Hints abound: What different under Zavagnin for Sporting Kansas City?

For Sporting Kansas City, Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park was a “magical night”.  The 2-0 win over rival St. Louis City in the first match post-Peter Vermes’ record tenure was the culmination of a week that was both gut-punch and a shove if not over the edge, certainly onto a sharpened one.

After, Interim Head Coach Kerry Zavagnin, goalkeeper John Pulskamp, striker Dejan Joveljic, and midfielder/right back Jake Davis gave insight to what can be expected under Zavagnin’s tenure, whether brief or extended.     

Another level

In the 81^st minute Sporting was up 1-0. There was doubt. Everyone who cared wondered if Kansas City could hold on for their first win since September of 2024. Then, St. Louis stripped the ball away off a pass from Nemanja Radoja and went on a 3-1 break. Only 19-year-old Jacob Bartlett was in the way. Radoja had but one intention: win the ball back. Like a tractor beam, Radoja caught Joao Klauss with a perfect tackle.

“When we have the 1-0 lead and we have the result in our hands, that is when you run harder, talk louder, tackle harder, do everything with more intensity,” said Davis in the locker room after the match.

Radoja’s action was just one example of Sporting executing in the critical moments Saturday night.

“When I first stepped into the locker room on Monday,” said Zavagnin in the post-match press conference, “[I told them] that I was proud to be their coach and that I will give them everything I have, and, in return, I would expect that they would give the same back.”

Pulskamp’s big saves, Joveljic’s movement and finishing, Davis’ work in the midfield, then at right back were just samples of a team-wide dedication. Cumulatively, it was ‘We are tired of the BS. Our coach has been sacrificed; we have yet to win; and we draw the line here.’ Action to fit the sentiment.

What is to say the giving “everything” will last?

Heartening words from Zavagnin provide context. And danger.

“They are a great group of men. They just needed to trust each other a little bit more,” stated Zavagnin, revealing a prime component in his building of the squad. “And you saw the emotion as it has been building throughout the week, and they wanted to do well for each other.

“A couple of days ago, we had a few skirmishes in training, and that means that you are on the edge. And you are playing on the edge, and you are competing right on that edge.”

An edge is narrow; and skating that edge can wear quickly. It’s an inevitable fall, except for the deep and the elite, which Sporting are not at this point. More is needed on which to build.

Tweaking

Here and in other forums, it has been the talk that Sporting Kansas City needs to have much more than a flank dangerous attack. They must become efficient up the gut with quick and direct ball movement.

Related: Deftones on 2025 Sporting Kansas City after five matches – KC Soccer Journal

“That was the idea. When we lose the ball and win the second ball, we go immediately forward,” Joveljic stated after the match. “Sometimes in the last games, when we win the second ball, we play back. So now, it’s maybe the first time we play direct, and we scored.”

Evidence for the uptick in direct play comes via stats from fbref.com for playmaker Manu Garcia and Joveljic. Garcia (and left back Logan Ndenbe) had the most touches on the squad in the win. Garcia dished both 10 passes into the final third and 10 progressive passes in his 90 minutes. Even more importantly, he received five progressive passes after receiving only 16 total in the previous six matches.

Joveljic – who is most expected to provide goals – received 26 passes, with 7 being progressive. Both numbers were outliers for the season, the progressive receptions being the high. The “Player positions” chart from whoscored.com gives the visual on how closely knit #21 Garcia and #9 Joveljic were on average throughout the match.

Also of note is how #17 Davis was nearly as forward as Garcia and how #18 Ndenbe was far up field as well. For the match, Sporting attacked 40% up the left side and 33% down the middle of the pitch.

“Our ability to move the ball and our rotation on the wings unbalanced them at times,” said Zavagnin. “The determination and commitment of Deke [Joveljic] was a nonstop force up there. It’s not a surprise he scored 20+ goals (in all competitions) last year. It was just a matter of breaking out. Credit to all the guys not only to get forward, but to get in the box.”

As much as an improved attack can propel Sporting Kansas City forward, it is a stout defense that can right the ship in rough waters. Saturday night marked the first time that Joaquin Fernandez and Jansen Miller were paired together in central defense. One of Zavagnin’s goals is to settle on a backline; it’s an integral piece.

“In order to have any success, defense wins. You have to use that as your foundation…,” said the former Kansas City defensive midfielder who won MLS Cup 2000, the US Open Cup in 2004, and was an MLS Cup finalist that same year. “…One of the things we have had issues with recently is that it wasn’t the number of chances that we gave up, it was the incredibly high-quality chances.”

The pairing of Fernandez and Miller showed promise, although Sporting surrendered a few strong chances. If it’s Bartlett or Radoja or another combination with Davis and Garcia in the midfield, the guess is we may see a team that sits back a bit more, even allowing the opposition the ball more. St. Louis had 47.6% possession.

“When it was 1-0 tonight, the commitment to remain compact, even if it was lower in the field, really made the difference,” finished Zavagnin.

Effective tactics… in simple terms, tactics suitable to better play on the field, is what will sustain success for Kansas City.

From here

The finish to Davis’ quote about intensity was this: “We did that today. We had confidence, and we played… We can grow on this.”

Obtaining another level in ambition and drive and tweaking tactics more suitable to the talent available are symbiotic. If you are playing on the emotional edge, you may fall, and fall fast. But sound tactics and playing to strengths give one the courage to come back strong emotionally.

In the midst of their losing streak, odds are when one looked around at all that was happening, especially when the team struggled to score, or went down on a fundamental error, there was not enough to help bounce back. Not that there wasn’t something. But now, maybe there is and will be more.

“It was the first time in a while that I heard walking out of the locker room [at halftime the players] saying that we were not losing tonight. With that mentality and that spirit, you can overcome a lot of things,” Zavagnin intimated.

But truth has a way of smacking one back to reality. Said Joveljic after the match. “If you lose the next game, this win means nothing. We need to take points from the next game.”

So very true. Sporting needs points at home versus Portland Timbers this Sunday, beginning at 1:15pm CT.

“[Kerry] came in and brought us back down to our core of trust and belief in each other,” said Pulskamp. “We banded together this week and had a lot of heart-to-heart conversations, a lot of real home truths a lot of us had to face. The team is in a place where we are all looking each other in the eyes. We will kill for each other. We will die for each other…

“This team is tighter than ever, and I think that goes a lot farther than people think.”