Alan Pulido and Sporting Kansas City were off to a roaring start before the MLS season was suspended after Week 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SKC's big-money striker had two goals and an assist through two games, both victories, looking every bit like the difference-making No. 9 fans of the club had been waiting for. As he waits with the rest of us for word on when the season can resume, Pulido said in a Friday interview with TUDN that he's been training hard while social distancing to keep himself as ready as he can to pick up where he left off.
"We’re having daily contact with the physical trainer and with [head coach] Peter [Vermes] who’s calling us all individually to see how we’re doing and how we’re feeling,” Pulido said. “They’ve provided us with some weights and bikes so that we can continue to stay in rhythm and exercise and lose as little as possible of our physical state when this is finally done and we can get back to league play. I’m happy [with the start of the season]. I know the season is long. We’ve started well. I won’t be relaxing. I want to keep this level and maintain it to do great things this year."
Big things were expected from Pulido after he signed with SKC from Chivas Guadalajara of Liga MX during the offseason, and he was certainly looking primed to deliver. Speaking about his early-season success, Pulido noted the attack-oriented style in MLS was lending itself well to his role as a goal-scorer.
“Here’s the play is a little more vertical. You play more in attack," he said. "There are a lot of counterattacks and a lot of back and forths. That’s why there are so many goals. I think that it’s the league with most goals in the world. The most goals happen in MLS. Teams are very attack-minded and teams try to win every game and they’re always looking for goals. In Mexico they’re more tactical and some teams come out to defend the 0-0 and try to not get scored on. It’s different from a tactical level. These are the differences I’ve noticed in the little time I’ve been here.”
Pulido's daily routine
The SKC striker also shared his schedule during a typical day in quarantine.
He wakes up between 9:30-10:00am. After breakfast, he rests for 30-40 minutes before doing his exercises and his routines as prescribed by the physical trainer. Then, after a shower and a late lunch, he rests, watches a movie and catches up on the news. Around 5-6 pm, he and his wife prepare dinner together.
What does he watch? He’s on season two of NBC's The Blacklist and is also watching Netflix's The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story.
“Basically, that’s my day,” Pulido said. "I have a video game that I turn on to kill some time – it’s a retro Super Nintendo game that I used to play as a kid. It’s a really small console that has a lot of games. It has Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Zelda – a lot of games. I entertain myself trying to get to different levels.”
Pulido has remained in Kansas City during the league suspension, but said he's been in constant communication with his family in Mexico.
"I speak to them regularly to see how they are doing," he said. "And obviously making them aware of this situation which has been complicated. In Mexico they’ve only had a short time that the coronavirus has spread there. It’s simply taking the drastic measures that have to be done in this situation and always exercising the caution that’s necessary not to get infected because it’s a serious problem.”
“As a person it stops your plans and the things you’ve been doing day to day,” he continued. “It’s hard without having activities or leaving the house. But I’ve always said that the main thing for everyone is health and we’re taking the measures necessary so that the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected so many people can end soon.”
