KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As reveals from Peter Vermes go, this one's pretty big.
Sporting Kansas City's close-to-the-vest manager and technical director isn't giving away too many details just yet. But on Friday, the eve of the club's departure to training camp in Tucson, Ariz., Vermes said an offseason overhaul after a disappointing first-round playoff exit could lead to a move away from Sporting's hallmark 4-3-3 formation in 2015.
“Our roster is always going to be evolving, and that picture that's in my head of how we want to play and who we want to be is constantly changing as well,” Vermes told reporters. “What I like about this current group that we're bringing together is that we're getting the opportunity to maybe play another formation that I've been wanting to do for quite some time, and I just don't think that we had the personnel to be able to do that before. But now, with the people that we have, I think we're going to be able to do that.
“I won't talk about what that is, but it'll give us some looks at what we might be able to do here in the future.”
Whatever look – or looks – Sporting show this upcoming season, Vermes will have plenty of versatile options up front and in the midfield with the return of midfielder Roger Espinoza after two years in England and the acquisitions of Bernardo Anor and Krisztian Nemeth.
They will join the veteran attacking nucleus of record-breaking center forward Dom Dwyer, wingers Graham Zusi and Jacob Peterson, and midfielders Benny Feilhaber and Paulo Nagamura – and first-round SuperDraft pick Connor Hallisey also shows signs of being able to play multiple attacking roles down the road, Vermes said.
“Bernardo Anor, he can probably play on all three lines,” Vermes said. “Not many players can do that. He can play a winger, he can play in the middle of the midfield and he can play as an outside back. So we've added a couple of guys who have the ability to do that.
“I'll be interested to see this young kid, Connor Hallisey. I think that he has the ability to play on at least two lines, and obviously some of that's going to be development and a little time with us.”
Sporting also have a variety of options in the defensive midfield, Vermes said, including new arrivals James Marcelin and Servando Carrasco – whose deal after Sporting traded Houston for his rights last week was expected to be finalized on Friday.
“You've got [2014 midseason signing Jorge] Claros,” he said. “You've got Marcelin. Carrasco can play there. Mikey Lopez can play there. Benny Feilhaber can play there. So we've got some versatility that we haven't had before.”
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Sporting will retain their commitment to playing a dynamic game regardless of formation, Vermes said.
“It's one thing if you can win some games,” he said. “The other is that you play a very attractive style of soccer, and it's entertaining. We keep that as a centerpiece to who we are. And so we want to enhance that entertainment value, with still being able to achieve results. And that's a very fine line because I know of teams that are all about entertainment and they don't know how to get the results.
“So we have to balance the two – but make no mistake about it, the players that we brought in are not only to get results, but also to help us really be attractive when we're out inside those white lines, and to make sure that our fans appreciate that aspect of our game because we want them to be connected to how we play and what we're doing on the field.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
