KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After breaking into Sporting Kansas City's scoring column for the first time this year, Claudio Bieler is hoping that will help get him back into the club's XI again.
“It's a little bit boring for me, sitting on the bench,” the Argentinian DP told MLSsoccer.com through a translator on Wednesday. “It's a little bit frustrating for me. I can't do much when I get eight to 10 minutes per game. All I can do is wait for my turn, and I have to respect what the coaches have to say. When I get my chance, I have to make the most out of it.”
He did last weekend against the Columbus Crew, coming on as a late substitute and icing Sporting's 2-0 victory with a cool finish into an open net in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
“Everybody thinks it was such an easy goal, but it was calm, cool and collected just to receive it, and then just stick it in,” manager Peter Vermes said earlier Wednesday, during the club's weekly news conference. “It just looks easy because of his ability.
“I have no doubt that he can score and will score,” Vermes said, continuing. “None whatsoever. And those opportunities will come. I think it was good for him to get on the scoring sheet the other night.”
Bieler led Sporting with 12 goals across all competitions last year and had a hot preseason in 2014, scoring four of his five goals in the last week before the start of the regular season. He began the year in a one-on, one-off starting rotation at center forward with Dom Dwyer.
But Dwyer, who became Vermes' choice late in 2013, has done it again this year and leads Sporting with four goals – including a brace two weeks ago against Montreal, whom Sporting face again on Saturday (4 pm ET; TSN, MLS Live)
“During all my career, I've had competition at the forward spot with other great players,” Bieler said. “The only difference is that through my career, I've always been starting in all my teams. The difference now is that I alternate. I train every day, and now I feel that I need to train doubly hard so I can get noticed and get some minutes in the game.”
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Those minutes will come, Vermes said.
“I believe in him, and I tell him,” he said. “I don't go to our guys and say, 'Listen, you have to score. You know what's going on,' that type of thing. I believe that the way we play, we're going to have quite a few guys scoring goals.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
