Sporting Kansas City: A MLS History

Benny Feilhaber’s last-gasp stunner secured an astonishing 4-4 draw at Houston Dynamo last weekend, moving Sporting KC into the Western Conference’s final play-off spot.

One of the league’s founder members, they are among a select group of teams to have won the MLS Cup as well as the Supporters’ Shield.

However, it has been anything but an easy journey for a franchise that has won the title in both conferences and has survived a rebranding.   

Ahead of their clash with Chicago Fire live on Sky Sports we take a step back in time to look at Kansas City’s MLS story.

The franchise were formerly known as the Wizards

Factfile:

Founded: 1995

Previous Name: Kansas City Wizards (1995-2010)

Stadium: Sporting Park (18,500)

Best MLS regular season finish: Supporters’ Shield winners 2000

Head Coach: Peter Vermes

Captain: Matt Besler

Top MLS goalscorer: Preki Radosavljevic – 79

Most MLS appearances: Davy Arnaud – 240

MLS History:

Formed in 1995 by MLS’ founder Lamar Hunt, KC won the Western Conference in their second season but it was another four years until they truly hit their heights.

In 2000 they topped the overall MLS table to secure the Supporters' Shield before winning the MLS Cup with victory in the post-season play-offs.

After adding a third Western Conference and a US Open Cup victory in 2004 they switched conference and won another two titles, a US Open Cup and a second MLS Cup.

They were rebranded as Sporting Kansas City in 2011 to follow European naming traditions and have returned to the West Conference this season.

Vermes guided Kansas to the 2013 MLS Cup

Head Coach:

Kansas City legend Peter Vermes joined the franchise as a 33-year-old in 2000, playing a huge role in the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup-winning season.

He was named MLS Defender of the Year that year and after retiring in 2002 the former US international returned to KC as technical director in 2006.

Three years later he became manager and his time in charge has been littered with silverware, as he delivered back-to-back Eastern Conference titles and the 2012 US Open Cup.

He also won the 2013 MLS Cup, making him the only person to win the coveted trophy as both a player and a coach with the same team.

Sporting Superstars:

Benny Feilhaber

After a spell with New England Revolution, the former Derby County man joined Sporting Kansas City for their 2013 MLS Cup winning season.

This season, Feilhaber has been Sporting’s main creative force – In addition to last week’s two crucial strikes he has racked up an MLS-best five assists.

USA international Besler has been captain since 2014

Matt Besler

Besler joined his hometown side Kansas City in 2009 and after establishing himself in the starting line-up, is now in his second season as captain.

His performances have seen him voted an MLS All-Star in 2011, 2013 and 2014, as well as being selected in the MLS Best XI and crowned MLS Defender of the Year in 2012. 

Dom Dwyer

Having given up on a professional career due to injury, the Englishman thrived in the US College system before joining Kansas as the 16^th pick overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.

After scoring 15 goals in 13 games while on loan at Orlando City in 2013, Dwyer burst onto the MLS scene scoring 22 goals last season as Kansas attempted to defend their MLS Cup crown.

Rivalries:

Houston Dynamo

Despite their geographical isolation from other MLS teams, Kansas have struck up a fierce rivalry with Houston since the Dynamo eliminated Sporting from the play-offs in 2011 and 2012.

However, Peter Vermes’ side claimed revenge in 2013 ending Houston’s MLS-record 36-game home unbeaten run, and going on to knock Dynamo out of the play-offs en route to lifting the MLS Cup.

Real Salt Lake

Games between Sporting and RSL in recent years have had more animosity than the average MLS game, sometimes even spilling over into the bleachers.

In March 2011 a pre-season match ended in a brawl after a bad tackle from KC's Roger Espinoza and meetings since then have seen their fair share of red cards.

Preki celebrates in KC's debut season

Club Legends:

Preki Radosavljevic

The Serbian-born former US international joined Kansas City Wizards for the inaugural MLS season after spells in England with Everton and Portsmouth.

Aside from a solitary year with Miami Fusion, the winger spent the next nine years at KC, winning the 2000 MLS Cup and Supporters Shield.

He racked up 89 goals and a franchise-record 117 assists and is the only player to have won the MLS MVP Award and the MLS Scoring Champion twice.

He retired at the age of 42 in 2005 after scoring in the last minute of his final game with Kansas City, and was promptly named to the MLS All-Time Best XI.

Tony Meola

Goalkeeper Meola enjoyed unprecedented success in his first season at KC, earning the MLS and MLS Cup MVP awards and being named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

He chalked up an all-time record 16 regular-season clean sheets that season and went on to play 141 games in six years at with the Wizards.

Premier League influences:

Aside from Feilhaber’s ill-fated stint with Derby County, Kansas City have boasted a host of players who have had mixed success in their time in the Premier League.

Beckham made his LA debut against KC

Current star Roger Espinoza spent two years with Wigan Athletic, where he won the 2013 FA Cup but was relegated to the Championship just three days later.

looking further back Paul Rideout, who most notably enjoyed five years with Everton in the nineties, spent a year with Wizards towards the end of his playing days.

While former Reading man Bobby Convey had a season with KC and Fulham flop Eddie Johnson also turned out for the franchise.

Did you know?

Sporting began the 2012 season with seven consecutive wins.
In the same season they broke a MLS record by not allowing a single shot on their goal in 335 minutes.

In 2008 KC played a home game against LA Galaxy at Kansas City Chiefs’ NFL stadium to accommodate the large crowd expected for David Beckham's debut.

Images courtesy of WireImage, Kyle Rivas, Robert Cianflone, Scott Indermaur and Timothy Hollywood Kahn, with thanks