Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic makes adjustment in a battle for playing time

A week before arriving in Tucson, Ariz., for preseason camp, Sporting Kansas City defender Seth Sinovic met with members of the media and assessed the first six years of his MLS employment. Coming off a season in which he was named the club’s defender of the year, Sinovic remarked that he was entering camp with a career-best level of confidence.

In a mere instant, that evaporated.

An 11th-hour transaction added left outside defender Marcel de Jong, a Canadian national team member, to Sporting Kansas City’s preseason camp as a trialist. The move supplied Sinovic with some unexpected competition for a starting job he had on lockdown during his first three seasons in Kansas City.

“I think starting off, when I realized there was going to be more competition in that spot, I don’t think I panicked, but I was definitely pushing a little bit and trying to push maybe a little bit too much and making mistakes that I don’t usually make,” Sinovic said.

A dependable performer — one who logged more minutes than any other non-goalkeeper player on the roster in 2014 and 2013 — Sinovic lost his consistency.

And he lost his job, too. At least temporarily.

Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes liked what what he saw from de Jong in the preseason, and he signed him to a contract prior to the season. In the team’s first 10 matches, de Jong earned starts in six of them. While battling a groin injury, Sinovic made only four.

“We need competition at every position,” Vermes said. “It’s what gets the best out of our players. It’s what drives the team for success.”

It had the reverse effect on Sinovic. Initially, anyway.

Keen on impressing the coaching staff and keeping his starting gig, Sinovic upped his already energetic style of play. That resulted in tactical errors, he says, ones he admits hurt the team during its preseason matches.

An epiphany, of sorts, followed.

Be yourself, he thought.

“Once I settled down, I think I’ve done better and gotten back to what I do best,” he said. “... You want to make an impact. You want to be good for your team. But at the same time, you can’t overdo it.”

The same lesson reached Sinovic as he worked his way back from a groin injury last month — one he feared could cost him his job for the long-term.

After starting only two of the first five games, Sinovic missed the next three matches with the injury. To no surprise, de Jong started all three.

Sinovic amped up his rehabilitation — or attempted to — to resume the fight for playing time at left outside defender.

“You can ask our trainers — I’m not too easy to deal with. I’m pushing them every chance I get to do a little bit more or try to go out of my comfort zone,” Sinovic said. “I think as much as getting my injury healthy, I think their biggest challenge is trying to take care of me mentally, because I like to be out there (playing). I get pretty frustrated when I’m not.”

He was back in the lineup for the past two matches — a 1-0 victory against Chicago on May 3 and a 1-1 draw with D.C. United last weekend. With de Jong nursing a hip injury, Sinovic is slated to earn a third straight start Saturday, when Sporting KC plays host to Colorado.

How long will his stay in the starting lineup last?

To be determined.

“I’ll have to stay sharp,” he said.

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Sporting KC defender Seth Sinovic makes adjustment in a battle for playing time."