KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first thing Kei Kamara wanted to know when he reported for preseason last week was whether things would stay the same from 2010 to 2011.
Would Sporting stick with the 4-3-3, high-pressure system that nearly propelled them to the playoffs after a dismal first half of the season? Or would manager Peter Vermes change things up?
Vermes’ answer to Kamara was simple and good to hear: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“We established something last year,” Kamara said. “There is no need to change because if we do change, we have to start over. We basically found the way we want to play so now, it’s just about keeping going up.”
Though the style of play remains the same, there are plenty of differences between this team and the one that gathered at the same time one year ago.
For starters, Sporting’s large contingent of foreign signings and draft picks from last season have had a year to acclimate to Major League Soccer and the system Vermes installed in Kansas City during his first full season at the helm. Newcomers Jimmy Nielsen, Ryan Smith, Stephane Auvray, Craig Rocastle, Birahim Diop, Shavar Thomas and Teal Bunbury made a combined 129 starts in 2010, while Kei Kamara, who joined the team at the tail end of 2009, led the squad with 10 goals. The club even installed a new captain, Davy Arnaud.
The continuity now in place has left the staff and players with the feeling that a foundation for success has been laid.
“We definitely have a better starting point than we did last year,” Arnaud said. “The coaches have emphasized that to us. Last year, it took us awhile to find our identity as a team, what made us successful and got us wins. Now, we know who we are and how we want to play. Everybody knows from day one what is expected of them.”
And, make no mistake: The expectations are that this team will make the playoffs for the first time in two seasons.
Vermes said the depth in the squad is as good as it has been since he took full control of the team during the second half of 2009. With a solid player base, the coaching staff was able to use the offseason to concentrate on finding players that fit the system and the fill the squad’s specific needs rather than just bringing in good players to build around.
“Right now, the way we are looking at it as a coaching staff is that there is a lot of competition for all positions,” Vermes said. “We are going to let preseason play itself out a little bit, but we are really going to maintain the same way we play.”
In addition to the club’s established core, Kansas City has the likes of Omar Bravo, a large group of interesting trialists and a cadre of quality draft picks—Vermes called it the best class the team has had overall—to fill any remaining holes.
And even though it will take time for this season’s newcomers get up to scratch, the club feels like it has a head start on the competition. Unlike last season, the groundwork has been laid.
“Our chemistry doesn’t have to start from one (on a scale of 10) again this year,” Kamara said. “It has to start from six or seven then we can get the last bit to get to 10 during the preseason. We start playing and we have to go because we don’t have any time to make up.”
