Vermes on Sporting KC’s lessons from ’22, excitement for ’23 + a Messi story: podcast
Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes has gotten a head start on thinking about next season — not that he wanted to.
For only the second time in the past dozen years, Sporting KC has missed the MLS playoffs. Tack another two weeks onto the regular season, and SKC might’ve made it (they’ve been hot the past couple months.
Instead, it’s a good time to begin thinking about what 2023 could entail. On today’s episode of The Star’s SportsBeat KC podcast, Vermes discusses the primary issues that dogged this year’s team, starting with injuries to Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda.
Sporting’s midsummer additions of Erik Thommy and Willie Agada provided a huge boost that should have enduring effects. And the prospect of starting a new season with a healthier squad and more depth has Vermes counting down the weeks until that season begins.
But before that, there’s a World Cup to be played. In today’s pod episode, Vermes also shares his thoughts on the U.S. squad’s chances in Qatar and goes so far as to predict an overall champion. Finally, the SKC manager shares a great story about the time he coached against soccer superstar Lionel Messi.
Guess whose team won?
Story link:
Two big reasons Sporting KC is excited (REALLY excited) about the 2023 MLS season
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Vermes on Sporting KC’s lessons from ’22, excitement for ’23 + a Messi story: podcast."