Porter: “We’re Just Like Everybody Else, We’re People"
Sometimes soccer is just a game
New England Revolution head coach Caleb Porter did not open his pre-match press conference with analysis of the opponent or praising his own players. He opened it offering condolences after the passing of former SKC player Gadi Kinda.
“Our thoughts, our prayers are with his family and with anyone who knew him in Kansas City,” Porter said. “Obviously, we have a soccer game to prepare for, but I just wanted to talk about that before we get started. I know Ilay Feingold also had a close relationship with Gadi through the Israeli National Team and his club team, Maccabi Haifa.”
Kinda passed away at the age of 31. He spent four seasons with Sporting Kansas City.
A member of the New England Revolution also suffered a massive loss. Center back Mamadou Fofana lost his father prior to the match against the San Jose Earthquakes.
“For a guy like Mamadou [Fofana] to lose his dad, that’s something we talked about last week,” Porter said on Thursday. “Going into the game, we wanted to play for Mamadou’s dad, because losing your dad isn’t something we take lightly. We care about Mamadou just like we care about any player on this team. We all care about each other and we’re a family. That was something we took the time to talk about with him and he’s probably still feeling it a little bit and going through that. You don’t just get over losing your dad in one day or a week. Same thing with Kansas City, what their organization is dealing with. I can only imagine what it’s like to lose a player at 30-years-old who was in your organization and who everybody became very close to. I’ve never had that happen. So, it has to be very difficult. I know Kerry [Zavagnin] is having to deal with that in his locker room. Yes, there’s another game they need to win but he has human beings he has to manage and he has to treat with the utmost care and attention.”
After the match against San Jose, goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic told The Blazing Musket that he commended Fofana for performing well despite having suffered such an impactful loss.
“Yeah, I don't even want to imagine how he feels but he decided to play for him, and of course, we supported him,” the goalkeeper said. “It shows that he's a great character, great guy, because he wanted to play. I think he performed well, which is not easy, given the circumstances.”
Both the Revolution and SKC will take the pitch with more than soccer on their mind. It will be a day filled with emotion, but for 90 minutes, there will be a brief respite.
It has become cliche to say that soccer is more than a game, but sometimes it is simply kicking a ball around for an hour and a half. Athletes are constantly expected to perform at a high level no matter the obstacles, but they are human beings just like everyone else.