Ahead of Sunday's Western Conference clash at Children's Mercy Park, SportingKC.com caught up with FS1 broadcaster John Strong to preview #SKCvCOL. Live coverage of Sunday's match (6 p.m. CT) is available on FS1, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB, and La Grande 1340 AM. Check out MatchDay Central for complete online coverage.
With two new sides this season (Minnesota and Atlanta) and more expansion on the way, what are you most looking forward to seeing in Major League Soccer in the next 5-10 years?
I think that, even though Commissioner Don Garber told us in our live interview opening night this won't be the case, we really are starting to see a ramping up of the growth of MLS. Owners are wanting to spend more, the league is giving them more resources and flexibility to do so, and younger players more in their prime--especially those from Central and South America--are increasingly interested in coming here. I think the other exciting thing we're seeing with regards to expansion, and the early returns in Atlanta are the biggest proof of this, is that MLS might be at a place where it really can succeed anywhere: based on cities like Portland and Orlando, and with what's happened in Sacramento, my own thinking echoed many others that the league was best-placed in mid-size markets with less major pro sports competition and perhaps a little bit more of a "civic pride" mentality to go and support whatever was local. But maybe we're seeing that, with the changing demographics in this country and the increasing relevance of soccer across the board, that any of these big cities can be successful places for MLS to go if the local conditions (i.e. ownership, stadium, etc) are right, and that's very exciting.
What are your thoughts on Sporting KC’s season and how the team can improve their offensive production?
I've often heard from coaches and players that goal-scoring is the last thing to come as a team builds up into a season, and it's always been true that scoring goals is the most difficult part of soccer! Dom Dwyer is the second-most prolific scorer in MLS the past three years, Benny Feilhaber is capable of magic in midfield, you're working in a few new faces, as well as old faces in new places (Zusi and Medranda switching roles in a way), so there's going to be a transition period. As long as the defense stays tight as it has, and results are coming, there's no need to panic or force anything up front.
The Rapids acquired Mohammed Saeid and Josh Gatt (sending Sam Cronin and Marc Burch to from Minnesota). What are your thoughts on the trade and any impact either player could have in Sunday’s match?
It certainly was a head-scratcher at first reading, but you're seeing now that it's part of the Rapids idea to improve things offensively from last year (where they didn't concede, but didn't score quite enough either...sound familiar to the last month in KC?), both by getting some more attacking-minded players in, as well as freeing up some cap room to buy another. Saeid saw regular time with Columbus filling in for both Wil Trapp and Federico Higuain in their different roles the past few years, while Josh Gatt is a bit of a question mark as he comes back from three years worth of injuries that have paused a promising young career. That being said, I'm not really sure what to expect on Sunday, and I'm looking forward to hearing from Pablo Mastroeni this weekend about his plans for the team and how he wants them to look going forward (though one idea is that first-year midfielder Nana Boateng slides into Cronin's spot, and Mekeil Williams takes Burch's spot at left back, the role he fills for the Trinidad and Tobago national team).
Colorado led MLS with the fewest goals allowed (32 in 34 matches) in 2016. With an injury to Axel Sjoberg and the trade mentioned above, could the the team struggle defensively?
Axel Sjoberg is a big loss for sure, a Best XI center back from last year as well as a towering presence on both ends of the field at 6' 7", however in Bobby Burling you're getting an experienced veteran and only losing two inches of height! I think the interesting thing will be to see, with two weeks off and a shuffling of bodies at the back, is there an adjustment period at all early in the game as the Rapids back line gets settled in? But let's not forget that you have perhaps the best American goalkeeper of all-time, Tim Howard, anchoring things behind them, and as we've seen for years in the Premier League, World Cup, even a few weeks ago at Red Bull Arena, he's more than capable of shutting a team out practically on his own even if his defenders are having a hard time with things!
What are a few things you’ll be watching for on Sunday?
Both teams have a few question marks in their lineup due to player movement and guys coming back off of injuries, but each has a sense of urgency behind them: for Sporting KC it's obviously wanting to get the goal-scoring on track and use home field advantage to continue a good start to the season results-wise. For Colorado, Pablo Mastroeni has talked about wanting more goals this year, and seeing his team take more risks in-and-around the box to make that happen. So as much as a surface-level reading of this matchup suggests we'd see a tighter defensive battle, I'm wondering if we might see things...not open-up, per se, but just see two teams that really do want to push a little bit more to create chances and goals. We've been spoiled more often that not with really entertaining games when our MLS on FS1 road show has come to Children's Mercy Park, and I'm hoping that continues Sunday night!
