A fitter Fontas has been a boon for Sporting KC, which plays host to Vancouver Sunday
From Andreu Fontas’ arrival at Sporting Kansas City in August 2018 to the end of the 2020 season, the Spanish defender saw just 1,266 minutes of action, 964 in 2019 alone.
This season’s been different. Fontas has already logged 450 minutes for Sporting KC, starting all five games in 2021.
Fontas was signed from Spanish club Celta de Vigo on a free transfer midway through the 2018 season. But he made just two appearances for KC that year as he was eased into the mix.
The 2019 season was primed to be a breakout year for the former Champions League winner with Barcelona, but a recurring Achilles injury kept Fontas out for much of 2019 and 2020.
He returned to action near the end of the 2020 season and, following further recovery in the offseason, has finally become a mainstay in Kansas City’s backline.
“Getting this consistency and being able to play in all the games that we’ve played until now, starting and playing all the minutes, it’s huge for me,” Fontas said Friday.
Huge for Sporting Kansas City, too.
Of this team’s “main” defensive core, four of its six primarily defenders — outside backs Graham Zusi and Amadou Dia and centerbacks Nicolas Isimat-Mirin and Roberto Puncec — have been injured for at least one game this spring.
With the injuries to Isimat-Mirin and Puncec, Kansas City has been forced to give starts to newly signed homegrown Kaveh Rad, as well as Ilie Sanchez, who typically plays midfield.
With such instability at the position, Fontas’ presence has been crucial.
“I’ve played on the backline for a number of years, and there’s no doubt that consistency in the backline is really important to the overall defensive success of a team,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “Fonty has been good, he’s been solid, he’s been steady and we need for him to continue to do that.”
He’s been caught out on occasion, such as when Houston’s Maxi Urruti tore down the middle of KC’s defense Wednesday night. But no defender is going to have a perfect season, and Fontas has stepped up to the challenge before him.
In Kansas City’s 2-1 victory over Austin last Sunday, Vermes opted to substitute off Rad and push Sanchez to centerback in search of the winning goal. Rad had subbed on just 27 minutes earlier, but Vermes pulled his fresh legs off the field and trusted Fontas to put in a full 90-minute shift.
“He’s an experienced player,” Vermes said after that game. “He’s played I don’t know how many La Liga games — he’s a very, very experienced player. Especially in that moment, when we have the ball, he’s very good in those moments.”
And Vermes still doesn’t think Sporting has seen the best of him.
Fontas is technically at full fitness, but Vermes noted that he’s not yet in the groove of playing, recovering and training on a regular basis. It’s a rhythm that the body gets used to over time, and with that rhythm comes better performances.
“When you’re in that (rhythm), your body gets used to it and it understands what you’re getting ready for,” the coach explained. “And also you start to realize what helps you to do that consistently.”
Fontas himself said that he, and the rest of the team, are yet to function at 100% this season. Sporting KC is preparing for its third game within eight days when it hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday.
“Still a lot of games to play, still a lot of things to do to be better at,” Fontas said. “Trying to improve every day in every single training session and every game is always aspects that we can improve as a team and as individuals.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 2:20 PM with the headline "A fitter Fontas has been a boon for Sporting KC, which plays host to Vancouver Sunday."