Sporting Kansas City Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes conducted a teleconference call with media today to discuss Major League Soccer's return to play and COVID-19 testing, among other topics.
With COVID-19 testing widely available across the Kansas City area, Sporting Kansas City covered the cost for players and coaches to be tested for the coronavirus this week at Compass Minerals National Performance Center, formerly Pinnacle, in Kansas City, Kansas.
Vermesâ full remarks are below.
On Sporting KC conducting COVID-19 testing in recent days at Compass Minerals National Performance CenterâĤ
We completed testing on Monday. We did COVID testing on Saturday and Monday, and the antibodies (test) as well on Monday. I can say that the process went very well. Unfortunately due to HIPAA, I canât comment on whether someone was infected or not infected, but I can tell you that the process went really well. Players and certain people on the technical staff (were tested).
On the German Bundesliga continuing its season with matches in empty stadiums last weekendâĤ
I watched and read some stuff on how they actually entered people (into the stadium) in the buildup for the game. Iâm talking about people that actually worked the game, whether it was talent crews or what have you. I read up on that and thought it was pretty interesting how they segmented everybody coming into the facility. I thought it was pretty interesting to watch the staffs on the sidelines and how far they were apart from each other. That was something I didnât expect, just the way I saw that. There was one game where the players got excited about scoring a goal and got together, and then (the league) said afterwards there wouldnât be any further discipline. I thought that was an interesting comment.
Iâve watched games in that country when itâs a full stadium, so itâs completely different watching it with nobody in the stands. It changes the environment, for sure. Fans make the ambiance. Thatâs the beauty of sports. It misses that aspect, but it was good to see the game. One of the things you did see is you could tell the teams had been off for a little while. The rhythm of the game was off a little bit, but all in all, itâs great to get started.
On how empty stadiums will affect the quality of the gameâĤ
You donât have much of a home field advantage without your crowd. The fans apply the pressure for the opposition. Watching (the Bundesliga) on TV, it just didnât seem like the opponents had too much pressure on them, if you know what I mean. It just seemed like a game for them to play. I say again that weâre going to have to start somewhere. Itâs not going to be perfect. We all know what perfect is, right? Itâs full stadiums and playing in front of your home crowd and all of that kind of stuff. Right now, weâre not even close to that. As soon as we can get close to playing games in that environment, for me thatâs going to be a big step forward.
On the prospect of MLS hosting a summertime tournament for all 26 clubs behind closed doors in OrlandoâĤ
I know that weâre a league of parity, and we could probably have a discussion all day about parity and all of that. At the end of the day, we truly have to get back on the field as soon as we possibly can, for so many reasons. Obviously I think we have to do it in a safe way. I think the idea of going to a single location, if thatâs what it is, I personally am all for it. This is what I do for a profession. I know for the players itâs what they do for a profession. I do agree that itâs a huge undertaking logistically. Itâs going to be pretty difficult, right? All of us are going to have to keep an open mind on the staff and player side that itâs not going to be perfect, but I think itâs great to be able to get a start.
The safest way is to do it in at least one or three or four locations. Thereâs been a couple of different models that were created. I do think (the Orlando plan) is the safest and will probably at least buy us some time as some of these other cities start to open up more and more, and hopefully weâll get back to full training (in each city) based on the fact that weâll have testing figured out by then as well.
On his conversations with players about the prospect of playing a tournament in OrlandoâĤ
Iâd be absolutely lying to you if I said it hasnât come up in conversation. I think for them, they talk amongst each other even though they chat on the phone and through WhatsApp channels and all of those things. At the same time, you can see when they come to (Compass Minerals National Performance Center) and theyâre far away from each other, they still say things to each other. I wouldnât even call it social distancing. I would call it one island to another where theyâre screaming to each other at times. The bottom line is itâs definitely on all of our minds. Weâre all thinking about it and trying to manage in our minds how we can get ready for it in all ways. Logistically, Iâm sure thereâs guys on teams who have wives that are pregnant, thereâs foreign players here with families but they donât have access to their families back home. Thereâs a lot of different things that we have to think about, so weâre talking about all of those things pretty regularly.
On the advantages and disadvantages of a round-robin tournament if play resumes in OrlandoâĤ
I think a game is a game. The challenge for the teams is going to be the amount of time we have prior to the first game and getting the guys ready to participate for 90 minutes with hotter weather than where most of us are coming from. Itâs just going to depend on the amount of time we have prior to that game, but I do think the change in the rule for five subs is going to be a huge help to offsetting some of those injuries, for sure.
On the possible timeline for small group and team trainingâĤ
Prior to getting on this call, I was on another and we were talking about the next date regarding small group straining. Itâs in the leagueâs hands at the moment. Iâve been a part of that protocol discussion, but really itâs at the leagueâs hands. The protocol has been discussed; weâre just waiting on a date from them. If weâre supposed to go to Orlando, I hope it comes prior to that. I just donât have an answer. I wish I did.
On MLS and NBA teams playing games in Orlando at the same timeâĤ
I donât think it would be (negatively) affected at all. Iâve seen the layout of where we would be, or at least the proposed place that we would be. Honestly, we would be in our own bubble, basically. We would have no interaction with anyone else outside of that. We wouldnât even see the (NBA) guys. Hopefully we would see some of their games on TV. Thatâs about it.
On the decision-making process behind playing a tournament in OrlandoâĤ
Thereâs chief medical officers, people from the league, athletic trainers, performance analysts. I mean, everyone is involved. Itâs a smattering of all different departments that are weighing in on a lot of these subjects and topics.
If we were to go to Orlando or any other city for a tournament-style (competition), it would be 11-v-11 and weâd be playing games. So Iâd hope the games arenât no-contact and you have to keep social distance from the other team. I donât know how that would work.
All joking aside, we have to get a number of days of full-team training. Everybody needs that to kind of get their team prepared. And again, Iâm not just talking soccer. I first and foremost look at the physical (aspect) and let the soccer then follow suit.
On the potential training schedule while in Orlando or elsewhereâĤ
I would say thatâs not worked out yet. Thereâs a certain number of fields and you have all of your teams there. Then there would have to be a schedule that would be created for all teams to actually train. We havenât seen that yet. Those are all things weâre still waiting on to see. Again, youâve got to remember that this is a possibility. We have not been told that itâs confirmed. Weâre getting ready as if weâre going to progress to small group training and then hopefully at some point testing weâll be involved. Then weâll get involved in full team training, and potentially weâd be allowed to play a game in our stadium. I donât know what that looks like right now, but thatâs how weâre preparing for it.
We donât have any confirmation on anything, whether itâs going to one city or three or four cities where you have six to eight teams. At this moment, you have to be able to adapt and adjust quickly. Things are changing all the time, and Iâve become very accustomed to that. Itâs amazing how things can change from one hour to the next throughout the day. Then all of the sudden you go three days and nothing changes. Weâve tried to keep our guys focused on the fact that weâre taking the first step of a few in front of us to eventually get into full team training. Weâve just got to keep doing things the right way so that safety is taken care of. Physically weâve got to be a good job progressing the guys, and then whatever comes our way, hopefully weâll be prepared for that.
On Sporting playersâ progression at voluntary individual workoutsâĤ
The guys have a really good attitude on the days that they come here and work out. Today theyâre off and theyâre doing a yoga Zoom call. When theyâre here, the guys have good attitudes and work really hard. Whatâs difficult is that itâs one thing to have a good foundation of fitness. The other part is, how fast does that translate into playing the game when youâre competing against somebody? And how fast is your recovery to go again? Thatâs what soccer is. Itâs quick action, then you get a second to rest, then youâve got to go again. The only way you get that is by playing against someone. None of us have the ability to do that. A lot of this is going to be dependent on how fast guys can translate whatever fitness they have now into a game situation.
On how Sporting is monitoring playersâ activities outside of workoutsâĤ
Everybody has been here at their normal residences, whether thatâs an apartment or a house or what have you. Basically theyâre living their lives. Part of our protocol is that every night, they get a questionnaire sent to them. Itâs digital and they have to answer the questionnaire. It asks questions like, âWhere have you traveled today outside of practice?â We ask all of those questions and they have to respond. Our guys are really good about doing it. What it does is it gives us a roadmap of what theyâve done. If a guyâs going to a grocery store, OK, we get it. But if he went out and played poker with five other guys, thatâs a problem sitting around somebodyâs house. Weâre monitoring that as a part of their comings and goings everyday. What we canât have is a guy thinking that because the Plaza is open, he can now go out to OâDowdâs and show up the next day. Even though we have social distancing, we just donât want that to be the case.
Weâre doing our best and I think the guys are doing a great job. When they wake up in the morning, they have to fill out another questionnaire about how they fell or if they have any symptoms, which we list out. That also triggers other questions if they answer yes to anything. From gathering information on their daily routine, I think weâve got a pretty good handle on where they are. They also understand the importance of them still maintaining this environment. It wouldnât affect just them, it would affect the team as well.
On his conversations with other coaches in MLS and around the worldâĤ
Iâve talked to a lot of people around the world and thereâs all kinds of things going on. Everyone has their challenges. The other thing is that, in some respects, I think weâre really lucky in the United States and in Major League Soccer. The reason being is we have a coordinated effort and a set of standards that everyone is trying to follow. I donât mean this disrespectfully to any of the other countries. But in other countries, youâre kind of a standalone club. Weâve got a different business model for our sport and we have a centralized governing body, which is the league. A lot of stuff does go through them, and for all intents and purposes, itâs made for the right rollout that we currently sit in. We talk to a lot of people, but the problem is that itâs hard to compare. Everyone is doing different things, so itâs hard to compare.
On the relationship between MLS and the players unionâĤ
I hope weâre all working towards getting back on the field. Thatâs what I would say. Iâm truly not privy to those conversations (between MLS and the players union). The league is very calculated to keep individual teams away from those conversations and, more importantly, the information (discussed). I can be pretty aggressive on things, but itâs one issue that I completely stay away from just because I know that itâs a closed loop and Iâm not getting in. If theyâre not asking me, Iâll let them figure it out. What I would say is that I hope everybody is working towards the same goal, and that is getting on the field as fast as we can. Iâm not suggesting that we do things that are unsafe or anything. Iâm just more of the mindset that, if itâs testing, lets figure it out and letâs go do it, right? If itâs acquiring tests that is the problem, letâs figure out what the issue is. Itâs trying to figure it out and move on. Iâll say it again: I hope weâre all trying to get back towards what we normally do as quick as possible, and knowing full well that itâs not going to be perfect but we need to start moving towards it.
On the prospect of MLS potentially being the first major sports league returning to playâĤ
I think it would be great to be first, but we shouldnât try to be first just to be first and then make a bunch of mistakes. I maintain that we have to be very thorough about what it is that weâre going to do. At the same time, itâs also when youâre in situations like this that you can be very critical of what other people are doing and how theyâre doing it. At some point, people are going to have to make some decisions. When the decisions are made, weâre all going to have to work toward making it work. Weâve got to provide solutions. That has to be the focus. Would I love (MLS) to be first? Absolutely, I would love that. Itâs probably the competitor in me as well that would like it that way. But itâs not for the sake of having a bad plan.
