Alan Pulido returning to his best for Sporting KC
KANSAS CITY, KS – JUNE 10: Sporting Kansas City’s Alan Pulido #9 shoots a goal past Austin FC’s Brad Stuver #1 during a game between Austin FC and Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park on June 10, 2023 in Kansas City, Kansas.
Sporting Kansas City have started to find their rhythm in recent weeks and a healthy Alan Pulido has certainly contributed to the club’s recent resurgence.
Pulido scored two goals and provided one assist in SKC’s 4-1 home win over Austin FC on Saturday, continuing to return to high form for the Western Conference club. The 32-year-old missed the entire 2022 season with a knee injury before making his 2023 debut in a 0-0 draw against the Philadelphia Union in April.
Now that he has delivered his best overall performance since returning from injury, SKC head coach Peter Vermes can still see traces of the old Pulido.
“When he was injured he put his head down and worked extremely hard and I think he’s seeing the fruits of that work that he’s put in and I think you’re also starting to see the player that we originally fielded again. “The beginning,” Vermes said after the game.
“He’s a guy who wants to play and be on the field. It’s his passion and what he wants to do,” added Vermes. “Sometimes there are players who want to get out of everything, right? … He’s never been like that from day one.”
Pulido joined SKC from Liga MX club Chivas de Guadalajara in 2020 and has been one of the club’s key performers in his first two MLS seasons. In a total of 34 appearances for the club, he scored 14 goals and provided eight assists, although the club only played one playoff game during that period.
Pulido set the tone early on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park, taking just 19 minutes to break the deadlock with a right foot. His distribution in the 47th minute allowed Robert Castellanos to extend SKC’s lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute before Pulido saved a Tim Leibold cross 10 minutes later to finally extend SKC’s lead.
SKC have reaped the rewards of Pulido’s return to form, winning three of their last four games and moving up to eighth place in the Western Conference. Now the busy June schedule continues with a home game against LAFC on June 17 before final games against LA Galaxy (away) and Chicago Fire (home) bring the month to a close.
Not only do SKC continue to hope that they can get the most out of Pulido during the tough summer schedule, but they continue to work on their long-term goals this year as well.
“It all boils down to there being a belief in the group,” Vermes said. “Everyone really believes that we are working towards the right goals. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. We’re nowhere near where I think we can be.”
“I think overall it was a team effort,” said Castellanos. “First and foremost it depends on the team. The coaching staff always makes a few plays for us. We practice this week after week. This week we reaped some fruit from it. It was just a good move and we did our job.”