2023 marked the 28th anniversary of Sporting Kansas City. The club has been through countless trials and tribulations as a team competing in Major League Soccer, and today we’re looking back into the Wizards’ historic moments in professional soccer.
The Birth of Kansas City Wiz
Founded by Lamar Hunt in 1995 – founder of the Kansas City Chiefs -, Sporting KC, previously known as the Kansas City Wiz, was born as a charter team and debuted in 1996 in the MLS. The initial squad included legends such as Mo Johnston, Digital Takawira, Preki, and Ron Newman coached them.
At the time, Preki collected his first ever MLS Best XI selection and later collected another three. This debut year saw the Wiz qualify for the first-ever MLS Playoffs. After defeating Dallas Burn in the semifinals, they, unfortunately, lost the conference final to LA Galaxy.
Once 1996 had concluded, the Wiz rebranded its club name to the “Wizards,” they played like Wizards on the pitch when boasting a 21-11 season record, significantly greater than their previous season efforts of 17-15. However, their efforts in the playoffs fell short in the opening round, losing to a last-seeded Colorado Rapids. Despite the commiserations, Preki became the 1997 MLS MVP and still holds the biggest goal-scoring record for Sporting KC to this day (81).
MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield
Bob Gansler had been ushered in as Kansas’s new head coach, and it could arguably be the greatest managerial decision in Sporting KC’s history. In 2000, during the club’s first full season under Gansler, they started with a 12-game undefeated streak. And by the season’s end, with a 16-7-9 record, they lifted their first MLS Supporters’ Shield.
The 2000 playoffs were intense, as Kansas fell behind to LA Galaxy 4-1. They’d been here before in 1996, but the story didn’t end the same. The series ended in a tiebreaker, and Miklos Molnar, the goal-scoring hero, assisted the Wizards in winning their first-ever MLS Cup. Goalkeeper Tony Meola was another Kansas hero, as he delivered countless shutouts that season and stopped the Chicago Fire from matching their talents as they claimed another first, the MLS Cup Championship.
Kansas City Successes
The following decade since their debut MLS Cup didn’t return much silverware, as the club notably struggled after losing Preki to the Miami Fusion. However, they reached the 2004 MLS Cup final but lost to D.C. United. The same year, the U.S. Open Cup was added to the KC trophy room, but it was a long eight-year wait before success would come their way.
With such a drought in success, doubt in the club had already settled in. Bettors weren’t rushing to Kansas Sportsbooks to place a wager on the team, but in 2012 after a rebranding to Sporting KC, the reset button was hit, and they started the season with a seven-game win streak. They suffered defeat in the conference semi-finals but would defeat Seattle Sounders FC to lift the U.S. Open Cup.
Bouncing off 2012’s success, bookmakers weren’t neglecting the talents of a team with an MLS MVP 2012 finalist, the MLS 2012 Goalkeeper of the Year, and a defender in Matt Besler, named MLS Defender of the Year. The club took advantage of retention funds to re-sign USMNT squad members, which was unquestionably the right choice. After a 17-10-7 regular season record, they went on to win the MLS Cup final versus Real Salt Lake, which was their second and last-ever MLC Cup win to date.
In the last two decades, Sporting Kansas City has won the MLS Cup twice (2000,2013), the Supporters’ Shield once (2000), and the U.S. Open Cup on four occasions (2004, 2012, 2015, and 2017).
Sporting Kansas’ U.S. Open Cup success tops the competition’s history. They are just the second franchise in the single elimination tournament to have lifted four Open Cup finals in the same number of appearances. Silverware has been absent recently; as of June 2023, they sit in the 10th position of the MLS Western Conference.
