http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/27...ity-seems.html

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Aurelien Collin has been around the world, and that’s just since Sporting Kansas City’s season ended Nov. 6 against Houston in the Eastern Conference final.

The well-traveled Collin, 25, a French-born central defender who signed with Sporting KC last April, flitted from New York to Lisbon and Madrid to Malta in recent months. He returned home to Paris for a few weeks then hit London and Brussels before wrapping up “his holiday” with two weeks in the Dominican Republic.

“Paris is still my favorite place,” Collin said. “It’s the most beautiful, but my two weeks in the Dominican Republic weren’t bad. I was training on the beach, so it was perfect.”

Of course, well-traveled also accurately describes Collin’s soccer resume, which includes youth stops in France and Spain followed by professional stints in Scotland, Greece and Portugal before agreeing to come play for manager Peter Vermes and Sporting KC in the United States.

He was, in some ways, the least likely player on Sporting’s roster to rise to cult-hero status. It’s likely few fans had heard of Collin before his arrival, and he doesn’t play a glamor position.

Still, as the summer wore on, Sporting fans became increasingly enamored with Collin’s aggressive and unorthodox style.

“He’s just a bit out there, and I guess people cling to that,” Vermes said. “Did I know that would happen? No, I don’t pay much attention to that kind of stuff. But he’s a bit of a nut job. He really is.”

Add it all up, and Collin might also be the perfect fit on and off the field for Sporting KC, which lost some veteran leadership and must rebuild some of the chemistry that helped the club claim the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season.

“He’s a great guy in the locker room, very lively and always up,” Vermes said. “You never see him down, so that is good for the environment.”

Collin isn’t afraid to mix it up. He led Sporting KC with 10 yellow cards last season.

“You need guys who are strong and aggressive in that position,” Vermes said, “and you want guys who are going to put a little fear in the other team.”

Maintaining that intensity during training occasionally creates on-field tension, but one of Collin’s gifts is the ability to smooth things over quickly with teammates or between teammates.

“He’s a connector of people,” Vermes said. “It’s not that he doesn’t like confrontation — that’s not the case — but he wants to resolve things quickly and move on.”

In much the same way, Collin pounces on every ball that comes near goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen’s box as if its presence is a personal affront. That seems to be the only speed he knows, but Vermes hopes to see a little more nuance from Collin this season.

“He’s so much like a pit bull, and he wants to win everything,” Vermes said. “Sometimes, if anything, he needs to relax a little and not be so aggressive. But outside of that, he’s so solid.”

With a younger roster than last season and a new mix of veterans, Collin’s contribution as a rallying fixture for fans as well as a peacemaker and stress-reliever in the locker room might be even more important.

“We have this thing between him and I where I always tell him, ‘You’re crazy but you’re not stupid,’ ” Vermes said. “He keeps things loose, and you need guys like that. Honestly, he has a little bit of the mentality of a goalkeeper. That’s probably the best way to describe him, and I think everybody knows the mentality of goalkeepers.”

Vermes happy with Sporting KC's first week of camp
Charles Gooch
The Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/27...rting-kcs.html

With Sporting Kansas City about ready to bail on KC for the (only slightly) warmer climes of Tucson, Arizona, manager and technical director Peter Vermes is, by his own admission, "very, very happy" with his team after one week of training.

"At this point, I almost have to hold [the team] back a little bit," Vermes said after a crisp hour-and-a-half-long training session at the Arrowhead Indoor Training Facility on Friday. "That's not a bad thing."

Throughout the week, Vermes had sorted his team into "veterans" and "younger guys" in an effort to let the veterans "go about our business." By Friday, he felt that both groups had assimilated well to the team's plans to hold a combined session.

The team spent the training period focusing on speed drills and group attacking/defending.

The group attacking/defending drill -- which was five on three (including the 'keeper) -- focused on the attacking players switching positions and using overlapping wide players. The defenders would establish a two-man offside trap and look to stifle the attack.

It's a fun drill to watch because of its high-speed nature and the small attacking triangles the movement creates. It provided some very sweet goals by Soony Saad, Peterson Joseph, Michael Harrington, Seth Sinovic and Aurelien Collin among others.

On Sunday, the team will leave for Arizona, the period of training that Vermes referred to as "our evaluation period."

There will be some cuts on Saturday, according to Vermes. (I'm only speculating, but I wonder if guys like Supplemental Draftee Pablo Punyed and Full 90 favorite Birahim Diop -- both camp no-shows -- will be among those cut tomorrow.)

After the small cuts, the rest of the squad "will travel so we can evaluate guys on the big field, 11 v. 11, and see who can stick," Vermes said. "We don't have a lot of [roster] spots left. There are a lot of guys fighting for those few spots, but I'm not going to fill them just to fill them. I want to make sure the guy we bring is quality -- technically, tactically, physically and emotionally. The standard we have here now, the [new] guys have to conform to the group not the other way around."

I can tell you from first-hand experience, that's a massive change from the last two years when Vermes and his staff were trying to implement massive changes to the structure and tactical philosophy of the team.

As for any new players joining the team, Vermes said there is one guy the team is working on bringing into camp. "I don't know if he'll get his visa or not. He's coming from Sierra Leone. I can't tell you if he is [coming] or not right now. Yesterday, he went for his visa appointment." He may join the team in Arizona. Other than that, "We are working on a few guys to get in." He did not expand on that.

According to Thad Bell, the unnamed player was hanging around with his fellow country-man Kei Kamara last year and has trained with the Missouri Comets.

The U.S. national team trio of Graham Zusi, Teal Bunbury and C.J. Sapong will not start training until the team hits Tucson.

As for injuries: Roger Espinoza, who had been given the last two days off to heal from back spasms, was present today but spent the hour and a half running and stretching. Paulo Nagamura and Jacob Peterson are both rehabbing injuries -- Nagamura is close to full training and Peterson tweaked his leg during the week. Daneil Cyrus was not present, as he is reportedly dealing with a family issue.

Collin is the ****ing man.

I have looked at that gif for like 3 solid minutes. Awesome.

I'm sure I look just as goofy when we score.

The dude in the grey hoodie top right. Blue striped shirt guy bottom right, and white shirt bottom left are all badass.

The two dudes bottom left with the hug then fist pump! YES! LMAO

Heh.

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That is so badass, I've got to hit a road game this year at some point.

I remember Kei wanted to take that PK so bad, so that he could talk more shit to the CO players and fans, but Teal waved him off.

also Kei had the skeleton gloves on haha.

Kei had a pretty rough and tumble post season last year. I think your best move is to head to Chicago. But yea, that Colorado trip was one of the most fun weekends ever.

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Sporting KC had a scrimmage against the earthquakes....took some things off of twitter ....Dom Dwyer is a bulldog. Warzycha and Kei scored. Field is shitty

Nothing crazy going on just the same preseason shit. The Cauldron has a float in the St. Patricks day parade and the whole thing should be pretty funny. Ginormous beers being poured out and the like...

Design is below.

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renewed my season tickets today. Got 4 seats for the coming season!

Chenz A Do you still have a bravo jersey. I want to buy one but in St. Joseph tradition it has to be of a player that doesn't play for the team I like anymore. Actually could you drop it off at TJ MAXX and I will pick it up.

SKC prank wars. This is pretty good shit by Kei. The Olum and Hedricks ones were great.

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heh.. I've taken it off the market. I want to be able to be the guy 10 yrs from now wearing the jersey of some player that everyone had forgotten about.

I saw that "7" photoshop pic you posted the other day on SKC FB. Even though I didn't really get it because I haven't seen that movie in forever, the pictures looked really funny.

Seems Convey is really making himself comfy in Omar's old spot. People are telling me he may not be quite as "good" as Bravo was but in this system he is a much better fit.

New TV spot.

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After the season ticket allotment sold out some of the remaining single game tix for the Cauldron went on sale tonight for the home opener.

Sold 100 tickets in 2 minuets and a total of 250 in less than 20.

basically it was Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman but as Zusi and Kamara and it turns out therry Henry's head was in a box and Julio Ceasar was the bad guy, but instead of going to jail they celebrate in goal fashion

The MLS is fixed ROFL
 

Lots of catching up to do!

Cauldron has been busy plugging away for the upcoming season.

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Here is a video from the photo shoot me and my biz partner did with the team.

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DC United signed De Resario. So we need to be ready for that horse shit opening day.

what about messi having himself a day over the weekend?

speaking of messi, I wander the chances of a Messi/Ronaldo coming to the MLS after going downhill in a few years..... :hmmm:

I could see the headlines now. Messi Situation at LSP!

Has anyone figured out the new ticketless season tickets? I got the e-mail saying it would all be on my member card...and then nothing. Will we get something in the mail?

Yup you will get a whole thing in the mail early March.

http://www.sportingkc.com/season-ticket-member-hq

San Jose has their stadium green lit and should be ready to roll in 2013. You still backing the quakes Ultrapeanut?

Good for the MLS and SJ.

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Sporting has officially signed 2nd round draft pick Cyprian Hedrick. Hedrick looks to provide CB depth behind Collin and Besler.

This is great news...really liked this guys story when we drafted him and he was a great person to meet. Looks like Vermes knew he was taking a risk with the pick in a raw athlete that he thought could grow but found a player that was a lot further along and has a great ability to learn and acclimate himself to the system. Good job Cyp!

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Robb has also locked up Zusi. Graham has been thought of as part of the core group of guys that the team wanted to be in Sporting blue for a long time and we have the midfielder for another 4 years.

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He is another really great guy to have around on and off the field. This is not a surprise but is still great news.

Sporting is in Orlando right now for some preseason Disney tournament. They are playing the 24th at 5 pm. You can see it streamed live on MLSSoccer.com. The stream and coverage isn't full broadcast quality but you still get a decent feel for the game...its better than nothing.

I ordered an opening day scarf from KCcauldron and now I didn't order it with shipping. I am very obsessed with this scarf.

Preseason game in Tuscon. Benny put in a nice one.

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I'm really excited about this guy as well.

5 pm today?

Yes the MLS mothership will be streaming it. Against Houston.

Sweet I plan on hooking it up to my TV and it look horrible!

Well I think I'll skip the gym today, pick up a sixer on the way home and watch our boys kick Houston's ass then.

Yea for as good of a season as he had last year and as big of part of our team he is Kei had a pretty crappy post season last year.

SKC's Kamara still bitter over playoff loss to Houston

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ORLANDO, Fla. – The opener of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic on Friday night will give Sporting Kansas City the opportunity to exact a dose of revenge on the Houston Dynamo (6 pm ET live stream on MLSsoccer.com Channel 2).

The Orange registered the upset of the 2011 postseason by defeating Sporting KC 2-0 at Livestrong Sporting Park in the Eastern Conference Championship. And that loss still dwells with Sporting KC’s Kei Kamara to this day.

“Houston won, they went to the final – fortunately for them – but I won’t say that the better team won that day,” Kamara told MLSsoccer.com after practice on Thursday afternoon at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. “Kudos to Houston for winning that [match] but definitely at that point of the season we were playing some of the best soccer in the league.”

MLSsoccer.com caught a glimpse of the group that is expected to form the starting XI against Houston in the first match of a Friday doubleheader which will also feature the Montreal Impact taking on the Vancouver Whitecaps (left to right): Jimmy Nielsen – Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler, Aurélien Collin, Chance Myers – Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza, Luke Sassano – Bobby Convey, C.J. Sapong, Kei Kamara.

The only new face in that group is Convey, who made the move from the San Jose Earthquakes during the offseason. Kamara expects the continuity to benefit SKC entering the new MLS season.

“It’s definitely good for this team to see this many guys in the club return,” he said. “We have the chemistry that we had last year. We have been keeping things pretty much the same for the last two years, but it’s all about the new guys coming in like Convey and [Paulo] Nagamura and even the rookies for them to kind of adjust to the way we play here. Once they understand that we will be good to go.”

The 27-year-old Kamara ranks among the veterans of this 2012 SKC squad and it sounds like it.

With elder statesmen Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury and Omar Bravo departing the club in recent months, the Sierra Leone winger, who is entering his seventh MLS season, will be counted on to lead the charge … to MLS Cup.

“This year this team is definitely a championship contender,” Kamara said. “We can definitely take ourselves there. There are not many changes we have to do from last year. We have to pick up from where we left off coming into this season.”

Kamara seems like an idiot. Him and Chapoli

Playing a preseason game against Houston right now. Looking pretty good. Keeping possession well.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/live/channel2

0-0

Both teams looked pretty good for preseason. SKC's defense was really good and they held possession but were just a bit rust on finishing.

The case of the missing Major League Soccer Cup trophy has been solved, thanks in no small measure to the power of social media.

Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt reached out to Sporting Kansas City’s ownership group in response to a recent Twitter campaign by Sporting KC fans, who had hoped to see the championship hardware won in 2000 handed over to the franchise, which until last year was known as the Wizards.

“When I heard about the fans’ concerns regarding the whereabouts of the 2000 MLS Cup championship trophy, I reached out to (OnGoal principal investor) Cliff (Illig) and (Sporting KC CEO) Robb (Heineman) to offer to display the trophy at Livestrong this season before it goes on permanent display at Arrowhead,” Hunt said.

The Hunt family owned the MLS franchise when it won the championship in 2000, beating the Chicago Fire 1-0 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and retained possession of Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy after selling the team to OnGoal 2006.

“That trophy was very, very important to my father (the late Lamar Hunt),” Hunt said. “Of course, it was his first trophy in MLS and first professional trophy since the Dallas Tornado (won the North American Soccer League) in 1971, except for the (Chicago) Bulls’ championships.”

Lamar Hunt was one of the Bulls’ founding investors and remained a part-owner of the team until his death, so he no doubt took satisfaction in their six NBA championships of the 1990s. But keeping the MLS Cup was important enough to Hunt that it emerged as a central part of negotiations when ownership changed hands.

“It was a key deal for Lamar when we bought the team to retain the Cup,” Heineman said. “For us, as much as we wanted it, we completely respected that Lamar (would want it). He valued that trophy as much as his Super Bowl trophy and wanted to keep it. For us, the profound respect we had for Lamar Hunt made it more or less fine that he keep the trophy.”

Speculation swirled that the trophy was on display in Dallas at the headquarters of the Hunt Sports Group, which owns MLS franchises FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew, but Hunt denied that the spoils had ever left Kansas City.

“It went into storage during the renovation of Arrowhead and hasn’t been anywhere except in storage,” Hunt said.

Moreover, Hunt understands the fans’ interest in the trophy’s whereabouts, which is why he said he’ll loan the trophy to Sporting KC for the entire 2012 season.

“I wasn’t really surprised, because trophies are important for anybody who calls themselves a fan of a team,” Hunt said. “I totally understand the fans wondering what happened to the trophy from the 2000 championship, and I’m glad we’re going to be able to put it on display somewhere the fans can see it.”

Fans should be able to sneak a first peek during Sporting KC’s home opener on March 17 against the New England Revolution. Heineman indicated that the trophy’s likely home for the season would be Livestrong Sporting Park’s Members’ Club.

“That’s where I’d like to see it,” Heineman said. “What we may do for this loan period is to display it all over the stadium so that fans can interact with it in a match environment. I think we may try and make it accessible to fans when we aren’t playing games. We have a lot of visitors and it’s a special trophy and I think trophies belong to the fans. The Members’ Club is the right spot for that.”

After the season, the trophy will be returned to the Hunt family and go on display permanently in the Lamar Hunt Gallery at Arrowhead Stadium’s Chiefs’ Hall of Honor presented by Time Warner Cable.

A replica will be made for permanent display at Livestrong Sporting Park.

“We’re sizing the trophy case so that we can fit three or four of ours in there too,” Heineman said.

Full 90 blogger Charles Gooch contributed to this report. To reach Tod Palmer, sports reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/24...#storylink=cpy

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Trophies belong to the club and fans, not the past owner.

Not Sporting but how perfect is this goal from Messi my god.

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Crew has made some nice moves this year...they may be poised for a decent run. Kansas City certainly needs to keep an eye out for them as one of the teams to beat.

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So it turns out the drummer of Rancid is a huge RSL fan he created this and is at the start. This is fan made.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Pa1DJ008t9Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/31553487?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="551" height="312" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/31553487">SportingKC Playoff Halftime Vid</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/nickstout">Nick Stout</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

The backups before the Montreal match.

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12 – Combined goals and assists by Graham Zusi in 2011

So long relative anonymity; Graham Zusi better be ready for life as a
marked man.

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That’s just the way it goes when you enjoy the kind of season the Sporting KC midfielder put together in 2011. Zusi went from bench player to Breakout Player of the Year as he took MLS by storm a year ago, using a blend of athleticism, field vision and ball-striking ability to help propel Sporting from the bottom of the Eastern Conference table to the top, before falling a game short of the MLS Cup final.


And like the Houston Dynamo, who made it clear the former Maryland man was of primary concern ahead of the 2011 Eastern Conference Championship, Sporting’s opponents this season are likely to place extra emphasis on slowing down Zusi in the hopes of negating Kansas City’s attacking impetus.

How Zusi handles that attention will go a long way toward indicating whether he is ready to take on the burden that has been placed on his shoulders this offseason, as Jurgen Klinsmann gave him his first caps for the US national team and SKC rewarded his efforts with a reworked contract.

Unfortunately for the rest of the Eastern Conference, all indications point to Zusi handling that responsibility and building on the five-goal, seven-assist season he turned in during his third professional season.

Although he was played on the wing with the US – his natural position is in the middle of the park – he showed flashes of quality, scoring his first international goal and impressing Klinsmann with his fitness and work ethic after spending the offseason in Kansas City making sure his body was in peak condition.

On the domestic front, word out of Sporting’s preseason camp is that Zusi’s offseason activities have certainly carried over to his club commitments, with some going so far as to call him the best player on the squad without a doubt.

If that’s the case, opposing defenses have cause for concern as one of the league’s brightest emerging talents prepares to take the next step in his rapid development.

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Well that was a little bit boner-inspiring

The USMNT plays today at 1:30pm CST against Italy at Genoa. Landon Donovan, Jermaine Jones, Torres won't be able to play due to sickness. No Sporting KC players but there are a few new faces who impressed in the last match like Parkhurst, Cameron. ESPN of course.

If anyone is able to watch, give us updates!

ESPN2 + ESPN3

Starting now

new unis...

Early chance for Italy. Howard nice save. 4:30

altidore is not looking good at all...

Shea with a nice run

Mike Piazza is in the crowd.

0-0 at the half

Doing some good things especially in the midfield. Jozy has been too soft but they have certainly had some chances. We could sneak in a goal here in the 2nd half. Be interesting to see what if any changes are made for the 2nd half.

EYYY Poland still tied with Portugal going into the half!!!!!!!!!1!!

Altidore, Shea, and Williams need to do better but I was impressed with Bradly and am really impressed with Johnson at left back.

indeed, also, besides that horrid pass around 40' Danny Williams looks comfortable considering it's only his 4th cap and the stage. Looking forward to see what this Terrance Boyd kid will look like.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

DEMPSEY

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL

Nice job by Altidore on that goal.

how many offsides is that now? I can't tell if our backline is really good or really lucky...

I believe it's 9.
I'm not soccer-wise enough to know the answer to the second part of your question, but it seems to me that the Italians have been the better team by a good bit. I guess it doesn't matter though if you can't end up putting it in the back of the net.

Bocanegra with the football (not futbol) tackle for the deserved yellow

Couple of really nice plays by Bradley in the past few minutes