The Daily Wiz: All Posts by Andy Edwards

Sporting KC vs. D.C. United, MLS Week 6: Asking the opponent

2013-04-04T17:28:24Z

It's opponent preview time, and there's few-to-none better to inquire information regarding D.C. United from than SB Nation's United blog, Black And Red United. So, that's exactly what we did. I wanted to know about D.C.'s backline, why they struggle to score goals and who might be the solution to that problem, and how will the Red and Black come into Sporting Park to play - defensively, or attacking-minded?

Andy Edwards: D.C. has obviously had some struggles to open 2013, going 1-2-1 and failing to win away from home yet. It's always important to the result against Sporting how teams come into Sporting Park to play. How much does D.C.'s style and gameplan differ on the road versus playing at home?

Adam Taylor: You're not going to like this answer - and quite a few D.C. fans don't like it, either: Ben Olsen's road tactics differ pretty dramatically from his tactics in the friendly confines of RFK Stadium. In United's last game, a 2-1 loss at home against Columbus, Olsen played a system based on a 4-4-2 diamond with Dwayne De Rosario sitting in behind two out-and-out strikers and ahead of Perry Kitchen, who was covering the defensive midfield solo. On the road this Friday, I would be shocked if Benny ran out anything other than his 4-2-3-1, essentially dropping one of the two forwards in favor of a partner for Kitchen deep in midfield. The goal for the first hour will be to avoid conceding and maybe poach something on the counter or on a set piece. Once we get deeper into the game, Olsen will see where things stand and whether United is sturdy enough in the back to hazard a shift to something more attacking.

AE: Chris Pontius and Dwayne De Rosario are as good a duo of attacking midfielders as it gets in MLS, but they've struggled to score in 2013. Perhaps a striker in the box - maybe a Cladio Bieler type - seems to be missing for D.C. Is there a guy on the roster that looks at all likely to complete what could really be a very dangerous D.C. attack?

AT: United's problems in the attack this year have been pretty manifold. The team hasn't been able to hold possession, but they haven't been able to generate dangerous chances by playing more direct, either. Some of it is on striker Lionard Pajoy, whose valuable hold up play and defensive pressure from last season appears not to have joined the team this year, but a lot of it is on the guys you mentioned - Pontius and DeRo - along with the rest of the midfield, who haven't been able to give the striker(s) enough service.

Luckily, we got a glimpse of what the future might hold in our last game, when young designated player Rafael (Gladiador if you're nasty) turned the Argentine hoss that is Glauber and unleashed a 35-yard guided missile to beat Andy Gruenebaum. Many (if not most) fans of the Black-and-Red are hoping the 20-year-old Brazilian will get the start on Friday and relegate Pajoy, who is averaging a measly one shot on goal per game, to the role of late game lead-defending substitute.

AE: For me, Matt Besler is the centerpiece, the lynchpin, of the Sporting defense; the guy that when he goes missing, everything could fall apart rather easily. I'm also quite high on the D.C. defensive unit this year, but there doesn't seem to be the one "star" player that stands out for the group. If they're going to struggle to score goals, which it seems they will, are they good enough at the back to keep them in, and win, games?

AT: Oh, there's a superstar in United's defense, and he's the guy in the off-colored shirt: goalkeeper Bill Hamid. He's already been named MLS player of the week once this year, and he's made 20 saves through four games and securing two clean sheets with an 83% save percentage (tied for second in the league) after leading the league in the stat last season. He's the biggest reason United salvaged a scoreless draw against New York and didn't lose by more against the Crew. As long as Hamid is in the net - and we're not counting on having him past the end of this year, such is his talent - United will have at least a chance to bring home the points against anyone and in any building.

As for field players, keep your eye on Dejan Jakovic. Brandon McDonald is the organizer in the back line and generally reads the game better than any of D.C.'s other defenders, but Jakovic - who missed the Columbus game while on international duty with Canada - has elite speed for an MLS center back, can pick attackers' pockets on the run and has a knack for being in the right place to make a game-saving tackle or block. His speed and recovery ability (along with Hamid's shot-stopping) allows United's other defenders to play less conservatively, going for interceptions or getting stuck in rather than standing off.

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PHOTO GALLERY: Sporting KC thrash Montreal Impact, 2-0

2013-04-01T20:40:54Z

View this gallery here.

Sporting KC announce statement of intent with 2-0 thrashing of Montreal Impact

2013-04-01T20:00:24Z

Sporting Kansas City didn't just play well on Saturday in defeating the previously undefeated Montreal Impact, 2-0; the two-time defending regular season Eastern Conference champions were devastatingly dominant in beating the Impact in every area of the field to move firmly back into the playoff places after just five games into the 2013 season.

Saturday's game was an early season premier matchup for the two clubs, a litmus test of sorts for Montreal, and a chance to remind everyone that Sporting are still the team to beat in the East.

"You could see it in their eyes that they wanted no part of this game," forward CJ Sapong said after the game.

Whether it was the matchup or the occasion, Sapong hit the nail on the absolute head. Montreal's preferred style of play is to remain compact at the back and hit their opponents with a devastating counter attack, but even then, they looked out of their depth and unsure of how to cope with the siege of pressure coming at them in waves. And credit for that goes to Sporting KC.

For all intents and purposes, Saturday's performance was as good as it gets for Sporting KC. 11 out of 11 starting players put in 8/10 performances, and that's more than any coach in the world can ask of his squad. Every starting player fulfilled his duty on Saturday. That's the proverbial 'ceiling' for what Sporting KC can be.

Now that we've seen it, it's about returning as close to that ceiling as possible week in and week out.

It won't be easy, though, because the matchup of Montreal was a very good one for Sporting. But that only rang true because of the early goal scored by Claudio Bieler. Once Sporting KC took the 1-0 lead just five minutes into the game, Montreal's gameplan was scrapped and altered, for they suddenly were in a race against time to find the equalizing goal.

Once Montreal were forced out of their shell, Sporting's four-headed attacking monster of Sapong, Bieler, Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber was unleashed in a way that Sporting KC fans have dreamt of since Bieler and Feilhaber were signed in December. Suddenly Feilhaber had acres of space between defensive midfielders and centerback to thread through balls to his forwards. That only lead to two assists for the 2010 World Cup veteran (remember the quality of the player).

Feilhaber, by the way, was 39-for-46 passing (85 percent) and combined for a dozen tackles, ball recoveries and interceptions. So much for a guy that can't play deeper and contribute on the defensive end.

Zusi rolled the confidence drawn from a couple of great results for the United States national team into another masterclass performance for his club side. With Feilhaber running the show from the midfield, the game was opened up for Zusi in a way that we've never seen before. For two years now, Zusi has been tasked with dictating the tempo of the game, springing attacks from the midfield and playing the role of the midfield metronome.

Now, with Feilhaber in tow, Zusi can - and seemingly already has - expanded his game to fit the mold of a 4-3-3 winger. He'll rarely be a guy that takes defenders head on wide on the wings, but the diagonal run Zusi made to get behind the Montreal defense for the late, game-clinching goal was that of textbook goalscoring prowess. And slipping that perfectly weighted ball behind the defense was, of course, Benny Feilhaber.

The return of not only one, but two starting defenders - Chance Myers and Matt Besler - also boosted Sporting's squad on Saturday, and once again head coach Peter Vermes was able to pick his absolute best eleven players. The presence of Besler is tough to put into words and context because he's simply so good and often goes unnoticed because he's so airtight at the back. Besler backing up Aurelien Collin's daring challenges and breaks forward feels much safer than Ike Opara the week prior against New England.

Myers, though, affected the Sporting attack in a positive way just as much as Feilhaber and Zusi did. Mechack Jerome proved to be a fine enough backup defender to Myers, but few fullbacks in Major League Soccer provide the attacking support of Myers. The right-sided width from the back freed up Zusi and Sapong - whichever player happened to be on that side at the time - to tuck inside and play in much more natural, comfortable areas for them. There was little to no coincidence that Sporting's two scoreless games in 2013 happened to be the two games in 2013 that Myers did not play.

The potential of this team has finally been seen and peeked upon in reality. The options and angles are truly limitless for Sporting KC, but to reach their goals for 2013, they'll need to hit that ceiling from Saturday as many games in a row as possible.

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FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013: USA drawn with Spain, an African qualifier and France

2013-03-25T18:00:21Z

There's no ~~more drawn-out, excessively-funded~~ grander spectacle than a FIFA World Cup draw. It doesn't matter whether it's at the full international level, (that ~~doozy of an entire afternoon~~ group stage draw will take place this December), or just a youth level tournament, it will take two hours to accomplish all of ten minutes of informational announcements.

Don't believe me? This is what they cooked up for Monday's U-20 World Cup draw, which for the record, is a soccer competition, which is about soccer, which is distinctly not this:

The soccer would not have stood alone and made it without that, I'm fully aware.

Anyway, the group stage draw did actually happen once all bad Europop bands finished ~~all their songs that sounded the same to me~~ their on-stage set. The 24 teams were drawn into six four-team groups for this summer's competition.

Results are as follows:

Group A: Spain, African qualifier, United States, France

Group B: South Korea, African qualifier, Cuba, Portugal

Group C: Colombia, Australia, El Salvador, Turkey

Group D: Mexico, African qualifier, Paraguay, Greece

Group E: African champion, Iraq, Chile, England

Group F: Oceania champion, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Croatia

So, the U.S. was drawn with Spain, an African qualifier and France. The African team, yet to complete qualifying, will be one of Egypt, Nigeria, Mali and Ghana. That scream "group of death" as loudly as anything, to me. The U.S. U-20's will have their work cut out for them to finish top two in that group and advance from the group stage.

This relates specifically to Sporting Kansas City because the club's 2013 first round SuperDraft pick, midfielder Mikey Lopez, was a part of the U.S. U-20's qualifying team and almost certainly figures to be a member of the country's roster for this summer's final competition.

Lopez missed the first half of Sporting KC's preseason during the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championships and America's five game schedule, which saw them finish runners-up after a finals loss to Mexico. Lopez appeared in 4 games for the U.S. U-20's in the qualifying stage, 3 of which he started.

Four CONCACAF nations qualified for the tournament; Cuba and El Salvador are the others representing North and Central America.

This summer's tournament will run from June 21 to July 13, following up to a two-week training camp for the U.S. Early June has two consecutive open dates for all clubs with respect to the 2014 World Cup qualifying schedule. Thanks to that, Lopez will miss significantly less time for Sporting KC. A total of five MLS games fall between June 21 and July 13.

Lopez has yet to make his debut for Sporting KC through just four games, but has been listed as an available substitute on the bench in each of the last two games against Chicago and New England.

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Sporting KC going through growing pains, not full-blown struggles early in 2013 season

2013-03-25T17:02:44Z

Sporting Kansas City dropped two more points on Saturday, this time to New England Revolution, in the club's second consecutive 0-0 draw. We've come to accept such results when playing at home due to the defensive mindset opponents take at Sporting Park - as in last week's home opener against Chicago Fire - but Sporting KC were an historically successful road team in 2012 when they won 8 times away from home and drew 5 more (27 points - close to half the club's eventual total of 63).

So, given Sporting KC's total of 5 points from the first 4 games of the 2013 season, is it time to become genuinely worried about the club's season-long prospects? After all, they started 2012 going 21 out of 21 points the first 7 games.

To be short and concise, not even close.

For starters, it has been over two-and-a-half games since Sporting KC conceded a goal, period (21st minute against Toronto FC, three games ago). Granted Chicago didn't exactly set out from the opening whistle to break the scoreboard, but limiting the Fire to just 1 shot on goal and the Revs to 0, in back to back weeks, signifies a "getting back to who we are" mentality from Sporting KC. Sporting conceded less than a goal a game last year, and with two straight shutouts, they're back below 1.00 goal conceded per game again this year.

Saturday's shutout against New England also came without 2012 MLS Defender of the Year, Matt Besler, in the gameday lineup. He will return this Saturday against Montreal Impact. Sporting have also been without MLS First XI candidate Chance Myers, a quad strain keeping him out, in the two previous weeks' games.

And that 7-game undefeated start in 2012 - what did that amount to in the end? Only to the season coming down to its very last day in October, with Sporting needing to win their final game to clinch first place in the Eastern Conference. After such a start, nothing was a given in the end. And the club that won MLS Cup? The LA Galaxy lost 8 of their first 13 games before catching serious fire in the second half, grabbing a lower-seeded playoff spot and winning back to back Cups.

Sporting will surely have more than the 11 points Los Angeles had from their first 13 games.

How about the other side of the field, though? If there's a bit of 2013's early days that are slightly troublesome, it's that whole 'not scoring goals' bit that Sporting have going on. Claudio Bieler scored in each of his first two games with the club (2 goals in 4 games), so it's difficult to say he's not doing his bit with a goal every other game average. CJ Sapong has yet to score in 2013, but he's been pushed wide left and right to accommodate Bieler.

What it ultimately comes down to, though, is the creation of enough quality chances, and that onus falls upon two Sporting men - Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber. Zusi was away with Besler on Saturday in New England, but was kept quiet against Toronto and Chicago after a storming performance against Philadelphia Union on First Kick weekend. Feilhaber has yet to have that one game that jumpstarts his Sporting career, but has show flashes - albeit too few and far in between - of the player he will be once he acclimates to a new team and a new system.

Sporting KC got off a combined 33 shots in the 0-0 draws with Chicago and New England (20 and 13, respectively), but a grand total of 5 were put on goal and made the goalkeeper work. That's not blame for a forward, but for the players presenting the opportunities to the forwards, and a clear sign an improvement in form is needed.

The next month will be a huge testing period for Sporting KC, though, with five straight games against Montreal, D.C. United, New York Red Bulls, Los Angeles and Portland Timbers. Those are five clubs either near the top of the respective conferences, or mightily underperforming against expectations and could use a game against the mighty Sporting KC to sound intend to rectify their season.

Hold off on that panic button just yet; give Peter Vermes and Co. a bit more time to fit those puzzle pieces together, because when he does, it could be an impressive sight to see.

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Sporting KC vs. Chicago Fire Open Game Thread

2013-03-16T18:53:38Z

Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire

Saturday, March 16, 2013, 2:21 p.m. CDT kickoff

Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kan.

TV: NBC Sports Network, Radio: 810 Sports Radio WHB (KC)

Sporting KC take on the Chicago Fire from Sporting Park on Saturday afternoon, and The Daily Wiz is the place to be to chat about the game from the comforts of your own home or on the road. This is the thread to do it - the open game thread.

I'll be around most of the game, updating the live blog as things happen on the field, and I'll also be on Sports Radio 810 WHB in KC after the final whistle for The Final Whistle: Sporting KC postgame show. Tune in on the way home from Sporting Park, at home, or online, right here.

Starting lineups for the two teams are as follows:

Starting XI: Nielsen ©, Jerome, Collin, Besler, Sinovic, Nagamura, Rosell, Feilhaber, Zusi, Bieler, Sapong. #SKCvCHI #RivalryDay
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 16, 2013

. @chicagofire Starting XI: Johnson; Segares, Berry, Anibaba, Videira; Nyarko, Duka, Rolfe, Paladini, Larentowicz; MacDonald #SKCvCHI
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 16, 2013

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Sporting KC vs. Chicago Fire, MLS Week 3: starting lineups

2013-03-16T18:20:16Z

Sporting Kansas City and Chicago will get underway from Sporting Park at precisely 2:21 p.m. CDT Saturday afternoon. Sporting KC sit on three points from two road games to start the 2013 Major League Soccer season, while Chicago are yet to get a result in two games, one home and one away.

Saturday's matchup of two 2012 playoff teams comes at a pivotal time for each club as they look to set an early marker for 2013 successes. Sporting KC open their 17-game regular season home schedule against one of the club's most formidable Eastern Conference adversaries.

Starting lineups for the two teams are available, and as follows:

Starting XI: Nielsen ©, Jerome, Collin, Besler, Sinovic, Nagamura, Rosell, Feilhaber, Zusi, Bieler, Sapong. #SKCvCHI #RivalryDay
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 16, 2013

. @chicagofire Starting XI: Johnson; Segares, Berry, Anibaba, Videira; Nyarko, Duka, Rolfe, Paladini, Larentowicz; MacDonald #SKCvCHI
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 16, 2013

Biggest surprise: Chance Myers is neither in the starting lineup nor the bench today, due to a quad strain. Mechack Jerome starts in his place. CJ Sapong also moves in the starting lineup, spelling Bobby Convey.

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Sporting KC vs. Chicago Fire, MLS Week 3: live coverage

2013-03-16T18:19:19Z

Sporting Kansas City's Rivalry Week opponent has no shortage of incredible moments from the past.

This week's video replay is all about the Chicago Fire.

Series Recap: Chicago Fire
First Played	April 8, 1998
All-time Record	11-23-9
Home games:	8-7-7 (33 GF, 37 GA)
Road games:	3-15-2 (19 GF, 43 GA)

Video Replay #1:

September 28, 2012 Sporting KC 2, Chicago 0

It is rare to have this much drama leading into a regular season game. A stadium-record 21,010 fans showed up to witness this late-season match saw two teams atop the Eastern Conference standings and peaking at the same time.

Sporting had not lost in eight games, and needed a win against Chicago to open a gap between themselves and the rest of the conference. The late season star was Graham Zusi, who had one goal and five assists in his previous six games for Kansas City .

Chicago entered the game with a four-game winning streak in regular season play and a four-game winning streak against Sporting Kansas City. A win and Chicago would move into first place. Its late season star was Fire mainstay Chris Rolfe, who had three goals and an assist in the month of September.

Unlike the heartache from previous games, this would be a celebration for Sporting fans. Graham Zusi would register a brace: a nice cross-body shot that would open scoring in the 11th minute, and a second goal in the final moments of the game. In between Sporting would dominate the game, not allowing them to register a shot on goal until the 68th minute. Good times.

Video Replay #2:

May 12, 2012 Chicago 2, Sporting KC 1

As the all-time record suggests, road wins have been in short supply for Kansas City. This is particularly true in recent years due to the play of its goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Over the course of a year Johnson can be maddeningly inconsistent, but he seems to save his best efforts against Sporting Kansas City. With Sporting KC up 1-0 late in the first half, Roger Espinoza unleashed a rocket that was incredibly saved by the young keeper. Johnson instinctively shot his hand up, sending Espinoza's chance to the crossbar and over the net. The save kept Chicago in the game, and offered the Fire an opportunity to pull out the win after a second half collapse by Sporting KC. Bad times.

Video Replay #3:

June 9, 2011 Sporting KC 0, Chicago 0

The opening of (then) Livestrong Sporting Park was memorable in many ways. Fans were awed by the bright lights and beautiful amenities of the new stadium, so the game could have gone off without recalling who SKC played or what happened. Instead, fans witnessed one of the most bizarre games in recent memory.

An uncharacteristic poor decision by Jimmy Neilsen to play a ball with his hands outside the box would send him the goalkeeper off with a red card. An 11-on-10 Sporting side still continued to attack, but were undone by referee decisions on two golden chances. A debatable offsides call disallowed a Graham Zusi goal early on. Later, referee Michael Kennedy's decision not to award a penalty kick after a takedown of KC's Omar Bravo (skip directly to the takedown HERE) is arguably the ugliest non-call in Sporting KC history. The scoreless draw with Chicago would leave many fans unhappy, but the stadium experience would keep many coming back.

Wizards Highlight:

October 15, 2000 MLS Cup: Kansas City Wizards 1, Chicago 0 (in Washington D.C.)

We cap Video Replay by the greatest moment in Wizards history: winning MLS Cup 2000. Kansas City and Chicago were the best teams in the league in 2000, both earning 57 points on the season. Chicago Fire, led by future USMNT coach Bob Bradley, came into MLS Cup with the best offense in the league. The Fire scored 67 goals during the 32-game regular season and found the net 15 times in the postseason on their way to the finals in Washington, D.C.

In contrast, the 2000 Wizards were one of the greatest defensive sides in MLS history. The team recorded 20 shutouts in the regular season and postseason going into the final. This is even more impressive when you consider that quality defense was a rarity in the early years of the league. The Wizards star was Tony Meola, 2000 MVP and Goalkeeper of the Year.

The Wizards opened scoring when Miklos Molnar found the back of the net in the 11th minute after a failed clearance by Fire midfielder (and future Montréal Impact coach) Jesse Marsch.What followed was a thrilling game where the Fire repeatedly attacked the goal, only to be rebuffed by the Wizards defense. KC held on to win, giving the team its only postseason trophy so far.

Original video courtesy MLS and MLSsoccer.com.

Any thoughts on the highlights? What are your favorite past moments with Chicago Fire? Comment below!