Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes
The environment was out of this world. It was great. This is probably a prelude to the World Cup and some subsequent events. This was incredible. It was a wonderful environment. I thought the fans were amazing in every way. It was a great environment to play in front of.
I think the players' efforts and concentration throughout the game were amazing. It really was. We played very well in that match. There's one very specific thing that happened in this game, and that's that it's different than every other team we play in the league. We lost the ball three times and they have the quality to punish when they lose the ball. And there are a lot of back-and-forth games in MLS. You play against other teams, they give up some chances, you give up some chances. But at the end of the day, if you just look at the first goal, their quality is high. (Lionel) Messi made a pass and hit the ball from there to score the second goal. I think everyone would agree that you don't usually see that in MLS, but you see it a lot when you play against MLS. They can punish you and that's what they did. But I thought we played very, very well. It's true. It's true. With a little luck, things might have turned out a little differently.
Obviously there are a lot of people who want to come see Messi, I understand that. If I were in a different position, I would also like to meet you. So I understand that point. I was very, very happy with the intentions of the crowd. Most of it was for us. Of course, there are many people who desperately wanted to meet him. But just participating was really, really good.
If only we could get a glimpse of the atmosphere of the World Cup…
I think the difference is that you get everything the two teams are playing. It's going to be kind of competitive from a fan standpoint. The stadium also provides a great environment from an acoustics point of view, making it easy to hear everyone. It's really nice. However, I think the environment inside the stadium is wonderful. I didn't have the ability to play in front of a crowd like that when I was playing here, but it was nice to coach in front of a crowd. It was good.
Regarding the players facing this situation…
As I said earlier, I thought they played very well. I thought they were suppressing their emotions. It would have been so easy to just get caught up in the moment. I think there are many players who have never played in front of 70,000 people. That in itself can change your emotions and the way you play the game. I was quite nervous at the beginning, but I thought my concentration was amazing. In some cases, you may end up making the wrong decision. Am I going to say that that decision was really, really bad? No, I don't think so. But I think the difference is that they have the quality to really finish you off.
On Eric Toomey's play…
Eric was a machine today. His first goal was great. The action was. Tim (Leibold) gets the ball and does what we do a lot. He goes directly into the intestines and feeds it to him. It's an incredible first touch and then a great finish. And Toomey has that quality. But his second goal, it was truly a world-class goal. He was a machine on the field today.
Regarding the turnover before the final goal…
I think I have to hit that ball long. I think it's a tough situation for Jake (Davis). I think he's running backwards towards our goal and the players are already putting pressure on him. It's better to just hit the ball long and we'll fight there another day. This is not the time to build. So it was tough for him. He tried to cut it out himself, but apparently he stole it. And like I said, they're smart. (Luis) Suarez, he knows where he needs to be. He's a goalscorer. He's done it all over the world, for big clubs and everyone else. That's a shame.
Sporting Kansas City Forward Daniel Saloy
Thoughts on the atmosphere…
It was great and the fans did a great job creating a great atmosphere. I think this is how everyone feels about what the World Cup will bring. This is fantastic. It would have been nice if we could have tied the score or won, but thank you so much to all the fans. Because this was a once in a lifetime experience for us too.
I expected that. I think people in this area are very proud of their team. This might not have happened in other cities. I knew there would be Messi fans, but I was hoping that the majority would be Sporting fans. The people I met on the street also said they come to the games and want to see Messi play, but they are rooting for Sporting. We really appreciate that, but it wasn't their fault. they did their best.
Why was it a once in a lifetime experience?
Arrowhead has had many champions play here and is home to the Chiefs, who have done a great job. The sport started here as the Wizards, and this is just history, a full-circle moment. And to come back here and fill this stadium is unrealistic. Playing against them doesn't happen every time. So I think we all have to absorb that and see it as a positive thing. Of course we have to analyze the game and the mistakes we made, but that's a positive for me.
About playing against Messi…
He's obviously an incredible player and can make something out of nothing. That's his whole career. Congratulations to them and good luck this season. It was a great experience for all of us to play against them and we need to learn from our mistakes.
On Eric Toomey's play…
Eric was great and his goals were unreal. I'm very happy for him. We have no choice but to score this many goals and end the game.
Sporting Kansas City Goaltender Tim Melia
It's a shame. The start of the match was really good. We got them out of shape and then we lost them with two goals due to quality and then we beat ourselves with the third goal.
That's a very good shot. Not to take anything away, but the swirling wind makes things even more difficult. It's a shame, but his first through pass and second shot are his reason for being and he proves that in most games. that's reality.
About playing against Messi…
He can beat me, so get ready and be ready to go either way. I don't think there are many players who can avoid the ball like he can, and it's a position where goalkeepers tend to lean in one direction. They can only go one way, but he was trying to get it back to the far post and gave it a lot of power. I was kind of watching them coming up, and that's something we talked about all week, they like to cut the ball back like they did when they scored the first goal. I know it was a little different because it was a shot from the middle, but they pulled the ball back between the penalty spot and the number 18 in the middle and had a chance. Therefore, as a goalkeeper, you need to be prepared to some extent.
It was just a slow ball. As a result, many people end up doing things they shouldn't. We gave him the ball and then we got bad and we were trying to catch up by three or four yards and he noticed that. So he was able to play a slow ball right behind our last line and finish it well. It hits the top of the foot. It pisses me off not to save it, but it is what it is.
It was my fault. It's not Jake's fault. You have to get it open and hit it long. I can't put Jake in that situation. That's my responsibility.
