helps Sporting to MLS Crown
By Ian Thomson
Sporting Kansas City capped an incredible three-year journey last Saturday by becoming Major League Soccer’s champions for the first time since the franchise’s rebranding in November 2010.
The former Kansas City Wizards had failed to reach the playoffs for two straight seasons and were playing in a minor league baseball stadium when a new ownership group acquired them from American sports entrepreneur Lamar Hunt.
Two first-place finishes in the Eastern Conference followed with the Houston Dynamo ousting Sporting from the playoffs on both occasions. That obstacle was overcome in last month’s conference final, allowing Kansas City to host Real Salt Lake in this year’s title decider. It took 10 rounds of a penalty shootout and a freak ball movement to finally separate the two adversaries.
MLS began awarding its championship game to the team boasting the best regular-season record last year to ensure a sellout crowd and a boisterous atmosphere – something that was not guaranteed at a neutral site. This method can grant an advantage to a team that may not have proven its superiority given the differing schedules between the Western and Eastern conferences.
The Portland Timbers were arguably the league’s finest team this year with five defeats in 34 games. Portland pipped Salt Lake in the Western Conference standings yet earned fewer points than Eastern foes New York Red Bulls and Kansas City. Ninety cross-conference league games saw western sides holding a significant 41-27 lead in wins with 22 games drawn. The potential for dropping points seemed greater in the West.
Salt Lake featured eight survivors from its 2009 championship-winning team. Their experience prevailed against the Timbers in the Western Conference final, and the Utah side left Sporting Park last weekend wondering how a second title had eluded them.
“This group has put themselves in so many positions to win and unfortunately things just haven’t gone our way,” Real’s head coach Jason Kreis told the media after the defeat.
The final took place amid single-figure temperatures in Fahrenheit once the wind chill had been factored in. Frigid limbs and a frozen field made for an opening 45 minutes that served as a microcosm for a largely disappointing season that has seen a worrying drop in the quality of play. Neither team exhibited any ability to move the ball at speed and instances of five passes being strung together were anomalous.
Sporting’s Aurelien Collin was fortunate to remain on the field after the former Gretna defender executed three wild hacks that arrived later than the Raydale Park side’s wages. Collin’s blunder on 52 minutes allowed Real midfielder Kyle Beckerman to clip a ball over Kansas City’s disheveled rearguard for Costa Rican striker Alvaro Saborio to smash into the net.
A pioneering 4-3-3 system adopted by Sporting’s head coach Peter Vermes prompted the team’s emergence as title contenders in the past three years. Forward surges by attacking midfielders, a high defensive line squeezing their opponents, cutting runs from flexible wingers and constant overlapping by energetic full-backs were hallmarks of the team until the transfers of Honduran international Roger Espinoza and Sierra Leone forward Kei Kamara severely blunted Sporting’s chemistry this season.
Salt Lake seemed certain to capitalize on the hosts’ weakened state, particularly with Sporting’s 36-year-old Jimmy Nielsen performing like he was decades older. Robbie Findley struck Nielsen’s left post in the first half after the 6’3″ Dane flapped at a free kick. Beckerman found the upright on 62 minutes and Javier Morales’ shot bounced across the line after hitting the inside of post 11 minutes later. Nielsen was displaying the gracefulness of a “runny-out” goalkeeper in a local park as Real peppered his goal.
Yet Collin forced an equaliser on 76 minutes after fending off Chris Schuler to power home a header from Graham Zusi’s outswinging corner. No further scoring during regulation or extra time saw the MLS Cup’s destination settled on penalties for the third time in eight years. It allowed a rare memorable moment to end a forgettable season.
Both teams missed chances to win it before Lovel Palmer stepped up to take Real’s tenth penalty with his team trailing 7-6. A bizarre roll of the ball as Palmer planted his standing foot undermined his effort and the Jamaican’s shot struck the crossbar.
Kansas City had won its first MLS championship since Mo Johnston helped the Wizards to a 1-0 win over Hristo Stoitchkov’s Chicago Fire in 2000.
Ian Thomson is an exiled Dons fan based in West Virginia. His new book, “Summer Of ’67,” recounts Aberdeen’s stint playing as the Washington Whips. It is available in Kindle and paperback formats via Amazon.co.uk.
