Zusi has competition, but the veteran isn’t quite ready to concede to talented Lindsey
Clattering to the ground following a crunching challenge down the right sideline, Graham Zusi stayed down far longer than expected.
It looked like a rather innocuous challenge. Tough, sure, but nothing out of the ordinary for a soccer game.
But the 34-year-old was unable to gather himself and get back out onto the field. Just a couple of hours later, he was seen in a boot and on crutches leaving Children’s Mercy Park.
That was on October 7, 2020. Sporting Kansas City beat the Chicago Fire 1-0, but Zusi was forced to leave the pitch after just 21 minutes.
Over six months later Zusi has yet to take the field at Children’s Mercy Park for a competitive game. He underwent surgery in late October to repair a sprain in the middle of his left foot.
In last Saturday’s season-opening 2-1 win at the New York Red Bulls, he was forced to watch from home as he continues to fight toward fitness.
“It maybe popped in my head very briefly,” Zusi said when asked if he thought the Chicago game would be the last of his career. “There are certainly a lot of emotions when you hear the extent of the injury. You do tend to have the worst-case scenario pop into your head momentarily.”
As a Sporting KC legend headed to the sidelines that day last October, an up-and-comer saw his chance to take the reins. Homegrown 21-year-old Jaylin Lindsey came on as a substitute for the injured Zusi against Chicago and hasn’t missed a second of action since. That’s more than 900 minutes of uninterrupted game time.
This isn’t to say Lindsey wasn’t in the picture before Zusi’s injury. Signing a homegrown contract with the first team in 2018, Lindsey made eight appearances for the club over the next two seasons, as well as five starts earlier in the 2020 season before Zusi’s injury.
“I think this past season gave me a really good sense of confidence to get a good run of games in and play back-to-back games and close arrangements and stuff like that,” Lindsey said. “I think the past three seasons have given me a lot of confidence to be more comfortable with the system and everyone else.”
Lindsey turned in an excellent 90-minute shift against New York last Saturday, barely putting a foot wrong as KC only conceded via a wonder goal from young phenom Caden Clark.
But his spot in the starting lineup is far from secure. Zusi is edging back to full fitness, and by the end of the spring he hopes to be competing for the job he held down for so long.
When that happens, Sporting KC fans will be in for a treat.
Two quality players battling for the starting position at right back. The veteran vs. the youngster.
“I’m not saying that when I get back I’m going to be back in that role immediately,” Zusi said. “It’s something that I have to fight for again and hopefully that healthy competition makes us both better.”
”Healthy competition” well encapsulates the relationship between the two players, two men at opposite ends of their careers.
Zusi said on Wednesday that he’s not ready to pass on the baton, that he wants to continue playing and competing for Sporting KC. But that isn’t stopping him from making sure that when he does cede his role for good, it goes to someone worthy of the position.
“Jay and I have a very, very good relationship,” Zusi said. “Even throughout the years, just pushing each other in that spot and coming to training every day, making each other better, it’s a very healthy, competitive relationship.
“I’d be lying if I said I was ready to pass the baton on because I’m still really wanting to be on the field and helping the team.”
In his first couple of years at the club, Lindsey languished behind Zusi on the bench. The duo always seemed to have a good relationship, and Lindsey found it insightful to watch Zusi play the position from an off-the-pitch perspective.
But over the past half-year, it’s been Zusi watching Lindsey from that point of view. From that perspective, he’s noticed how Lindsey plays the position and gives him tips about how to improve his game and better help the team.
“He’s been a great mentor to me and he’s continued when he’s been injured,” Lindsey said. “He’s always talking by the sideline.”
As Sporting KC heads deeper into the season and the schedule begins to congest, both Zusi and Lindsey will get their chance to impress. Zusi’s next appearance for the club will also see him overtake longtime teammate Matt Besler, who’s now playing for the team in Austin, for the most appearances in club history, at 295.
When Zusi finally does pass on the baton, he’ll have no regrets about the role he’s played or who he’s passing it to.
“I’ve always been a big fan of him (Jaylin),” he said. “And I know the future of that position, and really beyond, is in very good hands.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Zusi has competition, but the veteran isn’t quite ready to concede to talented Lindsey."