Myers Moves to Portland - Former SKC Wizards Update

Chance Myers officially joins the list of former Kansas City players.The former number one overall pick signed a free agent contract with the Portland Timbers this week, joining the 2015 MLS Cup champions. Myers departs Kansas City having appeared almost 150 times in league play for Sporting, playing over 10,000 minutes, scoring two league goals (both coincidentally against the Portland Timbers). Unfortunately he'd just been pushed out of his position as the starter at right back by Saad Abdul-Salaam, but Myers will be remembered for his time as part of arguably the best back four in MLS between 2011 and 2013 with Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, and Seth Sinovic.

A lot of players were on the move this week, with Amobi Okugo re-signing with Portland, Bernardo Anor making his permanent move to Minnesota United official as well. In the lower leagues, both Mechack Jerome and Michael Kafari both re-signed with their NASL clubs. Abroad, Nuno Coelho turned his departure from Sporting into a move to GD Chaves in his native Portugal, while Milos Stojcev moved within the Greek league to relegation threatened Veria.

Internationally, Ever Alvarado and Jorge Claros both helped Honduras win the Copa Centroamericana as Honduras went 4-0-1 in the round robin tournament that was missing Guatemala due to FIFA suspension. Fellow former KC player, Pablo Punyed and El Salvador finished third and will be in this summer's Gold Cup because of their finish. Also a congratulations to Marcel de Jong for his 50th cap with the Canadian national team this past week as he captained Canada against Bermuda.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Emmanuel Appiah
Vicente Arze
Omar Bravo
Amadou Dia
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Tomas Granitto
Connor Hallisey
Jeferson
Jon Kempin
Chris Konopka
Justin Mapp
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Alex Molano
Victor Munoz
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
Michael Thomas

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes in Vancouver's 4-2 win over Bermuda.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Chance Myers - Portland - Offseason.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Offseason.
Jacob Peterson - Atlanta - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.

USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Did not play in either of Cedar Rapids' games.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 5-3 loss to Cedar Rapids and 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Did not play in Dallas' 12-5 win over El Paso.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 5-2 win over Sonora.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC Eskilstuna City- Sweden - No game until 4/1.
Ever Alvarado - Olimpia - Honduras - Started and played 90 minutes in Honduras' 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. Did not dress in Honduras' 1-0 win over Belize.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/11.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Started and played 45 minutes in Belen's 2-1 loss to Perez Zeledon. Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Belen's 3-1 loss to Carmelita.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 3-0 win over Mumbai. Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 2-1 loss to East Bengal.
Jorge Claros - Real Espana - Honduras - Started and played 90 minutes in Honduras' 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. Dressed but did not play in Honduras' 1-0 win over Belize.
Nuno Coelho - GD Chaves - Portugal - Did not play in Chaves' 2-0 win over Nacional.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Defeated Morvant Caledonia United 3-0.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 2-2 draw with Deportivo Alaves.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in either of Queretaro's games.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game until 2/4.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Did not dress in Al Gharafa's 3-0 win over Al Shahaniya.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - Did not dress in Metapan's 1-0 win over Dragon.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Dressed but did not play in El Salvador's 1-0 loss to Panama. Dressed but did not play in El Salvador's 1-0 win over Nicaragua.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Belenenses' 2-1 loss to Vitoria Setubal.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/18.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 1-0 loss to Liverpool. Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-1 win over Cheltenham Town.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Lost 6-2 to Brora Rangers.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game until 2/20.
Milos Stojcev - Veria - Greece - Did not dress in Veria's 1-1 draw with Larissa. Dressed but did not play in Veria's 1-1 draw with Iraklis.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - No game until 2/18.

Saad Negotiating a Return to MLS? - Former SKC Wizards Update

Former Kansas City winger, Soony Saad looks like he could be making a return to MLS. Reports out of Minnesota are reporting that Saad is currently in negotiations with expansion side Minnesota United to return to the league with the club. Saad has spent the last two years in Thailand, playing last season with Pattaya United where he scored nine goals in 28 league appearances for the club. Sporting KC still hold Saad's MLS rights, so a return to MLS would involve United having to negotiate with Sporting KC to acquire his rights.

Elsewhere, three former KC players are set to compete in January's Copa Centroamericana. Recently released Ever Alvarado, who has signed back with his former club, Olimpia, joins Jorge Claros (who recently signed with Real Espana in Honduras) on the Honduran squad. Pablo Punyed is also competing in the tournament with El Salvador. Both teams kick off the tournament in Panama Friday with Honduras taking on Nicaragua and El Salvador playing Costa Rica.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Bernardo Anor
Emmanuel Appiah
Vicente Arze
Omar Bravo
Nuno Coelho
Amadou Dia
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Herculez Gomez
Connor Hallisey
Jeferson
Jon Kempin
Mechack Jerome - Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 4-2 win over Suriname. Started and played 120 minutes in Haiti's 4-3 win over Trinidad.
Chris Konopka
Justin Mapp
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Victor Munoz
Chance Myers
Amobi Okugo
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jacob Peterson - Atlanta - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.

USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Did not play in Cedar Rapids' 7-5 loss to Chicago.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Had a goal and an assist in Baltimore's 7-2 win over Dallas.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 8-6 loss to Florida. Had an assist in Dallas' 7-2 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 7-3 win over Ontario.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC Eskilstuna City- Sweden - No game until 4/1.
Ever Alvarado - Olimpia - Honduras -  With Honduras for the Copa Centroamericana.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/11.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Started and played 72 minutes in Belen's 1-0 loss to Municipal Liberia.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 88 minutes in Bengaluru's3-0 win over Shillong Lajong.
Jorge Claros - Real Espana - Honduras - With Honduras for the Copa Centroamericana.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Defeated Club Sando 2-1.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 2-0 loss to Real Betis.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 1-0 loss to Veracruz.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game until 2/4.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Did not dress in Al Gharafa's 2-0 win over Al Ahli. Started and played 90 minutes in Al Gharafa's 3-0 loss to Lekhwiya.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - No game until 1/13.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - With El Salvador for the Copa Centroamericana.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Started and played 85 minutes in Belenenses' 1-0 loss to Moreirense.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/18.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 0-0 FA Cup draw with Liverpool.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Lost 5-2 to Huntly.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game until 2/20.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in either of Atromitos' games.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - No game until 2/18.

10 Call Ups for Former SKC Wizards - Former SKC Wizards Update

Heading into the upcoming international break, a number of former Kansas City players will be busy with their respective national teams. Ten players who have played for Kansas City will be representing their country in Olympic qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers, and friendlies.

In CONCACAF you have the likes of Mechack Jerome representing Haiti, Marcel de Jong with Canada, Daneil Cyrus with Trinidad, Jorge Claros with Honduras, and Pablo Punyed with El Salvador all having World Cup qualifiers. Elsewhere in the world, Soony Saad and Lebanon, Sunil Chhetri of India, and Martin Steuble of the Philippines will also be playing. In Europe, Krisztian Nemeth has been called up by Hungary for a friendly. Luis Gil has also been called up for the Olympic playoffs for the US U23 team.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Adnan Gabeljic
Herculez Gomez
Faik Hajderovic
Ryan James
Michael Kafari
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Victor Munoz
Amobi Okugo
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minues in Houston's 4-3 loss to New York.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 75 minutes in New England's 3-0 loss to Philadelphia.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Came off the bench and played 36 minutes in Orlando's 1-0 win over NYCFC.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Dressed but did not play in Orlando's 1-0 win over NYCFC.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Suspended for Chicago's 0-0 draw with Columbus.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-2 draw with RSL.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 0-0 draw with Chicago.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-0 loss to Dallas.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Did not dress in NYCFC's 1-0 loss to Orlando.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 64 minutes, scoring a goal in Salt Lake's 2-2 draw with Portland.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 89 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Philadelphia's 3-0 win over New England.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 0-0 draw with Chicago.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 4-3 win over Houston.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Next game 4/2.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Next game 4/2.
Marcel de Jong - Ottawa - Next game 4/2.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Next game 4/10
James Marcelin - Carolina - Next game 4/2.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Next game 4/2.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Next game 4/26.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Next game 4/26.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Next game 4/26.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Next game 4/26.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Next game 4/26.
Yomby William - Richmond - Next game 4/26.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - No game this week.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - No game this week.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game until 4/3.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - No game until 4/24.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Belgrano's 3-2 loss to Velez Sarsfield.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Chivas' 3-1 win over Monterrey.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Belen's 3-1 win over Alajuelense.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Bengaluru's 1-0 win over Ayeyawady United.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 90 minutes in Alajuelense's 3-1 loss to Belen Siglo XXI.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Game this week postponed.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-1 draw with Girona.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Started and played 90 minutes in Jaguares' 3-2 loss to Real Cartagena. Did not dress in Jauares' 2-0 loss to Junior.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Started and played 78 minutes in Queretaro's 1-1 draw wtih Chiapas.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Madureira's 1-0 loss to Botafogo.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 4/2.
Igor Juliao - Ferroviária - Brazil - Started and played 85 minutes in Ferroviaria's 1-0 win over Salgueiro. Did not dress in Ferroviaria's 2-0 loss to Sao Bernardo FC.
Chris Konopka - Ross County - Scotland - Dressed but did not play in either of Ross County's games.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - Did not dress in Dinamo's 2-0 win over Zaria.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 1-0 loss to Universidad Catolica.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 1-1 draw with Nieciecza.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 90 minutes in Al Gharafa's 1-1 draw with Al Kharitiyath.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Porto's 0-0 draw with Chaves. Started and played 90 minutes in Porto's 2-1 win over Gil Vicente.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - No game until 4/2.
Oriol Rosell - Vitoria (Sporting Club de Portugal)  Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Vitoria Guimaraes' 3-2 loss to Nacional.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - Defeated TSV Aubstadt 3-1.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Thailand - Played in Pattaya's 3-3 draw with Chiangrai United.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 3-0 win over SpVg Schonnebeck.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Started and played 70 minutes in Deveronvale's 4-1 loss to Formartine. Started and played 90 minutes in Deveronvale's 1-1 draw with Buckie Thistle.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Atromitos' 1-0 win over Panthrakikos.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 67 minutes in Saarbrucken's 2-0 win over Elversberg.

Kamara Made a DP, De Jong Joins Ottawa - Former SKC Wizards Update

The Columbus Crew and former KC forward Kei Kamara have resolved the contract dispute that the two had been in this offseason. After scoring 22 league goals in 2015, Kamara was looking for a pay raise from the Crew. Today the Crew announced that they had renegotiated Kamara's contract and Kamara will now be a designated player. Good for Kamara who had a major redemption season in Columbus after struggling at Middlesbrough.

In other news, former Sporting outside back, Marcel de Jong was not out of contract long after KC and de Jong agreed to terminate his deal. Today the Canadian international signed with NASL side the Ottawa Fury. He'll join fellow national team player, Julian de Guzman with the Fury.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Adnan Gabeljic
Herculez Gomez
Ryan James
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Amobi Okugo
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-1 draw with Queretaro.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 72 minutes in RSL's 2-0 loss to Tigres.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Ottawa - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 9-4 win over St. Louis and 5-4 loss to Missouri.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Had an assist in Dallas' 7-6 OT loss to Milwaukee. Played in Dallas' 8-3 loss to San Diego.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Played in Missouri's 5-4 win over Baltimore.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game this week.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - No game until 4/24.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Dressed but did not play in Belgrano's 2-1 loss to Patronato.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 32 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 Copa MX loss to Dorados. Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-1 draw with Tijuana.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in either of Belen's games.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Did not dress in Bengaluru's 2-1 loss to Lao Toyota. Started and played 61 minutes in Bengaluru's 1-0 win over Aizawl.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 90 minutes in Alajuelense's 4-0 win over UCR. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Alajuelense's 3-3 draw wtih Cartagines.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Played 3 games in the CFU Championship, winning all three.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 2-0 win over Deportivo Alaves.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Did not play in either of Jaguares' games.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Queretaro's 1-1 draw with Morelia.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Came off the bench and played 32 minutes in Madureira's 1-0 win over Macae. Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Madureira's 1-1 draw with Bangu.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 4/2.
Igor Juliao - Ferroviária - Brazil - Started and played 90 minutes in Ferroviaria's 3-2 loss to Ituano. Did not dress in Ferroviaria's 2-1 win over Palmeiras.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-2 draw with Deportes Iquique.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in either of Lechia's games.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Al Gharafa's 4-4 draw with Umm Salal.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Porto II's 2-0 loss to Varzim.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - No game this week.
Oriol Rosell - Vitoria (Sporting Club de Portugal)  Portugal - Could not play in Vitoria's 0-0 draw with Sporting CP.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - No game until 3/6.
Soony Saad - BEC Tero Sasana - Thailand - Game this week was postponed.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 3-0 win over SV Honnepel-Niedermormter.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Did not dress in Deveronvale's 2-2 draw with Inverurie Locos.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Atromitos' 1-0 win over Iraklis.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Saarbrucken's 2-1 loss to Wormatia Worm.

MLS is Back - Former SKC Wizards Update

Last night MLS teams returned to competitive action for the first time this season with DC United and the Seattle Sounders starting the knock out phase of the CONCACAF Champions League. Only one former Kansas City player, Davy Arnaud is on either of those teams and Arnaud did not dress for DC in their 2-0 loss to Queretaro.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Adnan Gabeljic
Ryan James
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Amobi Okugo
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not dress in DC's 2-0 loss to Queretaro.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Had two assists in Baltimore's 5-4 OT loss to Missouri. Had two assists in Baltimore's 9-0 win over Harrisburg.
Mike Jones - Dallas - No game this week.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Played in both Missouri's 5-4 OT win over Baltimore and their 8-4 win over Syracuse.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - Did not play in Siah Jamegan's 1-1 draw with Padideh Khorasan.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - No game until 4/24.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Belgrano's 3-0 loss to Colon. Started and played 65 minutes in Belgrano's 0-0 draw with Banfield.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Dressed but did not play in Chivas' 1-0 win over Universidad Guadalajara. Started and played 57 minutes in Chivas' 1-1 draw with Chiapas.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in either of Belen's games.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - No game this week.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Alajuelense's 2-2 draw with Perez Zeledon. Came off the bench and played 7 minutes in Alajuelense's 1-0 win over Saprissa.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Lost 2-0 to Club Sando.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 2-1 win over Lugo.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Did not dress in Jaguares' 1-1 draw wtih Boyaca Chico.  Started and played 82 minutes before being red carded in Jaguares' 2-0 loss to Millonarios.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Queretaro's 2-2 draw with Tigres. Did not dress in Queretaro's win over DC.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Madureira's 2-1 win over Portuguesa RJ.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 4/2.
Igor Juliao - Ferroviária - Brazil - Started and played 90 minutes in Ferroviaria's 2-2 draw with Corinthians.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 69 minutes before being red carded in Palestino's 0-0 draw with Santiago Wanderers.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 4-2 loss to Korona Kielce.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Al Gharafa's 3-2 win over Al WAkrah.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Dressed but did not play in either of Porto B's games.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Defeated Huginn 3-1.
Oriol Rosell - Vitoria (Sporting Club de Portugal)  Portugal - Dressed but did not play in Vitoria's 3-3 draw with Sporting Braga.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - No game until 3/6.
Soony Saad - BEC Tero Sasana - Thailand - No game until 2/27.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Started and played 58 minutes in Deveronvale's 3-0 win over Rothes.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Started and played 80 minutes in Atromitos' 1-1 draw with Levadiakos. Started and played 80 minutes in Atromitos' 4-0 loss to Olympiakos.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

More New Clubs for Former Players - Former SKC Wizards Update

Player movement continues for former Sporting KC players as MLS clubs head to preseason and other clubs have their secondary window open. Four former players have made moves official in just the last week. Jorge Claros has moved from the Chinese second division back to Central America. Instead of joining Honduran club, Olimpia as was rumored, he instead joined Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Meanwhile Rauwshan McKenzie became one of the first players to sign for expansion NASL side, Rayo OKC. Rayo, sharing a name and owners with Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, may have been the last club in the USA's top three tiers to sign a player, less than two months to the start of the season. Two players joined MLS squads as well as Michael Harrington signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Fire and Yura Movsisyan has returned to the league, signing on with Real Salt Lake on a loan deal from Spartak Moscow.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Soony Saad
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - Did not play in Tacoma's 3-2 win over Dallas.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis' 5-3 win over Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - No game this week.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in both Dallas' 3-2 loss to Tacoma and their 9-7 loss to Dallas.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - No game this week.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game until 2/2.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/6.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-1 draw with Cruz Azul.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Belen's 2-1 loss to Saprissa.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 1-0 win over Aizawl.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Costa Rica's 1-0 loss to Uruguay.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Did not play in W Connection's 4-2 win over Police or their 7-1 win over Point Fortin
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Leganes' 4-0 win over Mirandes.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 1-0 loss to Pachuca.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-1 win over Audax Italiano.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game until 2/13.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Game against Inverurie Locos was canceled.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Atromitos' 2-2 draw with Xanthi.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Players Capped as Memebers of Sporting KC

Continuing to update my stats, here are the updated caps for players while they were playing for Sporting Kansas City. Three players joined the list this season as Marcel de Jong, Krisztian Nemeth, and Soni Mustivar appeared for Canada, Hungary, and Haiti respectively this past year. Near the top of the list, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler continue to close in on Josh Wolff, the all time leader for caps for Kansas City. Besler has the chance to get to 30 in this January's national team camp and games against Iceland and Canada. Add that into the Copa America and World Cup qualifiers this year and Besler could find himself moving further up this list in 2016.

Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Graham Zusi - USA - 32 - 3
Matt Besler - 29 - 0
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 26 - 3
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21 - 0
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 19 - 0
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad & Tobago - 16 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Scott Sealy - Trinidad & Tobago - 14 - 1
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 12 - 3
Tony Meola - USA - 12 - 0
Peterson Joseph - Haiti - 11 - 0
Marcel de Jong - Canada - 10 - 1
Craig Rocastle - Grenada - 9 - 0
Sunil Chhetri - India - 9 - 5
Krisztian Nemeth - Hungary - 8 - 2
Martin Steuble - Philippines - 8 - 1
Stephane Auvray - Guadeloupe - 8 - 1
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Mechack Jerome - 7 - 0
Nick Garcia - USA - 6 - 0
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 6 - 0
Soony Saad - Lebanon - 4 - 2
Teal Bunbury - USA - 4 - 1
Jorge Claros - Honduras - 4 - 0
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 3 - 2
Lawrence Olum - Kenya - 3 - 0
Mike Sorber - USA - 3 - 0
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3 - 0
Soni Mustivar - Haiti - 2 - 0
CJ Sapong - USA - 2 - 0
Mark Chung - USA - 2 - 0
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2 - 0
Benny Feilhaber - USA - 2 - 0
Oriol Rosell - Catalonia - 1 - 0
Chris Henderson - USA - 1 - 0
Steve Pittman - USA - 1 - 0
Digital Takawira - Zimbabwe - Unknown

Unfortunately I'm still unable to find numbers for Zimbabwe and for Digital Takawira, someday I will.

Rosell Linked with a Move Back to MLS - Former SKC Wizards Update

Former Sporting KC midfielder Oriol Rosell has found the going hard since his move to Portugal in the summer of 2014. After being a regular contributor in his first season with Sporting CP, Rosell has found himself out of favor and has yet to appear this season for them. Speculation this summer was that Rosell would return to MLS and Kansas City, but that move never materialized. Now the rumors of Rosell's return to MLS are back but a different club this time. Reports out of Portugal have Rosell joining the New England Revolution, who have a partnership with the Portuguese club. To get Rosell though the Revolution would likely need to trade up in the allocation order. Currently the Revolution are 10th and would need nine other clubs to pass on Rosell for the Revs to land him. For what it is worth Sporting KC is one spot behind the Revs at 11th.

Also this week, Jorge Claros may have a new club soon. Claros had played in China this last season after being released by Sporting KC in preseason. Claros has been training with Olimpia in Honduras and looks like he may sign for them ahead of the Clausura season.

Here's the rest of this week's update on a limited week with the majority of former players either in their offseason or on break.

Active without a club or unknown
Jalil Anibaba
Vicente Arze
Jorge Claros
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Nelson Pizarro
Soony Saad
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - No game this week.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in either of St. Louis' games.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - No game this week.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 6-4 win over Saltillo.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Played in Missouri's 6-5 loss to St. Louis.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United - Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - No game until 1/10.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - No game until 1/16.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Season over.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - No game until 1/7.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - No game this week.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - No game until 1/8.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - No game until 1/18.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game until 2/13.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - No game until 2/29.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in Sporting's 3-1 win over Pacos de Ferreira.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Game vs Huntly postponed.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - No game until 1/3.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Gil Signs with Queretaro, Claros Trains with Olimpia - Former SKC Wizards Update

It's a low point in terms of activity for former Sporting KC players around the world when it comes to play on the field. but some players are getting prepared for the new year with moves or training opportunities at new clubs. Luis Gil has signed a deal to move from Real Salt Lake to Queretaro in the Mexican league. Gil had seen his contract with Salt Lake expire before he made his move to Mexico. What this means for Sporting KC is that Kansas City will not the final part of their trade with Salt Lake that they worked out will not occur. When KC had traded Gil to Salt Lake, Sporting received an international roster spot for a couple seasons, a second round draft pick the club used on JT Murray, and 25% of any sell on fee. With Gil leaving Salt Lake on a free, KC will not get anything more from RSL in the deal.

Also it appears that Jorge Claros is looking for a new club. After spending last season in the Chinese second division, Claros is back in Honduras training with traditional power, Olimpia. Claros is looking for another club abroad, but has not ruled out the possibility of playing for Olimpia either.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Jalil Anibaba
Vicente Arze
Jorge Claros
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Nelson Pizarro
Soony Saad
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Atlanta - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - Did not play in either of Tacoma's games.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis' 9-7 loss to Cedar Rapids.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 5-1 win over Harrisburg.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 8-7 win over Brownsville.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Played in the Comets' 8-5 win over Detroit.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United - Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - No game until 1/10.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - No game until 1/16.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Season over.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - No game this week.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Started and played 90 minutes in Leganes' 1-0 Copa del Rey loss to Granada. Came off the bench and played 6 minutes in Leganes' 1-1 draw with Huesca.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - No game until 1/8.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-1 win over Universidad Catolica. Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 4-1 loss to Universidad Catolica.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 3-1 win over Gornik Leczna.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - No game until 2/29.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Did not play in Wuppertaler's 3-0 cup win over Schwarz-Weib Essen.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Started and played 59 minutes in Deveronvale's 1-0 loss to Turriff United.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atromitos' 4-2 cup win over Kallithea. Dressed but did not play in Atromitos' 1-0 win over Panionios.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Five Former KC Players on Gold Cup Rosters - Former SKC Wizards Update

Yesterday the Gold Cup rosters were announced, and along with two KC players being named to rosters, five former KC players were named to rosters. Three of the five will be in same group as the United States with Mechack Jerome and James Marcelin are on the 23 man roster for Haiti while Jorge Claros has been called up for Honduras. In Group B, Pablo Punyed, a former Sporting draft pick has been called up for El Salvador while in Group C, Daneil Cyrus has been called up for Trinidad and Tobago.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Scott Angevine
Federico Bessone
Bobby Convey
Will John
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Carlos Marinelli
Nelson Pizarro
Ivan Trujillo
Konrad Warzycha

MLS
Davy Arnaud - DC - Did not dress in DC's 3-1 win over Pittsburgh. Started and played 88 minutes in DC's 2-1 win over New England.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Did not dress in New England's 1-0 loss to Charlotte. Started and played 78 minutes in New England's 2-1 loss to DC.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Did not dress in Orlando's 4-4 (8-7) PK shootout win over Charleston. Started and played 49 minutes in Orlando's 2-0 loss to Montreal.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in RSL's 2-1 win over KC.
Michael Harrington - Colorado - Did not dress in Colorado's 1-1 draw with Dallas.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-0 win over Houston.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 3-1 win over Richmond.
Chris Konopka - Toronto - Started and played 90 minutes in Toronto's 2-0 loss to NYC.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 2-0 win over Orlando.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Philadelphia's 5-1 loss to LA.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Dressed but did not play in San Jose's 2-0 win over Seattle.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 3-1 win over Richmond.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 45 minutes in New York's 2-1 loss to Vancouver.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - No game this week.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - No game this week.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Atlanta - No game this week.
Kyle Miller - Atlanta - No game this week.

USL
Christian Duke - Oklahoma City - Started and played 73 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Sacramento.
Brian Fekete - Austin - Did not dress in Austin's 2-0 loss to Houston. Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in Austin's 1-1 draw with Tulsa.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Did not play in Sacramento's 2-1 win over OKC.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Did not play in OKC's 2-1 loss to Sacramento.
Mechack Jerome - Charlotte - Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 1-0 win over New England. Started and played 90 minutes in Charlotte's 2-1 win over Charleston.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 80 minutes in Charlotte's 1-0 win over New England. Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Charlote's 2-1 win over Charleston.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Started and played 74 minutes in Arizona's 2-1 win over Seattle.
Tony Rocha - Austin - Started and played 90 minutes in Austin's 2-0 loss to Houston. Started and played 77 minutes in Austin's 1-1 draw with Tulsa.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-1 loss to Sacramento.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-1 loss to Columbus. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 0-0 draw with Harrisburg.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Ontario - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Offseason.
Josh Gardner - Missouri - Offseason.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - Tacoma - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Wichita - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Auerbach - Germany - Offseason
Vicente Arze - Blooming - Bolivia - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Quilmes - Argentina - No game until 7/12.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Reinaldo Brenes - Saprissa - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Mitchell Cardenas - Atlético Coatzacoalcos - Mexico - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - No game this week.
Jorge Claros - Qingdao Jonoon - China - Started and played 90 minutes in Qingdao's 3-1 win over Beijing BIT.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Tied Talleres Remedios 1-1. Lost 2-0 to San Telmo.
Daneil Cyrus - Ha Noi T&T (W Connection) - Vietnam (Trinidad) - Defeated Quang Ninh 5-2.
Toni Dovale - CD Lugo - Spain - Offseason.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - No game until 7/11.
Herculez Gomez - Puebla - Mexico - Offseason.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Offseason.
Jeferson - Boavista - Brazil - Offseason.
Peterson Joseph - Azam FC - Tanzania - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - ABC (Fluminense) - Brazil - Started and played 90 minutes in ABC's 2-0 los to Vitoria.
Igor Kostrov - FK Kyzyl-Zhar - Kazakhstan - Won 1-0 over Bulat-AMT.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Offsason.
Neven Markovic - Servette FC - Switzerland - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - Offseason.
Lawrence Olum - Kedah FA - Malaysia - Tied UiTM 2-2. Defeated UITM 3-1.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - Stjarnan - Iceland - Started and played 90 mintues in Stjarnan's 1-0 loss to KR.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Offseason.
Soony Saad - BCC Tero (loaned from BEC Tero Sasana FC) - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Yann Songo'o - Blackburn - England - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Started and played 90 minutes in Ceres' 6-1 win over Loyola. Started and played 90 minutes in Ceres' 5-0 win over Pachanga.
Milos Stojcev - FK Sarajevo - Bosnia - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

Claros and Marcelin Waived

Sporting KC made some room on their roster today, and opened some international spots as the club announced that they had parted ways with midfielders Jorge Claros and James Marcelin. Claros' exit isn't that surprising after the news on the weekend reporting that he was on his way to China to join Qingdao Jonoon, Marcelin's on the other hand is a little surprising simply because of the fact that the midfielder had just been signed back in December.

With the number of defensive minded midfielders on the roster though, some moves were definitely going to need to be made. Kansas City still has Servando Carrasco, Roger Espinoza, Mikey Lopez, Soni Mustivar, and Paulo Nagamura who all play a more defensive role in the midfield, so making that a little less crowded was something that needed to happen at some point.

Claros' career in KC will be highlighted by two things, Sporting's long pursuit of Claros, the team almost brought him in during the 2013 summer transfer window, but couldn't get him until the summer window this past year. The second thing he'll be remembered for is the three game suspension he picked up for "inappropriate language" late in the season. In the end he made seven appearances in league play, four in the CCL, and one in the playoffs for Kansas City. In the end, Claros really just didn't seem like he was fitting into KC's formation that well. He hadn't played a role so far this preseason having been on duty with the Honduran national team for part of it.

Marcelin had played in KC's first three preseason games against Portland, Tucson, and Colorado, but didn't see the field on Saturday against the Seattle Sounders. At the time that wasn't surprising as Paulo Nagamura and Erik Palmer-Brown also didn't play in the game, similar to Mikey Lopez not playing against Colorado. I'd assumed it was just a case of Peter Vermes wanting to give different guys a look and didn't put much into it at the time.

The departure of the two players opens up two international spots on the roster, giving KC three spots to play with heading into the final weeks of preseason.

Claros Departing Kansas City for China?

Reports out of Honduras today by journalist, Julio César Núñez are that Jorge Claros' time in Kansas City is coming to an end. Núñez is reporting that Claros is headed to join Qingdao Jonoon, of the Chinese League One (the second division in China).

The move, while a little surprising considering that Claros was brought in just this past summer, isn't a huge surprise. Since the end of the 2014 MLS season, Sporting has brought in Servando Carrasco, Roger Espinoza, James Marcelin, and Soni Mustivar, all of whom are more defensive minded midfielders, and when you add in Paulo Nagamura and Mikey Lopez, it was becoming obvious that someone was likely going to be leaving from KC's midfield. Claros along with Lopez were two of only four players (Mustivar and Jon Kempin the other two) on KC's roster who did not play in Sporting's last preseason game against Colorado on Wednesday.

Of the group, Claros was probably on the least sure-footing, he'd had issues adjusting to Sporting's style of play, something that all of Peter Vermes' midseason signings seem to struggle with during their first half a season with the club. But what probably put Claros in the dog house a bit was his three game suspension at the end of the 2014 season for "inappropriate language." The suspension as a whole is still an odd one as there was never really an announcement by the disciplinary committee about it, was never mentioned as happening in a game, and really there was never much said about it. The length of the suspension though matched the length of suspensions for players that used gay slurs, so the assumption is that the suspension was for that.

Claros will depart Kansas City having played just 12 games in all competitions since joining the club, seven in league play, four in the CONCACAF Champions League, and KC's one playoff game this past year. At the end of the season the thought had been that with a full preseason under Vermes that Claros would be able to contribute more in 2015, but if this is true, Vermes seems prepared to move on from the Honduran.

Claros Called Up by Honduras

Sporting KC midfielder, Jorge Claros has been called up by the Honduran national team for a pair of upcoming friendlies against Venezuela. The two teams will play once in Honduas on February 4th and again in Venezuela on February 11th.

With the call up, Claros will join Sporting captain, Matt Besler and goalkeeper, Jon Kempin in missing Kansas City's second preseason game on February 9th against FC Tucson.

Claros will return to Sporting after the second game and should be available for the team's third preseason friendly on the 18th against Colorado.

Most Capped Players While with Sporting KC

Updating another list tonight, the caps players got for their country while a member of Sporting Kansas City. Graham Zusi has moved up to be the second most capped Sporting player, trailing only Josh Wolff. Matt Besler also jumped up the list. And with the return of Roger Espinoza, the potential for someone new to top Wolff in the next few years is certainly there. Three new players joined the list this year, the now departed Martin Steuble played 8 times for the Philippines and scored a goal while Lawrence Olum, made his debut with Kenya this past year, and Jorge Claros who continues to win caps for Honduras.

Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Graham Zusi - USA - 28 - 3
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 25 - 3
Matt Besler - 23 - 0
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21 - 0
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 19 - 0
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad & Tobago - 16 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Scott Sealy - Trinidad & Tobago - 14 - 1
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 12 - 3
Tony Meola - USA - 12 - 0
Peterson Joseph - 11 - 0
Craig Rocastle - Grenada - 9 - 0
Sunil Chhetri - India - 9 - 5
Martin Steuble - Philippines - 8 - 1
Stephane Auvray - Guadeloupe - 8 - 1
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Mechack Jerome - 7 - 0
Nick Garcia - USA - 6 - 0
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 6 - 0
Soony Saad - Lebanon - 4 - 2
Teal Bunbury - USA - 4 - 1
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 3 - 2
Lawrence Olum - Kenya - 3 - 0
Mike Sorber - USA - 3 - 0
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3 - 0
CJ Sapong - USA - 2 - 0
Mark Chung - USA - 2 - 0
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2 - 0
Benny Feilhaber - USA - 2 - 0
Jorge Claros - Honduras - 2 - 0
Oriol Rosell - Catalonia - 1 - 0
Chris Henderson - USA - 1 - 0
Steve Pittman - USA - 1 - 0
Digital Takawira - Zimbabwe - Unknown

As has been the case since I started doing this, I have been unable to find caps for Digital Takawira and his time with Zimbabwe while a member of Kansas City.

Capped Sporting KC Players

Continuing with updating stats ahead of the 2015 season, here are the players that have been capped for their national team that have also played for Kansas City over the years. I've added KC's three newest players that have earned caps, Luis Marin, Krisztian Nemeth, and James Marcelin. All players currently with Kansas City are shown in bold.

USA
Tony Meola - 100
Alexi Lalas - 96 - 9
Chris Henderson - 79 - 3
Mike Burns - 75
Peter Vermes - 67 - 11
Mike Sorber - 67 - 2
Eddie Johnson - 63 - 19
Josh Wolff - 52 - 9
Bobby Convey - 46 - 1
Brian Bliss - 44 - 2
Benny Feilhaber - 41 - 2
Frank Klopas - 40 - 12
Roy Lassister - 30 - 4
Eric Eichman - 29 - 4
Preki - 28 - 4
Graham Zusi - 28 - 3
Jimmy Conrad - 28 - 1
Herculez Gomez - 24 - 6
Mark Chung - 24 - 2
Matt Besler - 23
Chris Klein - 22 - 5
Kerry Zavagnin - 21
Mark Santel - 8 - 1
Davy Arnaud - 7 - 1
John Diffley - 7
John DeBrito - 6
Nick Garcia - 6
Yari Allnut - 5 - 2
Kevin Hartman - 5
Teal Bunbury - 4 - 1
Sasha Victorine - 4 - 1
Steve Pittman - 3
Matt McKeon - 2
Alan Prampin - 2
Ken Snow - 2
CJ Sapong - 2
Diego Gutierrez - 1
Curt Onalfo - 1
Sal Zizzo - 1

Argentina
Claudio Lopez - 58 - 10

Armenia
Yura Movsisyan - 29 - 9

Cameroon
Samuel Ekeme - 32

Canada
Alex Bunbury - 64 - 16
Pat Harrington - 1

Catalonia
Oriol Rosell - 1

Chile
Luis Marin - 8

Denmark
Miklos Molnar - 18 - 2

El Salvador
Pablo Punyed - 16 - 2

Finland
Antti Sumiala - 36 - 9

Grenada
Craig Rocastle - 12 - 1

Guadeloupe
Stephane Auvray - 26 - 2

Haiti
Mechack Jerome - 30 - 1
James Marcelin - 22 - 3
Peterson Joseph - 18
Josué Mayard - 17 - 2

Holland
Dave van den Bergh - 2

Honduras
Jorge Claros - 49 - 3
Roger Espinoza - 42 - 4

Hungary
Krisztian Nemeth - 15 - 1
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - 3

India
Sunil Chhetri - 74 - 43

Jamaica
Onandi Lowe - 65 - 27
Shavar Thomas - 52
Jermaine Hue - 42 - 12
Wolde Harris - 28 - 7
Khari Stephenson - 28 - 3
Peter Isaacs - 15 - 4
Akeem Priestley - 6 - 2

Lebanon
Soony Saad - 4 - 2

Liberia
Dionysius Sebwe - 7

Mexico
Omar Bravo - 65 - 15

Nigeria
Uche Okafor - 34 - 1

Philippines
Martin Steuble - 16 - 2

Puerto Rico
Taylor Graham - 3 - 1

Russia
Igor Simutenkov - 20 - 9

Scotland
Richard Gough - 61 - 6
Mo Johnston - 38 - 14

Serbia and Montenegro
Vuk Rasovic - 5

Sierra Leone
Kei Kamara - 21 - 4

Trinidad and Tobago
Gary Glasgow - 53 -11
Daneil Cyrus - 39
Scott Sealy - 25 - 2
Anthony Noriega - 5

Yugoslavia
Refik Sabanadzovic - 8

Zimbabwe
Vitalis Takawira - 26 - 12

What Happened and Where Do We Go From Here - Midfield

Part three of my look at what happened to Kansas City in the 2014 season and where to look at going forward is taking a look at Kansas City's midfield. While Sporting's midfield wasn't hit nearly as hard by injuries as the defense was, other factors led to Sporting's issues in midfield this season.

The biggest issue for Kansas City ended up coming early in the season. Sporting sold Oriol Rosell, the team's deep lying defensive midfielder to Sporting Portugal in June. Rosell played just seven games for Sporting in the 2014 season before the club approved the transfer. With his departure, Kansas City's passing seemed to go down field. Rosell set an MLS record for passes attempted, completed, and had a 96% passing accuracy in KC's 3-0 win over Montreal this season. Once KC sold him to Portugal, KC never really found a true replacement. The main player that filled in for Rosell was Lawrence Olum. The Kenyan is a decent player, but he's not Rosell and he couldn't fill the shoes that the Spaniard left. Peter Vermes also brought in long term target, Jorge Claros during the summer window. Claros did okay, but not great in his appearances for KC. But really, not many of Vermes' mid-season signings have really ever had much of an immediate impact on the team. Usually it's taken until the next year for those players to step up, play more, and really get into KC's system (see Rosell or Kei Kamara).

In front of whoever was manning the deep role was originally supposed to be Paulo Nagamura. The Brazilian performed well until summer when he again had an ankle injury that caused him to miss 10 games for Kansas City. Once he returned, KC's midfield improved, but he couldn't carry the team out of the slump that it was in for the second half of the season. With Nagamura out, Mikey Lopez, the team's lone Generation Adidas player started to get some more time. Lopez did well, but from the games he's played, the bite that KC has needed out of that position hasn't been present. KC's other midseason signing; Martin Steuble also got a run out in the box-to-box role in KC's system, but didn't have much of a role to play for KC.

Early on in the season, Nagamura had gotten spelled at times by the team's third round draft pick, Alex Martinez. The North Carolina State graduate didn't look out of place, playing in 10 league games, starting three of them, but he was waived by Kansas City in late June without much explanation. Part of the gap in KC's midfield in this role certainly wasn't helped by the illness/injury that caused Peterson Joseph to collapse in practice and not allow him to play again for the club.


In the attacking midfield spot, KC got its most consistent performance for the entire season, with Benny Feilhaber being the main creator out of the midfield for KC. And Feilhaber wasn't just in the attacking role. Throughout the season due to all the injuries and call ups, Feilhaber played all three of KC's midfield positions. His influence in the offense did decrease some as the season went on. Part of this certainly would seem to fall on the sale of Rosell. With Rosell gone and Olum/Claros not being able to fill his shoes, Feilhaber was dropping himself deeper into KC's midfield to collect the ball from the team's defensive midfielder or from center backs. This pushed Nagamura or the box-to-box midfielder into a more advanced role where they may not be as good at creating and/or finishing chances that are created for them. Feilhaber was arguably Kansas City's best player all around over the course of the entire season. In the instances when Feilhaber would drop into deeper roles, many times the attacking role would fall to Graham Zusi. Zusi does well in the center of midfield can work with both sides of the field. But in a way I think it limits his play. I think he does a better job out on the wing where he can look up and see the entire field with one look instead of scanning across the field. It's been his best position for the US national team and I think while good at central midfield is much better for Kansas City when he's out wide.

The team's other four midfielders had little impact on the team this season. Christian Duke spent most of the season on loan to the Oklahoma City Energy as well as dealing with some injury issues. Another midseason signing, Michael Kafari only ever appeared in the team's friendly against Manchester City. Victor Munoz made just one appearance for KC after being picked up on waivers from DC. Munoz started KC's US Open Cup win over Minnesota, but came off in the first half with an injury, although he looked out of his element in the game as well. The fourth, Jimmy Medranda was the most involved with the team this year, appearing in six games, starting one, but played just 137 minutes this season. Like Duke he spent time in OKC with the Energy.

Heading into 2015 there are plenty of changes that could be needed in KC's midfield. One change may well already be set to happen. The return of Roger Espinoza has been rumored for a little while now. Espinoza has returned to the lineup for Wigan Athletic, but with him out of contract this summer a return could still be in the cards. If Espinoza ends up not returning to Kansas City I think Sporting needs to look elsewhere to get a box-to-box midfielder. While Nagamura has done quite well for Kansas City since coming here, he turns 32 early next season. His injury issues over the past two summers have coincided with a drop in form for Kansas City. Espinoza would seem to be the perfect candidate to replace him, but if he can't then another replacement needs to be found because I'm not sure that Lopez is going to be able to play the position the way Vermes wants.

Another question heading into 2015 is the deep midfield position. As I mentioned earlier, the loss of Rosell was a big blow to KC neither Olum nor Claros were able to fill the role well enough. Many people are saying that a deep midfielder needs to be brought in as well. With the addition of Claros in the summer though I'm willing to give him time in 2015 to prove he deserves the role. As I said earlier, most of Vermes' midseason signings do not contribute much or enough in their first half a season in KC. As for Olum, he could very well be taken in the expansion draft if he's exposed. He's a cheap, veteran who has played in Orlando previously and would give them some experience in midfield, especially after defensive midfielder Yordany Alvarez retired.

As for the attacking midfield spot, Feilhaber should be under contract one more year and while he had an MVP year for KC, I'm not sure I'd make an attempt to re-sign him quite yet. It's a question of what he'll do next year in a contract year before you decide to throw money at him to stay.

With the rest of the midfielders, I expect there to be some turnover with some of the end of the bench guys, most will probably come in to preseason next year and have to fight for a roster spot.

Claros Suspended?

Earlier this week, the MLS Disciplinary Committee came out with their fines and suspensions for games this past week. Included in that was a fine for Igor Juliao for hands to the head/face of New England. The only suspension announced was on Colorado Rapids midfielder, Carlos Alvarez for entering the field of play and leaving the technical area as he celebrated a goal by teammate Gabriel Torres.

Then today ahead of Sporting KC's game against DC United, on the Disciplinary Summary on the MLS site stated that Sporting midfielder, Jorge Claros was suspended for 3 games for "inappropriate comments." Shortly after the suspension was pointed out, the suspension disappeared from the league website.

For Sporting's game tonight, Claros was not in the 18 for Sporting, a surprise if he was not suspended. With Aurelien Collin battling a nagging ankle injury most people would have expected Claros to start in midfield with Lawrence Olum starting next to Matt Besler in central defense. Instead Olum was in midfield with Kevin Ellis partnering Besler.

There does appear to be some sort of discipline handed down to Claros even though it's not been announced as coach Peter Vermes answered a question about it when he was asked about it post game tonight. Vermes saying he doesn't know the length, or the reason of the suspension to me feels like a flat out lie. If I'm the head coach of a team and one of the players that I expected to contribute in a game on Friday is suspended, the first question I'm asking the league representative on the phone is "Why?". And being a pain to them until they answer that question. From there my next question would be for how long the player is suspended. I just can't see Vermes not demanding answers to those two questions from the representative of the league who made the call on the suspension.

As for the suspension itself, there are only two things that I can think of that would lead to a suspension for "inappropriate comments." Either Claros said something that was homophobic or racist. Other than those two things I'm not sure that there's something that the league would suspend a player for three games for saying. If the three game suspension stands, Claros' regular season at least is over. Counting tonight's game against DC United, KC had four games left. The Honduran though will miss next Friday's game against the Chicago Fire. The Disciplinary Committee has stated that missing a game on national team duty does not count double as part of a suspension. That means that if the three game suspension stands, the only game that Claros will play between now and the playoffs is the trip to Costa Rica to play Deportivo Saprissa.

Sporting Roster to be Tested again with Call Ups and More Injuries

Sporting KC is going to have more selection issues as the team goes into the final four games of the regular season. Today the team made two announcements about player availability in the final month.

First the team announced that midfielder Jorge Claros had been called up by Honduras for the country's two national team games next week against Mexico (October 9th) and the United States (October 14th). Claros will now miss Sporting's game against the Chicago Fire on October 10th at Sporting Park.

KC also announced today that defender, Erik Palmer-Brown's season is over. The 17 year old home grown player suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot and is done for the year. Palmer-Brown suffered the injury in training today at the team's Swope Park training complex.

While Palmer-Brown hadn't gotten a ton of game time this year, it leaves KC with just six defenders on the roster, one of whom is also the team's current starting defensive midfielder. Another injury or suspension and KC gets into emergency defensive position again. The team currently has just three outside backs with Seth Sinovic, Igor Juliao, and Kevin Ellis. With Jacob Peterson still out injured, the fourth outside back would probably be Sal Zizzo who has played there with Portland. In the center of defense KC just has four available defenders, starters Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, starting defensive midfielder, Lawrence Olum, and then Ellis.

What this means is that some of the team's most tired legs are going to be getting basically all the minutes the rest of the season. Besler and Sinovic have both looked tired in games having played so much already this season. Collin is battling another injury, and Juliao has had some adjusting to do defensively with this team. With Olum getting the majority of his minutes in midfield, the Ellis is going to be the jack of all trades defensively for KC down the stretch. It does lead to the question that many fans have asked since both Ike Opara and Chance Myers went down with season ending injuries, why didn't KC look to bring in another defender to help provide some depth on the back line. Hopefully the team can hold up down the stretch, but the lack of ability to rotate some of the starters a little bit is going to hurt KC in the end.

Updated MLS Player Salaries

The MLS Players' Union today released their updated salaries for the 2014 season. The union usually does this two to three times a year. This year the second release was later in the season than most people expected it to be released.

With it there are some updates to Sporting KC's salaries from earlier in the year.

The biggest changes are for KC's two new designated players, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi. Both saw their base salaries jump to $600,000. Besler jumped from $200,000, Zusi from $365,000. Besler has the largest guaranteed compensation at $633,250 while Zusi is right behind him at $631,388.89.

Sporting's three new signings are also on the list. The lowest of which is midfielder, Michael Kafari making $36,504. Ahead of him is Honduran midfielder, Jorge Claros making $90,000. The highest of KC's midseason acquisitions was Swiss-Filipino midfielder, Martin Steuble who is making $120,000. It bit surprising considering the roles of the two players so far that Steuble is making more than Claros.

With the new salaries, Sporting KC now has the 11th highest payroll in MLS, moving up two spots from where they were when the first salaries came out this year. And according to the numbers, Besler is the 21st highest paid player in the league, Zusi the 22nd.

Sporting KC Sign Jorge Claros and Martin Steuble

Sporting KC announced today the signings of midfielders Jorge Claros and Martin Steuble. The pair of midfielders, both internationals join the club for the second half of the MLS season.

Claros, a Honduran international has been a long time target of Sporting KC. He was pursued by the club during last summer's transfer window, but a deal did not get done to bring the now 28 year old to Kansas City. He has appeared 53 times for his country, the last three of which were at the 2014 World Cup. The Honduran had most recently been playing in his home country with CD Motagua. His time with the club though was split as he spent a year and a half on loan at Hibernian. He's probably most well known for the incident in 2011 when he was shot in the head and played three weeks later for his club.

Claros is a defensive minded midfielder and will help in both Lawrence Olum's and Paulo Nagamura's spots on the field. This gives KC some depth and cover there and also provides the ability for Olum to drop into the center back position if he needs to should KC send up selling Matt Besler in this transfer window. Claros will be available to make his debut this Saturday against the LA Galaxy.

Steuble is a Swiss-Filipino midfielder that was last with FC Wil 1900 in the Swiss second division. He's spent his entire career in the Swiss league, bouncing around a few clubs in the second and first division in his native country. He's started to get more games over the past few years with the likes of Wil and his club before that, Wohlen. 

He'd been on trial with the club for a short while leading up to his signing. Steuble is also an international for his country, having represented the Philippines nine times in his career, scoring one goal in a friendly against Nepal. The dual citizen, along with Claros become the ninth and tenth player on the current KC roster to play for their national team.

The two signings give KC 30 players on their roster. Four of those players though are currently on injured reserve, leaving KC with 26 of their 30 spots full at this time (players on IR do not count against roster numbers but do count against the cap).