Vermes on Nemeth: “In a lot of ways very similar to Aguero”

On Monday’s Extra Time (formerly Extra Time Radio) from MLSsoccer.com, Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes dropped in by phone for an interview. As is typically the case, Vermes was a fantastic interview. He talked about a lot of things but one of the first ones was his striker Krisztian Nemeth.

“I have a different perspective than most,” Vermes started. “I think he is an old school center forward in that he is in a lot of ways very similar to [Sergio] Aguero.”

Yes, the same Sergio Aguero who has scored 346 goals and currently plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League. He didn’t stop there with just a passing comment.

“If you look around the world there are a lot of forwards that have specific attributes but they’re not all encompassing,” Vermes continued. “I think Krisztian encompasses just like Aguero does, all those qualities. He can play with his back to the goal, he can play in between the lines, he can run into the channel, he can give the final pass, he can create his own goal. He has the composure and he’s as cold as ice in certain situations like when he scored his final goal [against Montreal]. He faked like three times before he actually finished it off. There are a lot of players that don’t have composure in the moment. He can score with his head, with his left, with his right.”

Obviously the Aguero comparison is a stretch, but Nemeth is off to a fantastic start as Sporting KC’s striker. In three CONCACAF Champions League games Nemeth has already scored four times (he didn’t play in the first leg at Independiente). In four Major League Soccer games in 2019 he has another four goals. Eight goals in seven games is nothing short of remarkable. Especially when fans are still calling for the team to sign a “DP striker.”

Vermes doesn’t just talk Nemeth/Aguero, but he makes time for all the following topics:

• He answers if this is his best scoring SKC team ever
• Gerso Fernandes
• How to defend Johnny Russell
• There is talk of CCL and Monterrey (interesting fact, he points out Monterrey would have 10 Designated Player starters, three more on the bench and a handful of TAM guys too under MLS rules)
• And PV finishes it off with some United States Men’s National Team talk

The interview starts at 26:38 and the Extra Time guys continue the CCL conversation all the way through to the 53:50 mark.