KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Amadou Dia gave his manager plenty to think about at right back with a solid 90-minute turn in his professional debut, just weeks after Sporting Kansas City took him with one of their three first-round picks in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.
One thing's for sure, manager Peter Vermes said after the rookie defender put on a display of confidence and attacking presence when Sporting drew 1-1 with the New York Red Bulls in Sunday's season opener: Dia – “T” to those around him – didn't play himself out of a job.
“To the contrary,” Vermes told MLSsoccer.com after Tuesday's training session. “He makes you really sit up and say, 'This kid not only has the ability to play in that position right now, but the potential for him going forward is tremendous.' The backline is a place where you sort of suffer with the player's development because they make mistakes. But he did an excellent job in the one-v-one defending, for sure. He's excellent in his defending aspects.”
That means even more decisions for Vermes to make while he waits for Chance Myers to come back from the Achilles injury that ended his 2014 season last May. The tentative date for Myers' return is June 1, but Vermes said Tuesday that it could be sooner.
“He just went and had an MRI the other day,” Vermes said. “Everything is good with him. It's not structural or anything. He just has a little bit of irritation down in his heel and he has to get over the pain. It's really on him.”
In the meantime, don't expect a clear first choice at right back to emerge right away.
“I want to make sure that I'm using the strengths of all of our guys the best – or it's just that maybe we need a few more games under our belt,” he said. “There's a lot of different things to look at for the combinations of players on the field. And then you've got to take into consideration that there are different guys here with different situations.”
One of those guys is Homegrown defender Kevin Ellis, who saw extensive action across the backline last season and signed a new deal in the offseason. Ellis was held out as a precaution on Sunday, after taking a hard ball to the head late in Sporting's training camp, but will be available for Saturday's Western Conference opener at FC Dallas (8:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE).
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Another is new arrival Marcel de Jong, a Bundesliga veteran and Canadian international who is expected to challenge veteran Seth Sinovic for minutes at left back but can also play on the right. De Jong received his visa only last Friday, and was not in the 18 for Sunday's match, but also will be available against Dallas.
Had they been available, would Dia – who continued his strong play on the flanks even after center back Matt Besler was sent off with his second yellow in the 70th minute – have been in a mix for a spot in the XI against the Red Bulls?
“That's a tough one for me to answer,” Vermes said. “I think 'T' had done a very good job in preseason at that spot, so it was already looking pretty good for him. He definitely was playing well in that spot.”
Dia – who is a natural left back, not a right fullback – acknowledged there were some nerves going into his debut but said those dissipated quickly.
“Everybody told me, 'Be confident,' and I've been playing this game all my life,” he told reporters after the match. “It's just another game. That's what I try to do.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
