KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin reflected on the club's final match of the season, expressing gratitude to fans and addressing the challenges faced throughout the year. Zavagnin noted the return of the team's number 10, who played a significant role in the first half. "He was obviously the instigator of a lot of the good actions in the game. He wasn't as sharp as he could have been, but given the time off I think he gave a great 45 minutes of effort and certainly was influential. The sub at halftime was a planned one so I think that's about all he had in his tank tonight," Zavagnin said.

Discussing his message to the team, Zavagnin emphasized the importance of effort and attitude, even as both Sporting KC and their opponents were no longer in playoff contention. "It's always important to make a good first impression. It's also really important to make a good last impression and I think that was one of the messages that I gave to the group tonight. The other one is that you have got to be the best version of yourself every day. Regardless of what the circumstances are and the things you can't control -- I know we're out of the playoffs, I know that decisions in the game from things we can’t control go against you sometimes, and not that I'm saying they did tonight -- but I think it's about controlling the things that you can control. Tonight, the message to the guys was that we need to go out and we need to give our best effort. It was a great, great stadium environment tonight and I thank the fans for coming out in what was otherwise pretty much a lifeless game between two teams that weren't in the playoffs."

Zavagnin explained that lineup choices were based on experience and a desire to end the season positively. "Part of the decision around the lineup was we wanted to put a team out there that could win the game. We had a little bit more experience in some of the positions and that was intentional. We've given a lot of minutes to young players this year and a lot have played significant minutes. Over the course of the season, we've seen some ebbs and flows in some of the learning curves of what young players have. They're also psychologically and emotionally gassed. It was a matter of, at the end in a game that we really wanted to win tonight, we thought it was important. We really wanted to win for the fans to end the season in a positive way, but certainly there was no influence from anybody else. It was my decision on who played tonight."

He addressed supporters directly, acknowledging their commitment during difficult times. "I think tonight was just another clear example of how they've gone through the great moments with us and they've also been with us during some of the storms. And the message to them and everybody in the club is that no matter who you are, no matter what club you are, there will be moments and there will be difficult moments. You'll have to persevere. Despite all the passion that you have for the club and the love you have for it, it's persevering through some of the tough times. We're stronger when we're together as a community, as a club, as a group. I think the storm is almost over."

Looking back on the season, Zavagnin admitted improvement is needed but pointed to the club's history as a foundation for optimism. "I think the team and all of us have to take a look and understand that we need to get a lot better. There are ebbs and flows in the history of a club, and this is one of those moments that we're a little bit in a down moment but that doesn't stay like that forever and certainly there are brighter days ahead. As far as my personal takeaway from it, I've loved representing this club both as a player and as a coach. It's been a tremendous honor to coach the team this year but it's much, much bigger than me and the role that I play within the group. It's a team effort and I've loved contributing to it this year in any way, shape or form."

Zavagnin referenced Sporting KC's trophy history as a source of pride and motivation for the future. "If you looked at any other club in the history of the league, to have raised or accumulated seven trophies, I think there's a lot of clubs that would change places with us in a minute or in a second for that matter. We have a proud history. And as much as right now is one of those moments that we have to reflect, we can also remember where we've come from. And I think we need to be proud of that. We are a community, we're a city, we are people that are very proud and we support each other through tough times and great times. I don't expect it to be any different this time. As we move forward into the next era of this club, I am incredibly excited and it's difficult to say after a season like this and a game that we've just finished that was 0-0 at home to finish it off. But I'm incredibly excited about the direction of where this club is going. We've talked about modernizing the club or evolving and going into a new era and there's a lot of excitement behind the scenes. There's a lot of flexibility. There's a lot of opportunity and there are going to be a lot of new faces in this club next year that hopefully wear the badge with pride and represent this club in a way we can be proud of."

Reflecting on his own development as interim head coach, Zavagnin highlighted the importance of trust and belief in players. "I think it's interesting. When you're an assistant coach, you kind of go in and you support. You're kind of in the supporting role. And I think when you take a role that I was fortunate enough to have over the course of a big part of this year, I think there's a huge amount of stock to be put into belief and trust. When you believe in your players, they can feel it. And when you trust in them, they can feel it. I think that relationship, for me, evolved over the course of this year both individually and collectively. I think if we saw anything out of this group, something that I'm incredibly proud of is that they never gave up. We've been knocked around. We've been pushed around and we've fallen down and we've gotten back up. I think that's all based on the internal relationships that have been created. I think we have a wonderful culture. We have great people and I've been proud to be part of that this year."

On Sporting KC's younger players, Zavagnin noted their desire and perseverance through a challenging season. "I think the biggest trait that all of those guys have is that they want to achieve. They want to be good players. And I think that's the starting point. You need to have a passion for the game and you need to be able to get through difficult moments and persevere. They've experienced that and then some this year. It’s a huge learning curve. Jansen (Miller) as an example played 1,000 minutes at Indiana University last year and played 2,300 minutes this year in a professional environment. So maybe a little bit unfair at times for him for the minutes that he accumulated, but I think it's going to bode well for him and all the other young guys that have gotten incredible experiences over this season."

Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi commented on the club's struggles and changes during the season. "It's obviously not the season we wanted. A lot of things happened. The staff in general had changes and obviously there's going to be even more changes happening going into the off-season. This is not where we want to be. The ownership group is making changes as they believe it's best for the club. I believe the club is going to get back to where it belongs. It's just a matter of time. It's not the season we wanted, but today we're closing it off and we're going to start working towards next year."

Salloi also addressed new Sporting Director David Lee's involvement with the team: "He's spoken to the team. Obviously, he's been very busy and he will be. But I'm sure we'll get a chance to talk and connect and see where his head is at. I'm excited to see where the club is headed and what's going to be the next steps and be part of it."

He spoke about optimism for future direction under new leadership: "Organizations can struggle and not just in soccer, but other sports as well. Fans can be annoyed. It's fair to be mad at players, at staff, at ownership, whatever they want. I think there's been a lot of emotions over not just this year, but years in general. I believe that this is a very promising addition to the club. (David Lee) has records where our club wants to go and I believe that he can make those steps for us. The direction that he's going to bring in and having a direction is going to be huge. Everybody should be excited and everybody should be positive. What we're going to need next year is understanding that we need everybody in the building and in the stadium to make that next step. We almost have to leave this completely behind us in terms of, we can't hold anybody accountable for last year. We need to believe in the people who will come in next year, that they will get the job done, and we need all the support."

Reflecting on his time with Sporting KC through highs and lows, Salloi stated: "It's tough. I've been here for many, many years. This club has been on top and found ourselves at the bottom as well. It's not great. It's very difficult to deal with personally with emotions. Looking at people who are very important to this club have struggling moments, if it's staff or it's players, whatever it is. I think we're all feeling it. It's been very heavy, but, as I said, I think everybody is hopeful and everybody is excited. Some guys will not be here. Some guys will remain here. We truly don't know what's going to be next, but I believe that this club will be where it deserves to be."

On possible roster turnover ahead of next season, Salloi said: "It's strange. It's part of sports. We'll see. I don't want to speak before anything happens. We'll see who is going to be here and who is not going to be here. I don't think anybody should feel safe whatsoever. We'll see. We're closing down the year today and we are working towards next year. So let's see what that looks like."