes decides to play him in this game and if it is on the left side how they can be sure to get him more involved.
JF:Columbus has had the majority of possession in every one of their matches this season but are going against a Sporting KC side that leads MLS in possession for home matches. How do you see Sunday's match up against these two sides who have both been among the more attacking teams in MLS this season? Will Columbus have to rely more on the counterattack in this match to get their chances?
JF: What are you expecting to see from Sunday's match?
KM: I want to see if Berhalter's confidence in his team and the team's acceptance of this new philosophy can withstand the challenge of playing the reigning champions at their home. That really is going to be interesting to me to see if Sporting KC can force Columbus to play a different game. There hasn't been too many teams who have been able to do that to Columbus yet this year and you would think the reigning champions, if anyone, could do it.
