**2012 Sporting Kansas City\Soccer Thread**

[|Zach|]

Sporting Kansas City was eliminated from MLS Cup contention after losing to Houston 2-1 aggreagate over the span of two games. They finished the year as US Open Cup Champions and a Kansas City team record of 63 points.

MLS Cup Final | LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo | December 1st, 3:30 CT









Final Regular Season Eastern Conference Standings
Full MLS standings here.



2012 US Open Cup Champions.

[Demonpenz]

Good position and stop the balls you are supposed to.

[|Zach|]

Sporting KC face selection headaches ahead of DC opener

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...head-dc-opener



ORLANDO, Fla. – It will be an interesting seven days for Sporting Kansas City.

As they prepare for their 2012 season opener against DC United (March 10, 7:30 p.m. ET), SKC manager Peter Vermes could have a midfield dilemma on his hands.

In Saturday afternoon’s intrasquad scrimmage at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Graham Zusi, Julio Cesar and Paulo Nagamura all sat out and their availability for next Saturday is in doubt.

“I think they all have just little nagging injury type things,” Vermes told MLSsoccer.com after the match. “We have a couple days that we’ve already given them. We’ll give them a couple more and then we start up Tuesday fast and furious getting ready for DC.

“So hopefully at that point they’ll be back in training. That’s what I’m hoping for. If not, we’ll have just to go with other guys. But right now I think they should be ready or at least a tandem of them should be ready for the game on the weekend.”

Zusi and Julio Cesar started just one match each in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic, while Nagamura was in the first XI for his club’s final two matches of the tournament.

Sporting Kansas City looked their most dominant in the opening match, despite a 0-0 final result against the Houston Dynamo.

After a reserve side battled valiantly in a 1-1 tie with Montreal, the starters retook the field but were defeated handily by Vancouver 3-0. In the latter match against the Whitecaps, the starting midfield trio of Julio Cesar, Nagamura and Bobby Convey, who filled in for Zusi at attacking mid, struggled to impress.

“It [loss vs. Vancouver] came at a great time,” Vermes said. “It gets you 10 days right before the first game. Maybe you think things are going well and you deal with a little bit of adversity … But our preparation has always been for DC. And nothing else has changed.”

[|Zach|]

Some cool shots from Orlando where it looks like Zusi, Bunbury, and Sapong were involved in an NBC sports commercial.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5502041&type=3

[|Zach|]

Jimmy Nielsen named 2012 Captain.



Peter Vermes gathered his group of players following a spirited intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. It was the penultimate training session for the team in Orlando and while decisions still loom for Vermes with one week until the season opener at D.C. United (March 10, 6:30 pm CT on KSMO-TV), the Sporting KC Manager had made up his mind on one of the lingering questions for his squad.

Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen will captain the club for the 2012 season.

"It's a big honor to be a captain for a fantastic team like this and an outstanding organization," Nielsen said on Saturday.

The veteran Danish shot-stopper enters his third MLS season this year following an off-season that saw him sign an extension to remain with the team through 2013. An MLS All-Star in his debut season and Team MVP in 2011, Nielsen emphasized his focus remains on team accomplishments for the campaign ahead.

"It's a great team and we should have the ambition to go for the MLS Cup," Nielsen said. "I believe that if we keep doing things like we are now, we'll be one of the teams that is fighting for the MLS Cup and that should be the goal for us. We went to the conference final last year and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be reaching for the final this year. The main goal for me is to win a championship this year."

Nielsen accepts the captainship following the departure of Davy Arnaud during the offseason and the decision was a collective one among the team's technical staff.

"I think it was a natural step for us and for the team," said goalkeeper coach John Pascarella. "Jimmy is a great leader in the back. He has a tremendous amount of respect from all the players in the locker room. People respect him for what he does, what he believes in and the way he works. I think it was a great choice."

Having trained Nielsen for the past two seasons, Pascarella points to a player who is still on the rise and in the prime of his career at age 34.

"He feels even better than he did when he first got here a couple of years ago," Pascarella said. "Physically, he's doing great. Technically, he's cleaned up a couple things. He reads the game and understands the game tremendously. The fact that he is going to be the leader of the group is going to be a wonderful thing for all of us."

Nielsen, who has worn the captain's armband previously in his career, says he expects to organize a team meeting on Wednesday to bring everyone together and begin his duties diligently.

"Right now, it's important to get a good start," Nielsen said. "I'm really looking forward (to D.C. United). We're ready to play a real game now. We had two great training camps with a lot of games and a lot of practice, but now we want the real stuff. I think everybody is ready for that and we're very, very excited to get started. I have a good feeling about this year."

[Ultra Peanut]

Nielsen owns.

[|Zach|]

Nice one from Turkey.



And another good shot a Rocket for Porto against Benefica.

[SPATCH]

Survey conducted by ESPN

[|Zach|]

Read about that but didn't see the numbers. Interesting.

[|Zach|]

http://deadspin.com/5890379

Major League Soccer’s Facebook Account Likes Strippers

Several tipsters have sent in what appears to be an example of the dreaded "logged in to the wrong account" snafus that must keep social media interns awake at night.

This one involves the ultra-hip Major League Soccer captioning a picture of a billboard advertising strippers (as seen on Jerry Springer!) with an homage to the ever-quotable Jerry Maguire. "You had me at strippers." No, you needn't say more.

According to one reader, the instagram-y photo appeared on the MLS facebook page around 2:00 p.m. and remained up for about an hour before finally being taken down. Soccer and strippers, this weekend's meat and potatoes.

[WoodDraw]

Originally Posted by the_spatula

Survey conducted by ESPN

Soccer will be huge here within the next decade or so. You already have Fox, NBC, and ESPN competing for rights. That's a huge difference from how things used to be, when you had to pay people to show games.

The stigma against soccer just simply doesn't exist among the younger generations either. I went to a newly opened bar in KC not long ago, and the bartender was talking to a guy about opening day at SKC and all they were planning for it.

[|Zach|]

Any CP'ers interested in a fantasy league?

It is really low maintenance compared to other sports. You sign up...and pick your team based on a salary cap that you have. Once your team is picked you can join a league or multiple leagues with that one set team.

I created a ChiefsPlanet league just in case you folks are down. Here is how to join...

- Go to http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/ and sign up. It is free.

- Create your team.

- After your team is made choose to join a private league. The code to join the CP League is 2951-892.

Have fun!

[|Zach|]

Sporting happy to have Nagamura on its side



Paulo Nagamura is the kind of player so frustrating to tangle with at times that some opponents can’t stand facing him, which is why Sporting Kansas City is thrilled.

“I’ve played against him before and he’s a difficult guy to play against,” said left wing Bobby Convey, who also joined Sporting KC by a trade during the offseason. “He’s one of the guys you want on your team and, when he’s not on your team, you don’t like him very much.”

In other words, Nagamura, a 29-year-old Brazilian midfielder, might quickly become a fan favorite for his ferocious style, but only if he can stay healthy.
He played in only 26 games during the last two seasons and managed to play the full 90 minutes twice in 11 appearances last season. He was acquired in late November from Chivas USA in exchange for a supplemental draft pick Sporting KC received days earlier in the deal that sent Ryan Smith to Chivas USA.

Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes indicated the foot injury — a broken fifth metatarsal — that had Nagamura laid up a year ago is no longer a concern. But a recent calf strain has limited his training.

“He’s still adjusting to our system and we’re still getting him fit,” Vermes said. “He’s kind of dinged up at the moment, but it’s not something we are worried about. He’s getting closer to full strength and will be a tremendous asset when he is, because he’s a player of great quality.”

Nagamura can play anywhere in the midfield but primarily is expected to challenge fellow Brazilian Julio Cesar for playing time alongside reigning MLS breakout player of the year Graham Zusi and fourth-year veteran Roger Espinoza, who is currently away with the Honduras national team.

“(The midfield) is crowded, but it’s something that I’m used to and I’m ready for the challenge,” said Nagamura, who has nine goals and 14 assists in 157 career MLS games.

Vermes is convinced that a healthy Nagamura, who won the MLS Cup with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005 and was an All-Star in 2009 with Chivas USA, will be a perfect fit in Sporting KC’s high-pressure 4-3-3 system, which requires active and versatile midfielders who can play from box to box, defend and tackle but also jump start the attack.

“First off, he’s very good on the ball and connects the game really well,” Vermes said. “He’s a little terrier, a little pit bull, and does a great job winning the ball in the back. He possesses a lot of qualities that really mesh with way we want to play. He’s smart enough to know the moments of when to hold and when to go, but he also knows how to destroy plays.”

Until Nagamura is 100 percent, it’s hard to predict how many minutes he’ll see and in what role, but if the preseason is any indication, he will be a big part of the season.

“Because of the experience he has, you have no fear throwing him in whether it’s as a starter or off the bench,” Vermes said.
Nagamura, of course, would prefer to start and play every game, “but I have to respect all the guys who were already here and earn my spot with this team. I have to earn the respect and faith to be a starter on this team.”
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him at twitter.com/todpalmer.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/03...#storylink=cpy

[|Zach|]

Sporting news: The season's almost here

First Kick is, literally, just days away.

Which means that, finally, we can move beyond the theoretical (How will the new players acclimate? Has the team improved? What does the pre-season even mean?) and into the very real (You know, actual games that mean something) on Saturday night when KC faces DC United.

For many fans this is likely the longest week of the season. But, just give it some context: Saturday is only Day 1 of a 267-day journey to the MLS Cup.

By comparison, baseball's season seems almost quaint.

Here are a few items to get you going. We'll be back later on this week with more appropriate preview-type stuff.

• This weekend, Sporting officially named goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen the team captain. Both of last year's captains (Davy Arnaud and Omar Bravo) departed this off-season.

"It's a great team and we should have the ambition to go for the MLS Cup," Nielsen told MLSSoccer.com. "I believe that if we keep doing things like we are now, we'll be one of the teams that is fighting for the MLS Cup and that should be the goal for us. We went to the conference final last year and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be reaching for the final this year. The main goal for me is to win a championship this year."

• Graham Zusi, Julio Cesar and Paulo Nagamura all sat out an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday and, obviously, this leads to to speculation about a selection dilemma this weekend.

Zusi has been rested at times throughout KC's preseason after his stint with the U.S. national team in January. Cesar missed time dealing with a personal issue. Nagamura is returning from a leg injury suffered last season. Vermes called the current injuries "nagging." All will be given a few days to get fit.
The team's depth looks to be up for a test right out of the gate. Luke Sassano, Michael Thomas, Konrad Warzycha and maybe even Bobby Convey will be in the mix if those three can't go on Saturday.

• The Sporting KC Juniors opened its season on Friday night with U-16 and U-18 matches against FC Dallas.
The U-18s fell 3-0 with the U-16s managing a 2-2 draw. The U-16s got goals from Rockhurst teammates Luke Stanley and Cole Stevenson.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/05...#storylink=cpy

[CHENZ A!]

Originally Posted by |Zoccer|

Any CP'ers interested in a fantasy league?

It is really low maintenance compared to other sports. You sign up...and pick your team based on a salary cap that you have. Once your team is picked you can join a league or multiple leagues with that one set team.

I created a ChiefsPlanet league just in case you folks are down. Here is how to join...

- Go to http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/ and sign up. It is free.

- Create your team.

- After your team is made choose to join a private league. The code to join the CP League is 2951-892.


Have fun!

I'll probably join. Will help me to learn about opposing teams' players.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by CHENZ A!

I'll probably join. Will help me to learn about opposing teams' players.

Was sorta my thought as well. It is kinda cool how you have one team and you can join leagues as you please. If you wanna def be in a bigger one was well there is a Cauldron league the code is... 293-560