Where Sporting Kc Stacked Up Against MLS Clubs In 2011

I haven't really seen anyone do this so I decided I'd give it a try. I've gathered a series of data points for Sporting Kc  from the MLS website and will be posting them below. I know it's pretty basic and almost anyone could do it but I just haven't seen it done in KC yet. Plus, I want to do it so fans can easily look down here and break down some of Sporting Kc's season themselves.

So here are the stats:

Category: Ranking in MLS out of 18 teams - Number of "points" in that category

Goals: 2nd - 50
Assists*: 14th - 35
Shots: 1st - 488
Shots on Goal: 2nd - 159
Fouls Conceded: 5th - 425
Fouls Suffered: 8th - 416
Offsides: 16th - 71
Corners: 8th - 161
Penalty Kick Goals: 9th - 4

*assists may seem inflated for some teams but MLS counts "secondary assists"
If you want to FULLY break down the rest of the MLS then you can go here. 

So as you can see Sporting Kc were quite easily one of the best attacking teams in the MLS all season. Recording 488 shots on goal throughout the 2011 campaign, a league best. One of their lowest indicators however was their offside's calls. Sporting Kc were only called offside 71 times, one of the leagues lowest at 16th. But it's actually a good thing seeing as it indicates that our front line is calm and composed. Besides, I'm fairly certain Bravo had about half of those.

Sporting Kansas City To Spend 2 Weeks of Pre-Season In Tuscon

Earlier today it was confirmed by Tuscon Sentinel that Sporting Kansas City would indeed spend part of their pre-season in one of the most premier soccer facilities in the country - Kino Sports Complex.


Sporting will spend a total of 2 weeks in Arizona starting on February 1st but will miss out on the not-so-important chance to reclaim their Desert Cup title - of which is displayed proudly in the trophy case at Sporting's head offices - to go to the Disney Pro Classic at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando Florida.

The Cup last year saw them pitted against the New York Red Bulls and drew record attendance numbers for the final as two of the most prominent figures of Mexican football  - Rafa Marquez and Omar Bravo -  battled it out for the Desert Cup.

As part of the pre-season experience Sporting Kansas City will face the San Jose Earthquakes on February the  2nd and the Vancouver Whitecaps on the 4th in a closed scrimmage session. This will most likely be where we will finally get wind of some of the new trialists and draft picks.

Sporting Kansas City After Local Midfielder?

As I'm sure many of you have already heard from different sources including SportingTimes.net and downthebyline.com Sporting Kansas City are reportedly after a local kid called Michael Thomas who has had a few stints in Europe since leaving the US after he was drafted by San Jose in 2010.

This comes off the back of my story about a month and a half ago where I linked the midfielder with Sporting Kansas City after he played in a reserve league encounter with FC Dallas and photos were released onto the internet.

However at that point I did not know the trialists name and was merely guessing at his bio. Judging on the pictures I guessed that he was 5'10 and a midfielder, both remain true. When he played in the reserve league game he wore #44 and scored for the Rangers on the stroke of halftime.

Michael Thomas, 23, has played for the Kansas City Brass and Notre Dame from 2006-2009. He has connections with Matt Besler (Notre Dame) and Seth Sinovic (youth club).

I think Michael would be a decent signing for Sporting but since he is still contractually tied to Ljungskile SK we would have to pay a transfer fee for him which would mean we would lose some of the allocation money we have received from the various trades of Jack Jewsbury, Davy Arnaud, and Omar Bravo.

Is this really the best way to spend our money? I don't know but we will soon learn whether or not as the January transfer window inches closer and closer.

Omar Bravo Leaves Sporting Kansas City

Omar Bravo with the captain's armband

Well, the Omar Bravo experience is over. Earlier this afternoon Sporting Kansas City announced that the team's joint top scorer Omar Bravo has left Sporting in favor of a move south of the border to Mexican side Cruz Azul. Omar, 31, released a statement following the announcement saying that he was quote, "very grateful to have received the opportunity to play in MLS, a league to which I respect and admire, as well as Sporting KC as it gave me the opportunity to experience challenges and fulfill dreams in this city both personal and professional, which All I take from Kansas City are good things to my teammates, fans who always supported me in my time" 


Omar is believed to have left due to being offered a better contract, more money, and more playing time in his home country of Mexico. Cruz Azul had been linked with Sporting Kc's Designated Player since the season ended in mid-November and it was no surprise when he left amid a whole host of transfer rumors and speculation.

Following the departure of Omar Bravo Sporting Kc's average age is now just 23. And Sporting Kc will most likely look to keep the trend of buying young and selling old in this January transfer window following speculation that the club has already secured a deal for a Spanish DP.

But one of the weirdest things about this deal is that there has been no official confirmation that Bravo has either been loaned or transferred to Cruz Azul due to the club's policy of not disclosing the deal information. So because of that policy we have no idea how much money we have to buy other players or how much money we have in the wage budget.

But we do know Omar's departure opens up a international roster spot - of which we have just 7 - and opens up a Designated Player spot - of which we have just 3. Now, the question becomes does Sporting Kc stick with an experienced MLSer in Bobby Convey or do they go for a younger in-experienced winger?

Omar earned many awards and honors in his short time at LSP. Including Latino of the Year, MLS All-Star, and was one of the faces of LIVESTRONG's fight against cancer in Mexico and the US.

Daneil Cyrus Could Participate In CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

The youngest center back on Sporting Kc's roster Daneil Cyrus could participate in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament this spring with Trinidad and Tobago's U-23 side. The Soca Warriors have been drawn in Group B with the likes of Honduras, Mexico and Panama. T&T's U-23 coach Angus Eve said recently that he is keeping tabs on Daneil and that he is, "fit again from injury but is not match ready".

Cyrus had previously made 13 senior appearances for T&T but quite literally lost his foot-hold on the international scene after his season ending injury in the summer when he fractured his foot. But now it seems as if Daneil has his big opportunity to show Trinidad and Tobago's technical staff that he is back to his best again.

Should Cyrus participate in the tournament he could go up against fellow Sporting Kc teammate Teal Bunbury as Teal tries to lead the United States to the London 2012 Olympics. And it seems as if for both players this is a tournament that could kick-start their international careers again.

Omar Bravo to Veracruz?

Sporting Kc's only designated player Omar Bravo could be on his way out of KC, word out of Mexico is that a 2nd division side in the Liga de Ascenso is interested in securing the poacher's signature for a 3 year deal. Should Veracruz sign the 31 year old it would be quite an amazing deal seeing as they are a second division side and you would think Omar has way more talent than that. But if there's a lot of money involved then maybe Bravo could be persuaded. Should he join the Sharks Bravo would join former Philadelphia Union striker Carlos Ruiz and would make a very impressive front line.

Whether or not Omar joins the Sharks is yet to be seen. But as the January transfer window inches closer and closer, and the rift between Bravo and Sporting Kc gets bigger and bigger, one thing is becoming certain - Omar's days in KC are numbered.

Full article translated from Spanish to English:

Guzman confirms interest of Veracruz by Omar Bravo

Veracruz, Veracruz, on December 7, 2011 .- From somewhere in Europe (It is said that in Switzerland) Sharks coach Daniel Guzman Rojos de Veracruz Castañeda, confirmed the interest of the club for striker Omar Bravo Sinaloa , with whom I spoke to invite to your project.

Speaking to ESPN announced Guadalajara strategist who is on vacation in Europe and already thinking about the next tournament in Veracruz, a team he said, is in transition and seeking to consolidate a project led by young people.

The coach said he has talked shark with Omar Bravo to add it to Red Sharks of Veracruz, explaining that he has offered a three-year contract and the acquisition of rights by the club.

Guzman said the former striker Chivas, Tigres, La Coruna and Sporting recently the MLS Kansas City, asked for time to resolve outstanding, since no American team is detached, but added that the World Cup in 2006 will said he had other projects.

Soony Saad to Train With Lebanon?

Sporting Kc's youngest ever goal scorer Soony Saad has reportedly considered the chance to train with the Lebanese national team. Soony is of Lebanese decent and could join "The Cedars" in a push for World Cup qualification. While the reports haven't been confirmed Soony is the only player to have responded to the invitation. According to The Daily Star Soony tweeted that he would "consider coming to play". 

All 4 players that were asked to join Lebanon were of Lebanese decent. 2 playing in Scandinavia and the other in Australia. I don't think Soony is very likely to train with them though seeing as I believe that he has never been to Lebanon. But there is always a first and the exposure could gain Sporting Kc some international fans much like Chhetri did for the Wizards in 2010.

The best case scenario is that Soony trains for Lebanon, gets some good playing time, and comes back to the US ready for a new season a leg up on everyone else. The worst case scenario is that this situation could end up being like the Teal Bunbury situation we saw in 2010 when Teal controversially chose to play for the US over Canada after previously playing for Canada's U-20 and U-17 teams. 

Soony has played for the United States U-20 team once, scoring one goal.