KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Opposing goalkeepers haven't been the only casualties of Dom Dwyer's record-smashing season with Sporting Kansas City. One of them wears Sporting blue – just not as frequently as he used to.
With Dwyer scoring a club-record 19 MLS goals this year – 20 across all competitions – Designated Player Claudio Bieler has found playing time harder to come by in his second season in Kansas City. After leading Sporting with 12 goals across all competitions in 2013, he has just four starts and two goals in MLS play this year.
But as his two-goal performance in CONCACAF Champions League play on Tuesday showed, Bieler has not tuned out, nor given up on contributing to his club's success. With three goals in Sporting's last three matches, he's looking to give Kansas City another scoring threat down the stretch and going into the playoffs.
“He’s a total team guy, and I’m happy for him he got the two goals tonight,” manager Peter Vermes said after the Argentine center forward's brace fueled Sporting's 3-0 home victory over Nicaraguan side Real Estelí. “He’s actually in pretty good form at the moment, not because he scored two goals, but because he's playing very well lately any time he’s come on. So that's good for us, especially down the stretch. He was an important part of the team in last year’s success, and we’re going to need him at some point this year as well.”
Bieler acknowledged his disappointment at being used so sparingly this season (he also has eight appearances as a substitute in MLS play), but said after the Estelí match that he remains committed to earning minutes and will make the most of what he's given.
“I've always been in form. In reality, I don't know why I haven't been playing,” he told reporters through a translator. “I try to take advantage of the minutes that the coach allows me. I think that starting four matches in this season isn't good for me. But during the week, I work hard day by day, and I try to make sure that the coach knows that I'm available and ready to go.”
Vermes appreciates that perseverance – especially, he said, when he has seen other players react differently in similar situations.
- Find more SKC coverage at SportingKC.com
“He comes to training every day, he doesn’t mess around, he works really hard, and I also think he’s been very professional about taking advantage of his opportunities when they come,” Vermes said. “I would tell you that I've been around a lot of foreign players in my time, and when things don't go their way, they usually are the first ones to jump off the boat and get away. And he's not that way at all.”
Nor, Bieler said, will he be that way, even if regular minutes continue to elude him.
“I come from a country where we're professional, and you try to apply that to your daily life,” he said. “I try to take advantage of what the coach gives me. I think that I can't really say much with words about what has happened, but when I get the opportunity to play, I like to give my all. I've always trained. I've never thought of not giving anything.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
