Sporting Kansas City confirmed Tuesday that the club has signed four MLS All-Stars to new, multi-year contracts: defender Matt Besler, midfielder Roger Espinoza, midfielder Ilie Sanchez and defender Graham Zusi.
The Sporting KC quartet joined Manager Peter Vermes for a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at Pinnacle to make the momentous announcement. Full remarks can be found below.
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On Sporting KC re-signing Besler, Espinoza, Ilie and ZusiâĤ
Weâre happy to announce that we have re-signed Ilie Sanchez, Roger Espinoza, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler. Most of you have seen over the years that weâve had a very consistent approach in the way that weâve formed our roster. For guys who have been around for a long time, thereâs a reason why. They fit into the culture of the club, they fit into the model of play very well, and theyâve helped the organization get results and championships.
On the process of re-signing the four MLS All-StarsâĤ
Three of these guysâRoger, Graham and Mattâwere coming to the end of their contracts, and weâve been working on those since the beginning of the year. Weâre happy to announce that weâve gotten all three of those done. With Ilie, it was more us wanting to sign him to a more long-term (deal). He had a two-year contract with a one-year option in his old contract, and we felt that he was a player we wanted to keep around for a long time, so we did a brand-new deal with him. All four guys are on multi-year deals, and weâre excited that theyâve re-signed. Itâs great for the organization and great for the team. All four guys have been great in the community, and we expect all of that to continue to be the same.
On whether there was any concern about Besler, Espinoza or Zusi leaving Sporting KCâĤ
I remember bringing Roger, Besler and Zusi into a classroom and saying to all three of them, âHey, we want to re-sign you guys. Weâre going to start working on it. Weâve got some legwork to do with the league, but just be a little patient and weâll get this thing done.â None of them showed any signs of wanting to go somewhere else. This was maybe the first or second week of the season.
On the playersâ loyalty and commitment to Sporting KCâĤ
A lot of players have come and gone since Iâve been here. Those guys have stayed for a long time. Roger left for the English Premier League and then came back, and then we found Ilie and signed him to a long-term deal. This says two things: one is that theyâve done well here and had success. The other thing is they want to remain here. A lot of guys want a change of scenery and think the grass is greener somewhere else. I donât think any of these guys believe that.
On the professionalism displayed by all four playersâĤ
We think all of them are in their prime. All of them take care of themselves very well physically, and we just feel like they have a lot of years left to give in this organization. We take everything into consideration: physical, tactical, psychological, medical and lifestyle. We look at all of those areas when weâre making an assessment on a player, whether itâs on the outside coming in or a player weâre trying to re-sign. I canât say enough about all four of these guys. Theyâre incredible professionals and great team guys. They exemplify all of the things that we want to be as a club, and theyâve helped develop and group the club along the way. It really made the decision very easy. They all understand our model of play, as well, and theyâve all won within that model of play. They still have a lot to give, so we feel very comfortable about where we are in these agreements.
On rewarding players who perform at a high levelâĤ
When players at this club do well over the course of a year and we think that they may have outgrown their compensation, weâve always been really good at making sure we reward them in kind. With that, the expectations and the standards go up, as well. Itâs part of the process of bringing a player in, evaluating them, seeing how they fit in, seeing how they perform on a regular basis, and then you make decisions from there.
On Ilieâs performance at Sporting KC over the last two yearsâĤ
I remember talking to Ilie when he first came into Kansas City, and I told him that Kerry and I had watched him a few years earlier. We were just unable to get him at that time. The mechanisms in MLS didnâtâ really exist at that time for us to bring him in. I told him at the start of 2017, âWe knew then and we know now that youâre going to fit perfectly into the way that we play.â I also remember telling him, âI could tell you everything great about our club, but itâs not going to be anything like when you get here. I guarantee that youâll think itâs even more.â I remember him telling me a few weeks after he was here, âCoach, you are so right. Itâs so much more than I expected.â Heâs a very good player in the way that we play. Some of it has to do with the formation and the way he was educated as a player. The other part is that heâs and incredible professional every day. It made it really easy for us to try and sign him long-term.
On Graham Zusiâs transition to right back extending his longevity as a playerâĤ
Itâs helped him immensely, but I think no matter where Zusi would be playing, weâd still be re-signing him. Heâs been a great player at this club for a long time. He has a humble confidence and a lot of humility, but at the same time his position has helped him become focused in one area. When you go back earlier in his career, we played him out wide or sometimes in the midfield. But now heâs really found his place, and I think he feels very comfortable. Because of the way that we play, he also gets a tremendous opportunity to go on the attack. He just comes forward at a different time in the game, and I think he enjoys that. Itâs helped him solidify his place in our team for a long time.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Ilie Sanchez
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KCâĤ
I think that the culture that these guys built for all those years is growing on me. Also, I think that the best years of my career are in front of me. I decided that I wanted to be at this club for all they have given to me these two years.
On the culture surrounding the clubâĤ
Iâm so happy. Itâs always the same feeling since I first came here - from my teammates, from my coaches, from the ownership group that is here today and also from the fans and the city. I am so happy because it has been so easy to be here. I think that was a part of my decision when I decided to sign this new contract - this love that I feel from all of them, starting with my teammates.
On the appeal of MLS and Sporting KCâĤ
I played in Europe and I have to say that what we have here â not just with the facilities, but also with the culture of the club â makes it a place to be. I think this league is one of the most attractive leagues in the world. Also, I want to say that I think on most everything, this club is above all the other organizations. I donât want to be too brave to say weâre above in everything, so I say most everything. You just have to see how we have been working for all of these many years before me, now with me and I hope that in the future we will keep doing the same things to be above in almost everything.
Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KCâĤ
I enjoy it. I feel challenged every single day. We have a chance to win every single year. So I want to continue to be a part of it.
On playing professionally in his hometownâĤ
Iâm always prideful of getting to represent Kansas City. That will never change. When I first started out, I donât think I could have imagined what this has turned into. There are a lot of people who have played a major role in getting us to where we are now. It starts with our ownership group. They have invested a lot of their resources to create this. I feel like Iâve played a very small part in creating this, as well, along with a lot of other people, these guys in particular that are sitting next to me. You get pride when you think about what youâre creating, but at the same time, you feel like youâre still creating something and youâre building. I want to continue to be a part of it and push it as high as we can go.
On staying in peak physical conditionâĤ
After training, thereâs a regimen that we do. As you can see, this is a world-class facility. We have a lot of opportunities and a lot of access to different things we can do to take care of our bodies. Every guy has a different routine so you have to find what works for you. Whether or not youâre a guy that like massages or stretching or ice baths or a combination of any of those. Thereâs a bunch of different things that you can do. Itâs all about tinkering and finding what works. For all of us, itâs about setting an example, as well. Weâre fortunate enough to still be playing this game. Now, as we enter the second half of our careers, itâs really about showing what it takes to become a professional and stay at a high level and hopefully pass down as much information as possible to some of these guys coming in. All four of us, we care a lot about this club. At some point, weâre going to have to be done playing. Hopefully itâs not for a long time. I think all of us feel the same way. We want this club to be in a better spot when we leave than where we started so weâre going to try to pass on as many things as possible.
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KCâĤ
I got to see what is out there, coming back to Sporting knowing that the culture and everything was still here. Itâs a no brainer for me to keep going and working hard for these guys and work for the future.
On the clubâs commitment to excellenceâĤ
I think the club has made it a priority to work on everything, not only on the structural side but also the players. We feel like we still have a lot of years here with the new facilities, with the new equipment we have. We can play much longer. It doesnât happen in many teams in the league. I think thatâs one of the reasons why weâre here. We feel like weâre going to have the best opportunity to succeed and win many championships here. Thatâs what weâre working toward.
Sporting Kansas City defender Graham Zusi
On his decision to re-sign with Sporting KCâĤ
It was a pretty easy decision, it sounds like, for all of us. Like Ilie said, the culture that this club, from the ground up, that theyâve created, itâs something that we want to be part of. Weâre not looking back on what weâve done so far, weâre looking forward. We have a lot left to do.
On if he thought about his time coming to an end in KCâĤ
No, I didnât to be completely honest. I think that weâve built some great relationships here in Kansas City with the ownership group and the coaching staff. I think thereâs a trust there between the two of us. Peter said, âListen, we want to get this done. It might take a little bit of time and youâll have to trust us.â Thatâs exactly what we did.
On his versatilityâĤ
I think being able to play a couple different positions has helped me quite a bit. In particular, the move to this right back spot â Iâve said it before â physically I feel as good as I have in years. Thereâs still quite a bit left in the tank. The more positions you can play, the better, and the harder it is for them to get rid of you. Thatâs how Iâm going about it.
