Gansler in the Hospital - Former SKC Wizards Update

Some sad news to report first this week. Former Kansas City head coach and Sporting Legend, Bob Gansler was hospitalized over the weekend after suffering a stroke on Saturday.  The 73 year old who led Kansas City to the 2000 MLS Supporters' Shield, 2000 MLS Cup, and 2004 US Open Cup is in the hopsital recovering from the stroke. The coach to take the US back to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years in 1990 is a US Soccer Hall of Famer and currently has the most wins for a head coach in club history.

In other news this week, it appears that Andy Gruenebaum is set to move onto his career after soccer. Gruenebaum was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the first stage of the re-entry draft, but did not show up for preseason. Instead he has apparently decided to stay in Kansas City and start a family.

Also this week, Martin Steuble has signed with a new club, joining Ceres FC of the Filipino League. Steuble had been without a club after not having his contract picked up by Kansas City. Finally, in the silly season news, Yura Movsisyan has been linked with a move back to MLS. The Chicago Fire was the team according to the reports, but his agent denied the Fire had made an offer, but said one MLS team had. Movsisyan's MLS rights though are still held by Salt Lake, and any team interested in bringing him in would need to go through them.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Federico Bessone
Bobby Convey
Toni Dovale
Christian Duke
Mechack Jerome
Peterson Joseph
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Igor Kostrov
Rauwshan McKenzie
Michal Mravec
Victor Munoz
Nelson Pizarro
Akeem Priestly
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - DC - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Carolina - Offseason.

USL
Brian Fekete - Pittsburgh - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Jonathan Leathers - Charlotte - Offseason.
Kyle Miller - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - No game this week.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Played in St. Louis' 11-5 win over Tulsa. Scored two goals in St. Louis' 9-8 OT loss to Wichita.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Had a goal in Missouri's 14-8 win over Saltillo. Played in Missouri's 8-7 OT win over Monterrey.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 15-7 win over Rochester.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 9-5 win over Brownsville. Scored a goal in Dallas' 7-6 win over Brownsville.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Played in Wichita's 9-8 OT win over St. Louis. Played in Wichita's 12-4 loss to Milwaukee.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - No game until 2/22.
Scott Angevine - Vasa - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - No game until 2/14
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Did not play in Chivas' 2-2 draw with Dorados. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Chivas' 1-1 draw with Universidad Guadalajara.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Came off the bench and played 62 minutes in Bengaluru's 3-1 loss to Pune.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Argentina - No game until January 31.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Started and played 90 minutes in Ha Noi's 1-1 draw with Da Nang. Started and played 90 minutes in Ha Noi's 2-1 loss to Thanh Hoa.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla - Mexico - Dressed but did not play in Puebla's 0-0 draw with America. Started and played 90 minutes in Puebla's 1-1 draw with Atlante.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Banned
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - No game until 1/31
Will John - Maghreb Fes - Morocco - Lost 2-1 to Ittihad Khemisset
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Offseason.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - No game until 2/8.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - No game until 3/6.
Lawrence Olum - Kedah FA - Malaysia - No game until 2/28.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Sporting's 3-2 loss to Belenenses. Dressed but did not play in Sporting's 1-0 win over Academica.
Soony Saad - BEC Tero Sasana FC - Thailand - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Did not dress in either of Blackburn's games.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Recently signed for the club.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - On break until February.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/28.

Sporting KC Launch Sporting Legends

One thing that I've felt has been missing from Sporting KC since the new stadium was built was some sort of hall of fame, or ring of honor, or something to honor those that had been a big part of this club in the past.  Today, Sporting remedied that with the creation of the Sporting Legends initiative. The team also announced the first class.  It will include arguably the greatest player to wear a KC uniform, Preki.  He's the career leader in goals (71) and assists (98) in league play in his career. He's 4th all-time in terms of appearances with the club with 218 in league. He's also played the 5th most minutes in team history with 17,818 in league play. He also won two MVP awards in 1997 and 2003, still the only player to win two MVP awards in his MLS career.

The second inductee is still considered the greatest goalkeeper to play for the club, Tony Meola. Up until recently he was the team leader in wins in league play, having just been passed by Jimmy Nielsen. He's still appeared in the most league games among goalkeepers (125) and played the most minutes with 11,331 played in league play. He also won MLS MVP, MLS Goalkeeper of the year, MLS Best XI, and MLS Cup MVP all in the 2000 season helping to lead KC to MLS Cup.

The final inductee in the inaugural class is head coach, Bob Gansler.  The team's longest serving head coach was here from 1999 through 2006 helping the team win all but one of their trophies in their history. Through his career, Gansler picked up 86 wins, obviously the most in KC, but also 7th all-time among head coaches.

Preki and Meola will both be recognized this weekend at half time of KC's game against the New York Red Bulls.  Both were actually on the field delivering the trophy for the All Star Game this past Wednesday. Gansler will be recognized for his induction on October 11th, the date that the US team returns to KC to take on Jamaica.

Going forward, one Legend will be inducted each year.  That will stretch out the process for a number of years.  Players like Jimmy Conrad, Nick Garcia, Mo Johnston, Chris Klein, and Kerry Zavagnin all have to be on the short list for the next few years. 

If there is one disappointment in this announcement, it's that Lamar Hunt is not in the original induction group. Without Hunt not only is there no Sporting KC Wiz(ards), there's also no MLS. I understand wanting to induct the people that they did in this class, but it is disappointing that Hunt was not included in the original class, like he probably deserves.

Former SKC Wizards Update

Back for another week of former Wizards updates this week. A week of international games for many former Wizards, including Khari Stephenson, Sunil Chhetri, and Yura Movsisyan. In other former Wizards news, former Wizards midfielder, Amir Lowery has signed with the Montreal Impact to play in for the NASL side next season. Finally congrats to former coach, Bob Gansler on being elected to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. An honor that's long overdue for the former Wizards and US coach. Here's the rest of this week's former SKC Wizards update.

Still looking for:
Vicente Arze
Nick Cardenas
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Ryan McMahen
Akeem Priestley
Ivan Trujillo

MLS
Jimmy Conrad - Chivas USA - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Colorado. Did not dress in Chivas' 2-0 loss to Portland in the US Open Cup.
Adam Cristman - LA - Did not dress in LA's 4-1 loss to RSL.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and 13 minutes in RSL's 4-1 win over LA.
Taylor Graham - Seattle - Did not dress in Seattle's 1-1 draw with Houston.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Started and played 90 minutes in Dallas' 2-0 loss to San Jose.
Frankie Hejduk - LA - Dressed but did not play in LA's 4-1 loss to RSL.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, recording a shutout in Columbus' 0-0 draw with New York.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-0 loss to Toronto. Came off the bench and played 19 minutes scoring a goal and getting an assist in Portland's 2-0 win over Chivas in the US Open Cup.
Jonathan Leathers - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 1-0 loss to Philadelphia.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Salt Lake - Did not dress in RSL's 4-1 win over LA.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Started and played 74 minutes in DC's 2-1 loss to New England.
Ryan Pore - Portland - Started and played 66 minutes in Portland's 2-0 loss to Toronto. Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-0 over Chivas in the US Open Cup.
Scott Sealy - San Jose - Did not dress in San Jose's 2-0 win over Dallas.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Started and played 45 minutes in Jamaica's 2-0 loss to Venezuela. Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Jamaica's 3-2 win over El Salvador.
Tyson Wahl - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 1-1 draw with Houston.
Josh Wolff - DC - Started and played 45 minutes in DC's 2-1 loss to New England.

Indoor soccer.
Jamar Beasley - Missouri Comets - Season is over.
Chris Brunt - Omaha Vipers - Season is over.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 16-7 loss to Milwaukee in the league championship.
Boris Pardo - Missouri Comets - Season is over.
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Sockers - Season is over.
Paul Wright - San Diego Sockers - Season is over.

International
Sunil Chhetri - Chirag United - India - Did not play in India's 1-1 draw with Turkmenistan in the AFC Challenge Cup qualification.
Eloy Colombano - Ferrocarril Sud - Argentina - Started and played 75 minutes, scoring a goal in Ferro's 1-1 draw with Independiente Tandil. Started and played 90 minutes in Ferro's 2-0 loss to Alvarado.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Cali's 2-0 loss to Deportes Tolima. Started and played 90 minutes in Cali's 3-1 win over Pacifico in the Copa Colombia.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - Mexico - No game this week, international break.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Budapest Honvéd - Hungary - No game this week, international break.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Nno game this week.
Will John - NK Vinogradar - Croatia - Lost 1-0 to Vukovar.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham/Preston - England - No game this week, international break.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - No game this week, international break.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Started and played 90 minutes in Armenia's 0-0 draw with Russia.
Matt Taylor - Rot Weiss Ahlen - Germany - No game this week, international break.

Congrats to Preki

Congratulations to former Wizards great, Preki, who was inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame today in a ceremony before the US-Brazil game in New York. Elected into the hall with Preki were Bruce Arena, Kyle Rote Jr, and Thomas Dooley. Congratulations to all 4, now next year maybe the hall will elect Bob Gansler in the builders' category, his election (like Preki's this year) is long overdue.

Gansler to Hall of Fame

Former Wizards coach, Bob Gansler has been elected to another Hall of Fame. While Gansler is up for elect to the US Soccer Hall of Fame via the veterans committee, he has been elected to the NSCAA Hall of Fame. Gansler will be inducted during the NSCAA convention this year in Philadelphia on January 15th. Congratulations to Gansler on this achievement.

Arena, Gansler, and Waldo OH My!

The Wizards have announced that Bruce Arena, Bob Gansler, and Eric Wynalda will be joining Wizards play-by-play man, Sean Wheelock in the booth at different times over the rest of the season. The three will work any Wizards game that is not exclusive to ESPN, FSC, or HDNet.

Arena will be in the booth, May 17, June 21, Aug 2, Aug 16, Sept 7, & Oct 25. Gansler's dates are June 28, July 27, Aug 9, Aug 23, Oct 5, Oct 11, & Oct 18. Wynalda will be making his token appearance Aug 30.

Of the Wizards 10 remaining games, 1 is an ESPN exclusive (July 17), 2 are FSC (May 3, Sept 27), 3 are HDNet exclusive (May 24, July 4, Sept 20), and 2 games are still TBD (June 7, Sept 13) on who will be in the booth for those games. The final two games (June 14, July 10), Wheelock will be joined in the booth by Dave Borchardt.

Basically, how it breaks down, is Arena has all the non exclusive away games except for the TBD and the game Wynalda will be in the booth. Gansler gets all the non exclusive home games, except for the TBD (LA Galaxy game) and the two that Borchardt will be there.

And congrats to Team Shook on winning the poll for the best fantasy team.

Preki Misses Hall of Fame

Preki was the closest of numerous former Wizards players up for election to the US Soccer Hall of Fame this year. Candidates need to be named on at least 75% of the 128 ballots to be elected to the Hall. Preki was named on 87 of them (68%). He was the highest finishing player along with Joy Fawcett. Other former Wizards, included current technical director, Peter Vermes (28%). Brian Bliss and Mike Burns (13%). Frank Klopas and Mike Sorber (11%). Roy Lassiter (8.5%). Mark Chung at only 2.3% is dropped from the eligibility for appearing on less then 5% of the ballots.

Former Wizards coach, Bob Gansler was almost elected on the "Builders" ballot, falling 3 votes shy of the 50% required by for "builders." Anson Dorrance was the only member elected person from the builders group. Hugo Perez was elected by the veterans committee.

Former Wizards Coaches News

Some quick news on 2 former Wizards coaches. The first is that Bob Gansler, the Wizards coach for all 3 of their trophies (2000 MLS Cup, 2000 Supporter's Shield, 2004 USOC), is up for induction into the US Soccer Hall of Fame. Gansler is on the Builders Ballot. He joins 8 other former Wizards on in their attempts to be elected to the hall of fame (Brian Bliss, Mike Burns, Mark Chung, Frank Klopas, Roy Lassiter, Preki, Mike Sorber, and Peter Vermes).

The other news, is that former Wizards coach, Brian Bliss has been named the Columbus Crew's Technical Director. That makes 3 former Wizards players that are team's technical directors. Peter Vermes in Kansas City and Chris Henderson in Seattle are the other two. Congratulations to Bliss on the new position.