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.

Capped as Sporting KC Players

Continuing to update my stats, here is this year's update of players capped while playing with Sporting Kansas City throughout the club's history. There's a new player at the top of the list for Sporting KC, as Graham Zusi became the most capped international while playing with Sporting KC, passing Josh Wolff. Zusi was capped 10 times in 2016, moving him up to 42 caps for his career. He also scored a pair of goals for the USA, giving him five for his national team career. The five goals is good for the second most in KC international history, one goal behind Wolff. Matt Besler also passed Wolff as he too was capped 10 times and finished the year with 39 caps for his international career. Three other Sporting KC players earned caps in 2016, Roger Espinoza earned four caps for Honduras, Marcel de Jong earned one with Canada before his departure from Sporting KC, and Soni Mustivar made three appearances for Haiti after choosing to return to international duty.

Also of note this year, I was able to find some sources that helped me to find out how many caps Vitalis "Digital" Takawira had for Zimbabwe while with Sporting KC. Takawira appeared 11 times for Zimbabwe and scored five times in those 11 games.

Here's the full list.

Graham Zusi - USA - 42 - 5
Matt Besler - USA - 39 - 1
Josh Wolff - USA - 38 - 6
Roger Espinoza - Honduras - 31 - 3
Jimmy Conrad - USA - 28 - 1
Preki - USA - 26 - 4
Kerry Zavagnin - USA - 21 - 0
Shavar Thomas - Jamaica - 20 - 0
Eddie Johnson - USA - 20 - 3
Chris Klein - USA - 17 - 3
Gary Glasgow - Trinidad and Tabago - 16 - 1
Scott Sealy - Trinidad and Tabago - 15 - 1
Khari Stephenson - Jamaica - 15 - 3
Peterson Joseph - Haiti - 12 - 0
Kei Kamara - Sierra Leone - 12 - 3
Tony Meola - USA - 12 - 0
Marcel de Jong - Canada - 11 - 1
Vitalis Takawira - Zimbabwe - 11 - 5
Craig Rocastle - Grenada - 9 - 0
Sunil Chhetri - India - 9 - 5
Stephane Auvray - Guadeloupe - 9 - 1
Krisztian Nemeth - Hungary - 8 - 2
Martin Steuble - Philippines - 8 - 1
Mechack Jerome - Haiti - 7 - 0
Davy Arnaud - USA - 7 - 1
Nick Garcia - USA - 6 - 0
Onandi Lowe - Jamaica - 6 - 4
Uche Okafor - Nigeria - 6 - 0
Soni Mustivar - Haiti - 5 - 0
Jorge Claros - Honduras - 4 - 0
Soony Saad - Lebanon - 4 - 2
Teal Bunbury - USA - 4 - 1
Lawrence Olum - Kenya - 3 - 0
Miklos Molnar - Denmark - 3 - 0
Mike Sorber - USA - 3 - 0
Benny Feilhaber - USA - 2 - 0
CJ Sapong - USA - 2 - 0
Jermaine Hue - Jamaica - 2 - 0
Mark Chung  - USA - 2 - 0
Oriol Rosell - Catalonia - 1 - 0
Chris Henderson - USA - 1 - 0
Steve Pittman - USA - 1 - 0

Former SKC Wizards Update

Here is this week's former Sporting KC player update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 2-0 loss to NYCFC.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Dressed but did not play in New England's 3-1 win over KC.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Toronto. Started and played 64 minutes in Orlando's 1-0 loss to Montreal.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 3-2 win over Philadelphia.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Started and played 90 minutes, recording 2 assists in Vancouver's 4-1 win over Central. Dressed but did not play in Vancouver's 2-1 loss to Seattle.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Did not dress in either of Montreal's games.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Seattle's 1-0 win over Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes in Seattle's 2-1 win over Vancouver.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Dressed but did not play in Chicago's 1-0 loss to Seattle. Did not dress in Chicago's 3-0 loss to Columbus.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Started and played 75 minutes in Portland's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes, recording a goal and an assist in New England's 3-1 win over KC.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal -Dressed but did not play in either of Montreal's games.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Dressed but did not play in NYCFC's 2-0 win over Houston.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Came off the bench and played 14 minutes in RSL's 2-1 loss to San Jose.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Dressed but did not play in either of Orlando's games.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 3-2 loss to New York.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in either of Columbus' games.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Dressed but did not play in New York's 3-2 win over Philadelphia.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Out injured.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 42 minutes in Tampa's 1-1 draw with Miami.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 2-0 loss to New York. Started and played 78 minutes in Carolina's 1-1 draw with OKC.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 0-0 draw with Edmonton. Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 1-0 win over Minnesota.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Started and played 90 minutes in Puerto Rico's 2-1 win over Fort Lauderdale. Started and played 90 minutes in Puerto Rico's 2-1 win over Ottawa.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Started and played 76 minutes in Carolina's 2-0 loss to New York. Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Carolina's 1-1 draw with OKC.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with Carolina.

US
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over LA.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 3-0 win over LA.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 3-2 win over Rio Grande Valley.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 71 minutes in Rochester's 3-1 win over Charlotte.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Started and played 45 minutes in Charlotte's 3-1 loss to Rochester.
Tyler Pasher - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Swope's 3-0 win over LA.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in OKC's 3-2 win over Rio Grande Valley.
Kris Tyrpak - Swope Park - Started and played 87 minutes, scoring a goal in Swope's 3-0 win over LA.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Swope's 3-0 win over LA.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 120 minutes in Richmond's 2-0 loss to Louisville.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Started and played 90 minutes in AFC's 3-0 win over Orgryte.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Defeated Santa Claus 4-2.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Belgrano's 2-1 loss to in the Copa Sudamericana, going out on penalty kicks. Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 1-1 draw with Lanus.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Dressed but did not play in Belen's 2-2 draw with Carmelita.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 1-1 AFC Cup draw with Johor Darul Ta'zim.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 45 minutes in Alajuelense's 1-0 loss to Herediano.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 1-0 loss to Honduras Progreso. Lost 2-1 to Central FC.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-0 win over Granada.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in either of Queretaro's games.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Did not dress in RoPS' 1-1 draw with Mariehamn.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in Fluminense's 3-1 win over Sport Recife.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Started and played 69 minutes in Slavia's 3-1 loss to Neman Grodno.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-1 cup loss to Universidad Catolica. Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-1 losst oUnion Espanola.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Dressed but did not play in RoPS' 1-1 draw with Mariehamn.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - No game this week.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Out injured
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 1-1 draw with FH.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Started and played 71 minutes in Belenenses' 3-1 loss to Chaves.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - No game this week.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - No game this week.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 4-1 win over Sportfreunde Siegen.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 4-1 win over Yeovil Town. Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-1 loss to AFC Wimbledon.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Tied Wick Academy 2-2.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Laos 8-0.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Started and played 56 minutes in Atromitos' 0-0 draw with Xanthi.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Kickers' 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern II.

Bravo and de Jong Join New Clubs - Former SKC Wizards Update

The summer transfer window is open and a pair of former Kansas City players are on the move. First, former Kansas City designated player Omar Bravo has moved back to the United States having just signed with the Carolina Railhawks of the NASL. The 36 year old moves from Chivas in Mexico but will now return to the US. The other move is Marcel de Jong who is returning to MLS. After leaving Kansas City, de Jong had joined the Ottawa Fury of the NASL but has now moved to join the Vancouver Whitecaps. He'll get the opportunity to face his former club three times with league games and the Champions League still to come between KC and Vancouver.

Here is the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Reinaldo Brenes
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Jordi Quintilla
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 0-0 draw with Orlando.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Started and played 64 minutes in New England's 1-0 loss to NYCFC. Started and played 85 minutes, recording an assist in New England's 3-1 win over Columbus.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Came off the bench and played 2 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Houston.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Suspended for New York's 0-0 draw with Portland.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Just signed to Vancouver.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Just traded to Montreal.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 7 minutes in Seattle's 1-0 loss to LA.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Dressed but did not play in Chicago's 1-0 loss to Toronto.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 0-0 draw with New York.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 1-0 loss to NYCFC. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in New England's 3-1 win over Columbus.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Salt Lake.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Came off the bench and played 11 minutes in NYCFC's 1-0 win over New England. Came off the bench and played 10 minutes in NYCFC's 3-1 loss to KC.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in RSL's 1-1 draw with Montreal.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 0-0 draw with New York.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 79 minutes, recording an assist in Philadelphia's 3-0 win over DC.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Suspended for Columbus' 3-1 loss to New England.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 0-0 draw with Portland.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) -Out injured.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Started and played 90 minutes in Tampa's 4-1 loss to Carolina.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Just signed with Carolina.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 2-1 win over Puerto Rico.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Started and played 90 minutes in Carolina's 4-1 win over Tampa.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Did not dress in OKC's 1-0 win over Ottawa.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 1-1 draw with Arizona. Started and played 90 minutes in Swope's 2-0 loss to OKC.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 0-0 draw with San Antonio. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 2-0 win over Swope Park.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 1-1 draw wtih Cincinnati. Started and played 90 minutes in Rochester's 0-0 draw with Orlando.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Came off the bench and played 9 minutes in Charlotte's 2-1 loss to Wilmington.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 0-0 draw with Rochester.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 70 minutes before being red carded in OKC's 0-0 draw with San Antonio. Suspended for OKC's 2-0 win over Swope Park.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 3-0 win over Harrisburg.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Did not dress in any of San Francisco's games.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Did not play in either of St. Louis' games.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - FC Mashhad - Iran - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Defeated Santa Claus 6-1.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Offseason.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Offseason.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Did not dress in Jaguares' 2-1 loss to Atletico Nacional.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 45 minutes in RoPS' 1-1 draw with Shamroc Rovers. Started and played 88 minutes in RoPS' 2-1 win over Inter Turku.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Did not dress in either of Fluminense's games.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Did not dress in Slavia's 2-0 win over Tarpeda.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-0 win over Puerto Montt.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in RoPS' 1-1 draw with Shamrock Rovers. Came off the bench and played 13 minutes in RoPS' 2-1 win over Inter Turku.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar -  Offseason.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 2-1 loss to Valur.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal - Portugal - Offseason.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - Offseason.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Lost to Lampang 3-0. Started and played 90 minutes in Pattaya's 4-2 loss to Sukhothai.
Daniel Salloi - Vasas FC (loan) - Hungary - No game until 7/15.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Offseason.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Defeated Laos 11-0. Defeated Kaya 5-0.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Offseason.

Hajderovic Playing in the PDL - Former SKC Wizards Update

Thanks to Swope Park Rangers General Manager Kurt Austin, we know where Sporting KC draft pick, Faik Hajderovic is playing right now. The fourth round draft pick has signed on to play with the Saint Louis FC U23 team in the PDL. While they're the U23 team for the USL side, Saint Louis FC U23 actually plays in Springfield, MO. The USL side purchased the PDL rights of the Springfield Synergy and rebranded them as their U23 team. The reason for this likely has to do with the fact that St. Louis already has a PDL side, the St. Louis Lions, founded in 2006. The U23 team played their first game of the season last night against the U23 side of the Oklahoma City Energy, falling 4-2.

Here is the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Came off the bench and played 77 minutes in Houston's 1-0 loss to Chicago.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Dressed but did not play in New England's 4-2 loss to Dallas.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 win over Montreal.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 1-0 win over Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 7-0 win over NYCFC.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Came off the bench and played 24 minutes in Seattle's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Did not dress in either of Chicago's games.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Portland's 4-2 win over Vancouver.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 4-2 loss to Dallas.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Did not dress in Montreal's 2-1 loss to Orlando.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Did not dress in NYCFC's 1-1 draw with Toronto. Started and played 90 minutes in NYCFC's 7-0 loss to New York.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 89 minutes, scoring a goal in Salt Lake's 3-1 win over KC.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in Portland's 4-2 win over Vancouver.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 1-0 win over DC.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 0-0 draw with Toronto.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in New York's 1-0 win over Chicago. Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 7-0 win over NYCFC.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Started and played 70 minutes in Minnesota's 4-2 loss to Indy.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Dressed but did not play in Tampa's 2-1 loss to New York.
Marcel de Jong - Ottawa - Started and played 90 minutes in Ottawa's 2-0 loss to Edmonton in the Canadian Championship. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Ottawa's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Did not dress in Jacksonville's 1-0 loss to Ottawa.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Did not dress in Carolina's 1-0 loss to Edmonton.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Dressed but did not play in OKC's 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope Park's 4-1 loss to Rio Grande Valley.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 120 minutes in OKC's 0-0 (10-9) shootout win over Mississippi Brilla. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over San Antonio. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 3-1 win over Real Monarchs.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 62 minutes in Rochester's 7-0 win over Southie FC. Came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Rochester's 2-1 loss to Orlando.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not play in Charlotte's games.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Orlando's 2-1 win over Rochester.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 120 minutes in OKC's 0-0 (10-9) shootout win over Mississippi Brilla. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-0 win over San Antonio. Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 3-1 win over Real Monarchs.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 4-0 win over Aromas Cafe. Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 0-0 draw with Louisville.

PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Started and played 83 minutes in San Francisco's 2-1 win over Ventura County.
Faik Hajderovic - St. Louis U23 - Started and played 60 minutes in Saint Louis' 4-2 loss to OKC Energy U23.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in YPA's 4-2 loss to VIFK.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 1-0 win over Rosario Central.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Offseason.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - No game this week.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Defeated Club Sando 5-2.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 3-2 loss to Huesca.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Did not dress in Jaguares' 2-0 loss to Rionegro Aguilas.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Offseason.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 69 minutes in RoPS' 1-0 loss to VPS.
Igor Juliao - Ferroviária - Brazil - Offseason.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Started and played 90 minutes in Slavia's 1-0 win over Neman Grodno.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Offseason.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Offseason.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Dressed but did not play in RoPS' 1-0 loss to VPS.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Offseason.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 3-0 loss to Vikingur Reykjavik.
Oriol Rosell - Vitoria (Sporting Club de Portugal)  Portugal - Offseason.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - Lost 7-6 to 1.FC Sand.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Started and played 90 minutes in Pattaya's 6-0 loss to Ratchaburi.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 3-1 win over TSV Meerbusch.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Dressed but did not play in Saarbrucken's 3-0 win over Kickers Offenbach.

Okugo Signs with Portland - Former SKC Wizards Update

After trialing with DC United and the New York Red Bulls, and being loaned to the Red Bulls USL side, Amobi Okugo finally has a new club. The defender/midfielder, who spent the second half of 2015 in Kansas City signed with the Portland Timbers this past week. He becomes another reclamation project for Caleb Porter in Portland to go along with Darren Mattocks.

Here is the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Faik Hajderovic
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Victor Munoz
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 3-1 loss to San Jose. Dressed but did not play in Houston's 1-0 win over Salt Lake.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Did not dress in New England's 2-0 win over Chicago.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 2-1 loss to KC.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 2-0 loss to DC.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Started and played 66 minutes in Seattle's 2-0 loss to Dallas.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Started and played 62 minutes in Chicago's 2-1 loss to Vancouver. Started and played 90 minutes in Chicago's 2-0 loss to New England.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-1 loss to Dallas. Started and played 90 minutes in Portland's 2-1 loss to NYCFC.
Kei Kamara - New England - Started and played 90 minutes in New England's 2-0 win over Chicago.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 1-1 draw with Philadelphia.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Started and played 90 minutes in NYCFC's 2-1 win over Portland.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in RSL's 1-0 loss to Houston.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Did not dress in either of Portland's games.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Started and played 90 minutes in Philadelphia's 2-2 draw with LA. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Philadelphia's 1-1 draw with Montreal.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Did not dress in Columbus' 1-1 draw with Colorado.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 90 minutes in New York's 2-0 loss to DC.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Started and played 76 minutes in Minnesota's 2-0 win over Jacksonville.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Did not dress in Tampa's 1-1 draw with OKC.
Marcel de Jong - Ottawa - Started and played 90 minutes, recording an assist in Ottawa's 3-0 Canadian Championship win over Edmonton.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 2-0 loss to Minnesota.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Did not dress in Carolina's 0-0 draw with Miami.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Dressed but did not play in OKC's 1-1 draw with Tampa.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope Park's 2-1 win over Tulsa.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with San Antonio.
Ryan James - Rochester - Started and played 73 minutes in Rochester's 0-0 draw with Charlotte.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 0-0 draw with Rochester.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - No game this week.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 1-1 draw with San Antonio.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 82 minutes in Richmond's 1-0 loss to Toronto. Did not dress in Richmond's 1-1 draw with New York.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - Started and played 83 minutes in Siah's 2-0 win over Malavan.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Started and played 90 minutes in YPA's 5-1 loss to OPS.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 1-0 loss to Godoy Cruz.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Chivas' 0-0 draw with America. Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-1 loss to America.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Offseason.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 73 minutes in Bengaluru's 3-0 loss to Johor Darul Ta'zim.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 90 minutes in Alajuelense's 2-0 loss to Herediano.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Defeated St. Ann's Rangers 3-0.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 0-0 draw with Gimnastic Tarragona.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Did not dress in Jaguares' 3-2 loss to Deportivo Cali.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Offseason.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Came off the bench and played 9 minutes in RoPS' 1-0 loss to KuPS.
Igor Juliao - Ferroviária - Brazil - Did not dress in Ferroviaria's 3-0 loss to Fluminense.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Slavia's 2-2 draw with Belshina.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Offseason.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in either of Lechia's games.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Dressed but did not play in RoPS' 1-0 loss to KuPS.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Offseason.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Porto B's 3-1 loss to Vitoria Guimaraes II.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 1-1 draw wtih Vikingur Olafsvik. Started and played 90 minutes in IBV's 3-0 win over Fylkir.
Oriol Rosell - Vitoria (Sporting Club de Portugal)  Portugal - Did not dress in Vitoria's 2-2 draw with Arouca.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - Lost 4-0 to TSV Grobbardorf.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Did not dress in Pattaya's 2-1 win over BEC Tero Sasana. Started and played 90 minutes in Pattaya's 2-1 loss to Muang Thong United.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game this week.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Did not dress in Saarbrucken's 1-0 loss to Hessen Kassel.

Kamara Traded to New England - Former SKC Wizards Update

Less than a season after being a finalist for the league MVP award, Kei Kamara has been traded to the New England Revolution for TAM, GAM, two draft picks, and an international roster spot. While there is likely a longer list of what led to the trade, the tipping point occurred this weekend when Kamara, on a hattrick was not allowed to take a penalty kick to try to score his first professional hattrick. After the game Kamara laid into his team and specifically Federico Higuain, who had taken the penalty instead of him. Kamara doubled down on the comments over the next few days and continued to burn bridges in Columbus. With the MLS transfer window closing at midnight early Thursday morning there was a push to get a deal done, and apparently just before midnight New England and Columbus came to a deal.

Elsewhere, on loan defender, Erik Palmer-Brown and Porto B clinched the Portuguese second division with a 3-1 win over Benfica B. Palmer-Brown has worked himself into a starting spot with the club and has been a consistent starter since coming over on loan.

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

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jamar Beasley
Brian Fekete
Faik Hajderovic
Michael Kafari
Chris Konopka
Kyle Miller
Victor Munoz
Amobi Okugo
Akeem Priestley
Yann Songo'o

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Started and played 90 minutes in Houston's 2-0 win over KC.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes in New England's 4-2 loss to LA.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Came off the bench and played 2 minutes in Orlando's 1-1 draw with New York.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Started and playd 90 minutes in New York's 1-1 draw with Orlando.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Started and played 85 minutes in Seattle's 2-0 win over San Jose.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - No game this week.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Dressed but did not play in Portland's 2-1 loss to Vancouver.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring 2 goals in Columbus' 4-4 draw with Montreal.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Dressed but did not play in Montreal's 4-4 draw with Columbus.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Started and played 90 minutes in NYCFC's 2-0 win over DC.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Started and played 90 minutes in Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Colorado.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - No game this week.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Started and played 90 minutes in Columbus' 4-4 draw with Montreal.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Started and played 89 minutes in New York's 1-1 draw with Orlando.

NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Came off the bench and played 24 minutes in Minnesota's 2-2 draw with Ottawa.
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - No game this week.
Marcel de Jong - Ottawa - Came off the bench and played 45 minutes, scoring a goal in Ottawa's 2-2 draw with Minnesota.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 1-0 loss to Edmonton. Started and played 90 minutes in Jacksonville's 1-0 loss to OKC.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Started and played 75 minutes in Carolina's 3-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Dressed but did not play in OKC's 1-0 win over Jacksonville.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Started and played 90 minutes in Swope Park's 3-0 loss to St. Louis.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 0-0 draw with Arizona.
Ryan James - Rochester - Came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Rochester's 3-2 win over Charleston.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Did not dress in Charlotte's 1-0 win over Montreal.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Started and played 90 minutes in Orlando's 3-1 loss to Cincinnati. Started and played 84 minutes in Orlando's 2-2 draw wtih Bethlehem.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Started and played 90 minutes in OKC's 0-0 draw with Arizona.
Yomby William - Richmond - Started and played 90 minutes in Richmond's 1-0 win over Wilmington.

Indoor
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Offseason.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Offseason.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Offseason.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - Started and played 90 minutes in Siah's 3-1 loss to Zob Ahan.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Started and played 90 minues in YPA's 2-1 loss to Kraft. Started and played 90 minutes in YPA's 3-0 loss to TP-47.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 2-1 loss to Atletico Tucuman.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 5 minutes in Chivas' 1-0 win over Santos Laguna.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Belen's 1-1 draw wtih Herediano.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - No game this week.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 77 minutes in Alajuelense's 3-1 win over Saprissa. Started and played 90 minutes in Alajuelense's 1-0 loss to Herediano.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Lost 1-0 to Defence Force.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Dressed but did not play in Leganes' 2-2 draw wtih Numancia.
Pablo Escobar - Jaguares de Córdoba - Colombia - Did not dress in either of Jaguares' games.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 3-1 loss to Puebla.
Jeferson - Madureira EC - Brazil - Offseason.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Started and played 67 minutes in RoPS' 0-0 draw wtih Lahti. Started and played 68 minutes in RoPS' 1-1 draw wtih HIFK.
Igor Juliao - Ferroviária - Brazil - Did not dress in Ferroviaria's 3-3 draw wtih Fluminense.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Started and played 90 minutes in Slavia's 0-0 draw with Dinamo Brest.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Offseason.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - Did not dress in Lechia's 2-1 win oer Ruch Chorzow.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Dressed but did not play in RoPS' 0-0 draw with Lahti. Came off the bench and played 11 minutes in RoPS' 1-1 draw with HIFK.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Lost 3-2 to Al Sadd in the Emir Cup.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Started and played 90 minutes in Porto B's 3-1 win over Benfica B.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Did not dress in IBV's 2-0 loss to Fjolnir.
Oriol Rosell - Vitoria (Sporting Club de Portugal)  Portugal - Did not dress in Vitoria's 4-1 win over Moreirense.
Brendan Ruiz - DJK Don Bosco Bamberg - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Don Bosco's 4-1 loss to SpVgg Bayern Hof.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Did not dress in Pattaya's 2-0 win over Osotspa.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Wuppertaler's 1-1 draw wtih MSV Duisburg II.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Offseason.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - Did not dress in either of Saarbrucken's games.

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.

Sporting KC and De Jong Agree to Terminate Contract

Sporting Kansas City cut their roster down to 25 today with the announcement that the team had agreed to terminate the contract of Canadian outside back, Marcel de Jong. De Jong was one of three players, along with Bernardo Anor and Amobi Okugo who did not join Sporting KC for the second phase of preseason in Tucson, Arizona. Anor was sent on loan to Minnesota United for the 2016 season while Okugo was waived. Now Anor is gone as well, as Sporting trims some excess cap space off their roster for players that weren't likely to contribute much in 2016.

De Jong had appeared in 13 league games for Kansas City, starting 11 of them while also making a pair of substitute appearances in the US Open Cup. The Canadian international had been brought in to provide competition for Seth Sinovic at the left back position for Kansas City and also had the ability to play on the left wing. With a history of playing in the Netherlands and Germany the thought had been he'd either push Sinovic out or push him to a higher level. In the end though de Jong made only four league appearances after the beginning of July, starting three times, two of those starts though were on the left wing, not at the left back position. Instead de Jong lost minutes to Sporting KC rookie Amadou Dia who acclimated himself quite well to MLS in his rookie year. Even when Sinovic was out with a concussion, de Jong was only able to make four league appearances for KC.

As the season wore on it became apparent that de Jong was surplus goods and a return in 2016 was always unlikely. The question became whether KC could get anything for him. The obvious suggestion would be to try to trade him to a Canadian team, where he wouldn't take up an international spot, but with his salary being $180,000 and all three Canadian clubs already having starters at the left back position (Toronto Justin Morrow, Montreal Donny Toia, and Vancouver Jordan Harvey) a trade seemed unlikely. Getting other clubs to utilize an international spot was probably a draw back for American clubs.

Sporting now have three roster spots available to them as they head into the 2016 season, but have cut out some of the "excess fat" to probably make them a stronger team in the end.

De Jong on His Way Out?

Outside back is one area on the field that Sporting KC is quite deep in heading into the 2016 season. Specifically at left back where Kansas City has veteran Seth Sinovic, who has been with the club since 2011, Amadou Dia, one of KC's three first round picks in the 2015 Superdraft, Marcel de Jong, the Canadian international, and even the likes of Saad Abdul Salaam, normally a right back and Jimmy Medranda who played there a couple times last season. Needless to say, if there was an area on the field that KC could look to downsize to upgrade in other areas outside back would seem to be a prime location.

Reports out of Canada are that KC is set to do just that in the near future as Sporting's Canadian left back, Marcel de Jong has been told he's no longer in the team's plans. While to an extent I question that, especially with de Jong still in KC training with the team according to his Instagram, it's not that far fetched to think he wouldn't be back with KC in 2016. If de Jong is indeed out it wouldn't be incredibly surprising, he made 11 starts for Sporting KC in the 2015 season, but only two of those came after August first, and both of those games were at left wing, not left back. When Sinovic was out for extended periods of time de Jong was left behind the rookie Dia for much of the time, including KC's playoff game against the Portland Timbers when KC started a pair of rookies at the outside back positions. KC then went and re-signed Sinovic early in the offseason to bring him back, which would seem to keep de Jong buried on the depth chart at left back.

Even the position de Jong started his final two games last season, left wing, is not thin for KC. Even with the departure of Krisztian Nemeth, Kansas City has Brad Davis and Justin Mapp as a likely platoon at that position for much of the season.

Of the players currently on KC's roster he has to be one of the ones in the most precarious situation with the team. He made $180,000 last season for KC, not exactly a great return for that amount as de Jong played in only 13 games, adding a goal and an assist to his 11 starts I'd previously mentioned. All offseason almost it just seems like it made too much sense to get de Jong off the roster with his salary, lack of playing time, and his holding an international roster spot. If he is gone, one would hope that KC would be able to get something for him, maybe a trade to one of the Canadian clubs would work in KC's favor.

De Jong Called up by Canada

Another Sporting Kansas City player has been called up by his national team ahead of January friendlies. Marcel de Jong has been called up by the Canadian national team for a camp ahead of a friendly against the United States on February 5th. The call up means that de Jong will join Matt Besler and potentially Roger Espinoza in missing the first portion of preseason camp for the 2016 MLS season. Canada are using the match up as a chance to test new players and prepare for World Cup qualifying to restart for them in March when they'll play a pair of games against Mexico.

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.

Season Review - Defenders - Once Again Injuries Plague the Back Line

Continuing to work up from the back on our review of the Sporting Kansas City season, we reach the defense. You can read my review of the goalkeeper position here. Sporting's defense in 2015 suffered one of the main issues that plagued the team during their 2014 run. Injuries were a big issue for the team with Chance Myers, Ike Opara, and Seth Sinovic, all three considered starters, missed considerable time due to different injuries. At one point in the season, KC had the best defensive record in the league, allowing the fewest goals in the league. Unfortunately after the 5-0 drubbing by San Jose, KC started leaking goals the rest of the season, allowing 20 over their last 12 games to finish the season with 45 goals against, the fourth most in the Western Conference.

The Players

Saad Abdul-Salaam - KC's second of three first round picks in the 2015 Superdraft, Abdul-Salaam started the season on loan with Jon Kempin at San Antonio, before being recalled in mid-May after starting five games for the NASL club. With injuries and squad rotation, Abdul-Salaam was able to get plenty of time over the course of the season at both left and right back as well as some time at winger to kill time late in some games. Abdul-Salaam improved so much over the course of the season that he displaced Jalil Anibaba who had started the 2015 season at right back with Chance Myers still recovering from injury. He finished second among KC's three rookies with 1,074 minutes played in league play, but down the stretch seemed at times to be preferred over his counterpart, Amadou Dia, even at left back.

Jalil Anibaba - Anibaba started the season as KC's starting right back after coming to the club as part of the Aurelien Collin trade with Orlando City. Anibaba did well enough for KC defensively and gave KC a big body for set pieces that helped in KC's 3-2 win over Philadelphia early in the season. He picked up a quadricep injury in early July that limited him the rest of the season. He only made one start after KC's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on 6/21, and that was against Seattle at home when KC rested the majority of their starters for the US Open Cup final. He made just two other appearances after his injury, both substitution appearances. His injury combined with the emergence of Abdul-Salaam to play right back made him a bit expendable.

Matt Besler - Despite the number of goals that KC allowed this year, Besler, Sporting KC's captain, may have had his best season with the club. He didn't get a ton of credit, but Besler took on a much larger role defensively this year. With Collin traded in the offseason, Ike Opara going down injured again, along with Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic, Besler at times had a lot more recovery work to do in settling the defense and keeping it organized, sometimes with two rookies and a converted wing back, and some times with a pair of rookies and a teenager with him. He did so playing the most league games he has since 2011. He also set a career high for assists this year, with only one coming from one of his long throws.

Marcel de Jong - 2015 probably wasn't the year that de Jong envisioned when he came to MLS. The Canadian international played in just 13 games for KC, starting 11 of them. Similar to Anibaba, de Jong saw his time late in the season really shrink. He made just three appearances for KC after the beginning of August, starting two games and coming on as a substitute in the 5-0 thrashing by San Jose. Like Anibaba with the emergence of Abdul-Salaam and Dia, de Jong could become expendable, but that may also depend on the long term health of Sinovic.

Amadou Dia - KC's other defensive rookie played the most minutes of any of KC's three first round picks, playing 1,317 minutes. Like his rookie counterpart, Abdul-Salaam, Dia kept more experienced wingbacks on the bench as the season went on with his play. Dia's minutes actually fell late in the season, like de Jong and Anibaba, as he lost minutes to Sinovic and Abdul-Salaam, but in the playoffs with both Sinovic and Myers hurt, Peter Vermes went with his two rookie outside backs. It speaks well of the strides that both players made in their rookie season.

Kevin Ellis - Speaking of strides, there's probably not one player on this list that made as big of strides this year as Ellis. KC's second homegrown player was once again thrust into a large number of minutes in 2015 due to injury. Once Opara went down, Ellis became Kansas City's starting center back next to Besler. Ellis played in a career high, 30 games, starting 28 of them, and played the fourth most minutes on the team, 2,335, behind only Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Dom Dwyer. And despite being listed at only 5'9", he was a major threat on set pieces, scoring four league goals this past year, good for fourth on the team, and added another in the playoffs, all with his head off of set pieces. For all the good work he did though he was also a point of contention with his play as he had poor play during the season which were really apparent because of the way KC played out of the back, either with poor passing or some poor choices when he would make runs forward. I think a lot of the anger though came from the fact that he was a converted wingback and KC didn't bring in another true central defender when Opara went down.

Chance Myers - Missed the first few months of the 2015 season still recovering from his Achillies tear that he suffered in 2014. When he did return, Myers was solid, but still struggled with some other injuries. He was limited to just 10 starts and 13 appears for KC. At times he still looked to be a step slower than his top speed before the injury, which isn't incredibly surprising given the nature of it. Next season is going to be big for Myers with a full preseason to continue to work back fully from his lingering injuries, and with the likes of Abdul-Salaam coming along last year he'll certainly be pushed for minutes.

Ike Opara - Looked set for a monster break out season in 2015, and fulfilling the potential that saw him go third overall in the 2010 MLS Superdraft. He was KC's leading goalscorer early in the season was a massive threat on set pieces and was a solid partner for Besler in defense. Unfortunately he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the sixth game of the season and his year was done. It's the four time in his five pro seasons that Opara has missed significant time with an injury. He's certainly a strong, very capable defender, but his inability to keep healthy is a risk that KC has to be running low on patience for. It's what made acquiring him from San Jose so cheap. I don't doubt that Opara will be back in 2016, but I think he's going to have a lot of competitions for the starting spot next to Besler next year. And if he does win it, he's going to be on a short leash. Another long term injury and he'll be gone.

Erik Palmer-Brown - Sporting KC's youngest player had a career high in games played (7), started (4), and minutes (376). He missed time in 2015 while with the US U20 team at the U20 World Cup as well as other tournaments. when KC was struggling though Palmer-Brown had been unable to displace Ellis next to Besler in central defense. A bit of a concern, but the kid is still just 18. The hope at this point has to be that he either has a Matt Miazga break out season for Sporting or that he is loaned to the Swope Park Rangers to get regular playing time like will hopefully happen to Jon Kempin.

Seth Sinovic - Like his partner on the other wing, Myers, Sinovic missed quite a bit of time this year with injury. A concussion against DC United in early May caused him to miss the majority of the season as he didn't return until late August. When he did return though Sinovic didn't seem to be at the same level that he'd been at pre-injury. Judgment and speed just seemed a little off for him after the injury. Hopefully a full offseason and preseason will see him get back to his old level. But like Myers, he has a young player behind him in Dia that looks ready to step up.

Looking towards 2016

Robb Heineman stole a bit of my thunder yesterday when he mentioned how the team needed to find a high-quality center back. With Opara's injury history I'm not sure how much you can rely on him to be able to go in 2016. I'd like to have higher hopes for him, but he hasn't given much of a reason to with his injuries. He's a good player and would help out KC a lot if he was healthy. But that if has gotten a lot bigger as the years have gone on. And while Ellis didn't do a horrible job at center back, his position is one that Sporting really needs to look to upgrade in the offseason if they're wanting to compete for more trophies in 2016.

I'd like to see Palmer-Brown get more time next year, everyone from the club to the national team coaches talk up his ability and his high ceiling, in 2016 I'd hope we'd get to see more of it. He's shown flashes at times, but needs more game play to really step up. That seems more likely to happen at the USL level with the Rangers at this point though.

The other area that I think KC needs to address a little bit in the offseason is their depth at outside back. Not necessarily needing to add more to it, but actually to reduce some of the players the team currently has. At this time KC has six players currently whose primary position with the team is outside back. With Abdul Salaam, Anibaba, de Jong, Dia, Myers, and Sinovic all predominately outside backs, there's probably some space to cut some fat and cap space there. Outside Abdul-Salaam and Dia, they're all making over $100,000, ranging from Anibaba's $120,000 to de Jong's $180,000. Myers and Sinovic both have tenure with the team on their side, but Myers' injury issues again coming up and Sinovic's play post concussion have to give at least a little pause. Anibaba meanwhile is the least expensive of the experienced outside backs and did good, but not exceptional at that position early in the season. With de Jong, if he provides a lot more to the attack than the other five do, and is also able to play the wing position as he did against Columbus this year. At the same time, de Jong's Canadian citizenship may make him the most appealing trade, specifically for the Canadian clubs.

In the end, heading into 2016, KC needs to look to add a center back who can at the least be a replacement for Ellis and at best push and potentially beat out Opara for the starting job. Out wide it becomes a matter of needing to probably shed at least one of their outside backs.

Sporting's CONCACAF Internationals Go Winless

Sporting KC's three CONCACAF internationals all started last night for their countries in World Cup qualifiers, unfortunately though none of them were able to pick up a win. Matt Besler, Marcel de Jong, and Soni Mustivar all started for the US, Canada, and Haiti in the second match of the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. The US and Canada had both picked up wins in their first game while Haiti had lost on the road to Costa Rica in their first game.

Last night it was the first road game for both the US and Canada. The US took on Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain. Besler started for the US again, partnering Geoff Cameron in the middle of the USA's defense. The pair was solid for the US all night working to keep Trinidad striker Kenwyne Jones in check. At the other end of the field though the USA struggled offensively. It certainly wasn't a pretty game for the US and ended 0-0, but they'll take the point on the road and will remain strong favorites to advance out of the group.

Canada's first road trip was in San Salvador where they played an El Salvador team that has players on strike. De Jong once again started at left back for Canada as they too escaped with a road point. Like the US, Canada now has four points from their first two games. They now sit second in their group behind Mexico, who has six points.

Mustivar and Haiti weren't as lucky at home against Jamaica. After a strong Gold Cup it was thought that Haiti could make Group B a real group of death in CONCACAF that could see Costa Rica or Panama upset and not make the Hex. Haiti though suffered a 1-0 loss at home last night in Port-au-Prince to Jamaica which now leaves them rooted at the foot of the group after two games. Mustivar started for the Haitians in his traditional midfield position.

Qualifying is now done until March when the US will take on Guatemala in a pair of games, Canada will play Mexico, and Haiti will play Panama.

Sporting Internationals Go 3-1 in First Games of Break

Sporting Kansas City's four internationals on duty with their national team went 3-1 over the last two days as the international break kicked off.

The first game occurred yesterday when Kristian Nemeth and Hungary kicked off their European Championship playoff in Oslo, Norway against the Norwegians. Norway controlled the game at home, but a goalkeeping error by Orjan Nyland allowed Laszlo Kleinheisler to score on his debut with the senior national team. The Hungarian defense held out and Hungary took a 1-0 lead back to Budapest for their game on Sunday. A win, a draw, or a one goal loss when Hungary scores will see them through to next summer's Euros. Nemeth went 90 minutes for Hungary in the win.

The other three games all occurred tonight. Sporting's captain, Matt Besler started the game for the US national team in St. Louis against St. Vincent and Grenadines. Things didn't start well as the US fell behind 1-0 early, but the US came back though and scored six unanswered to win 6-1. Besler had a couple chances himself to score his first international goal, including a flick on header that hit the cross bar. Late on Besler actually moved up into the midfield and played much more advanced than any KC fan has seen him play after Jermaine Jones picked up an injury after the US had used all three substitutions. The US will now travel to Trinidad for a game early next week against Trinidad and Tobago.

Up in Vancouver, Marcel de Jong started for the Canadian national team as they were able to exercise some of their demons from last cycle against Honduras. The last time the two teams had met in World Cup qualifiers Canada just needed a draw to advance to the "Hex" but ended up getting destroyed 8-1 and were eliminated from the World Cup. Canada though got a deflected goal by Cyle Larin and the Canadian defense shut down Honduras to pick up a 1-0 win. Canada now gets to travel to El Salvador for their second game.

The lone loss from the first set of internationals came from Soni Mustivar and Haiti as they played on the road against Costa Rica. Mustivar started the game on the bench for Haiti. Costa Rica scored in the 29th minute to take a 1-0 lead. On the hour mark Mustivar was inserted into the game for Haiti for they were unable to find an equalizer and fell 1-0 on the road. Haiti will now get to host Jamaica in their second game in the group.

Trio of Sporting Players Called Up

A couple days ago it was announced that Sporting KC midfielder, Soni Mustivar would be joining up with the Haitian national team ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Today it was announced that three more Sporting KC players will be representing their country next week during the international break.

Sporting KC's captain, Matt Besler is back with the US national team for the beginning of their World Cup qualifying campaign next week. The US will begin play in Group 3 on Friday the 13th in St. Louis at Busch Stadium when they take on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the second game will occur four days later on the 17th in Port of Spain as the US take on Trinidad and Tobago. The last team in the USA's group is Central American side, Guatemala. Besler will look to add to his total of 27 caps, which is currently second on the team among active players for caps behind teammate Graham Zusi.

Also in World Cup qualifying, Marcel de Jong will be joining back up with Canada as they continue their World Cup qualifying campaign. Canada begins play hosting Honduras on November 13th in Vancouver before traveling to San Salvador to take on El Salvador. The final team in Canada's Group 1 is Mexico.

The final call up for Kansas City is Krisztian Nemeth who has been called up by Hungary for their UEFA Euro 2016 playoff against Norway. After finishing third in Group F in qualifying, Hungary just missed out on qualifying automatically as the best third place team. Unfortunately since they finished one point behind Turkey in that regard, Hungary now go into the playoffs. Hungary will play the first leg, in Oslo, Norway on Thursday, November 12th and then host the return leg in Budapest on Sunday the 15th. The winner of the head to head series will qualify for the Euros. Hungary is looking to qualify for their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup.

Ups and Downs for Sporting Internationals

Four Sporting KC players were on national team duty this week. The three important games have all taken place with only one game left.Krisztian Nemeth and Hungary had their European Cup qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Greece, and Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, and the US had the CONCACAF Cup against Mexico. The one game left is Marcel de Jong and Canada's friendly against Ghana. Besler and Zusi will be returning to KC ahead of their game on Friday against San Jose and will not be participating in the USA's friendly against Costa Rica on Tuesday.

For Nemeth and Hungary it was a big week with a pair of European qualifiers. In their first game against the Faroe's, Nemeth started on the bench for Hungary in Budapest. An early goal by the Faroe's put Hungary in the whole early. When they were still trailing at half time Nemeth and Daniel Bode were both inserted into the game. The moves paid off as Bode scored twice to help Hungary to a 2-1 win. The win combined with Romania's draw with Finland saw Hungary clinch at least second place.

Today Nemeth started for Hungary in their final group game in Greece. With Greece guaranteed to finish last in the group, this game only mattered for Hungary if Romania fell on the road against the Faroe Islands. Unfortunately for Hungary around the same time they fell behind 1-0 to Greece  Romania was grabbing a lead themselves. Romania ended up rolling to a 3-0 win clinching second place in the group. Hungary and Greece put on a good show. Before half time Hungary was level off a header. In the second half Hungary took the lead as Nemeth scored his second career international goal. Unfortunately minutes later Greece equalized to level the game at 2-2. Nemeth though again found the back of the net for his second goal of the game to again give Hungary the lead. Getting to three goals seemed a safe bet for Hungary grabbing all three points as they'd only allowed five goals in the previous nine games. But the Greeks again equalized shortly after Nemeth had put Hungary up 3-2. The Greeks continued to search for a winner and with less than five minutes left scored to make it 4-3 to the Greeks. While the loss doesn't hurt Hungary in terms of the standings it is still a disappointing result.

Now Hungary plays the waiting game to see if they qualify automatically as the best third place team or have to go through another stage of qualifiers. Currently Hungary sits at the top of the standings but only two teams can surpass them for points. The Ukraine who host Spain on Monday are one of them. If Spain can keep Ukraine from winning, Hungary will finish ahead of them.

The other result that Hungary needs in group A. Here there are a few results that could go Hungary's way. Turkey could lose to Iceland at home which would mean that they'd finish with with either nine or 13 points against the top five teams in the group. The other result is if Turkey ends up beating Iceland. If that happens, Hungary needs Latvia to not lose at home to Kazakhstan. A loss would see Kazakhstan jump above Latvia and into fifth place in the group. That would give Turkey four extra points as Turkey had two draws against Latvia and two wins vs Kazakhstan and bump them to 16 points against the top five teams in their group.

For the US things were a lot worse. Besler started in central defense against Mexico at the Rose Bowl in the CONCACAF Cup. The KC captain got pulled out of position on Mexico's opener, but had a solid game after that. The US tied the game through Geoff Cameron in the first half. The two teams went to extra time where Mexico again scored early to take a 2-1 lead. The US fought back a second time with Bobby Wood finding the back of the net again. Unfortunately Mexico found a third goal late in extra time to give them a 3-2 win and a ticket to the 2017 Confederations Cup. Zusi was an unused substitute for the US.

Four KC Call Ups for International Break

Sporting Kansas City will have four players representing their country this coming week in international play. The good news for KC fans is that Sporting doesn't have any games to play while the four are gone. All should hopefully be back in time for Kansas City's trip to San Jose on October 16th, although their level of participation may be in question.

Three of the four with call ups will be participating in very important games. First, Krisztian Nemeth has been called up by Hungary for their pair of European Cup qualifiers. Hungary currently sits in third place in group F behind Northern Ireland (17) and Romania (16). Hungary will host the Faroe Islands in Budapest on October 8th before finishing out group play on 11th in Greece. The likelihood of qualifying as one of the top two teams in the group seems a far stretch at this point since Romania hosts Finland and travels to the Faroe's while Northern Ireland hosts Greece and travels to Finland. Both teams should be able to find the points to automatically advance. Hungary does though have an opportunity to qualify as the best third place team. The key is to get a win against the Faroe Islands, hope Greece stays last in their group, hope the Ukraine doesn't win their game against Spain on the 12th and hope Albania drops points in one of their two games. While that's a number of things that need to happen it's not beyond the realm of possibility.

The other two with a big game in this international window is Matt Besler and Graham Zusi. The pair have been recalled to the US national for their CONCACAF Cup match up against Mexico to decide who will represent the region at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. The match will take place October 10th at the Rose Bowl. Besler's recall was expected especially with John Brooks, who has become Jurgen Klinsmann's favorite option at the left center back position, not being called in for the game. Zusi's recall is a little bit surprising, but his inclusion will give the US another option on the wing. The pair will also be available for the USA's friendly on the 13th in New York against Costa Rica.

The fourth player called up was Marcel de Jong for Canada. The Canadians are preparing for World Cup qualifiers in November by playing Ghana at RFK Stadium on October 13th.

Trio of Caps for Sporting Players

With the international break upon us, all three Sporting KC players called up to their senior national team earned caps in their first game of the FIFA international window.

Early in the day Krisztian Nemeth and Hungary faced off in Budapest against group leaders, Romania. Sitting in third place a win really would have allowed Hungary to put pressure on Romania and Northern Ireland heading into the final three match days. Nemeth started the game on the bench but came on in the 70th minute for his 18th cap and third with KC, to try to spark his team to a late victory. Unfortunately the Hungarians couldn't find a goal and ended up with a 0-0 draw against the Romanians. That result along with a win by Northern Ireland over the Faroe Islands leaves Hungary three points out of an automatic spot in the tournament. They now travel to Northern Ireland to play the new group leaders on Monday. A win by Northern Ireland would not only qualify Northern Ireland for the Euros, it would basically guarantee that Hungary would finish no better than third in the group, meaning a likely qualifier to attempt to get to the Euros.

In the evening Matt Besler and Marcel de Jong both made appearances for their respective countries. De Jong and Canada hosted Belize in their third round World Cup qualifier. The Sporting left sided defender and winger started at left back for Canada and was extremely involved in Canada's attack as they pushed the game a lot against a team that really didn't seem interested in attacking much. The Canadians scored once in the first half, a second just after the hour mark and a third in stoppage time that should be enough when the team travels to Belize early next week to carry Canada through to the next round.

In the only friendly of the three, Sporting's captain Besler started on the bench for the United States against Peru. After a lack luster first half by both teams that saw Peru grab the lead off a deflected shot, the US came out for the second half and played better. Jozy Altidore got the US level just before the hour after a penalty kick. Altidore's penalty was blocked but the rebound came right back to him and he put it away to level the game. Shortly after that Besler came onto the field and played the final 28 minutes for the US. Besler did well for the US keeping the score level until the 68th when Altidore got his second of the game after a cross by Gyasi Zardes got deflected to Altidore unmarked at the back post and scored. Besler earned his 26th cap, tied for the fourth most while a member of KC.