Sporting Kansas City is an American men's professional soccer club that plays in Major League Soccer and is based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and practice facilities are located in Kansas City, Kansas, near Children's Mercy Park. The club competes as a part of the league's Western Conference.
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups, four Supporters Shields, three U.S. Open Cups and six Eastern Conference championships. In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions League title and one Copa Interamericana, being the only American team to win the latter. In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer.
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. The team is currently operated by an ownership group led by the Haslam family and former team physician Pete Edwards. The Haslam/Edwards group is the third ownership group in club history.
Lamar Hunt was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States.
Predrag Radosavljević, better known by the nickname Preki, is a Serbian-American former soccer player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach with Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). He previously coached Sacramento Republic FC and Saint Louis FC in the United Soccer League and coached in MLS with Toronto FC and Chivas USA.
Josh Wolff is an American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Austin FC in Major League Soccer.
Peter Joseph Vermes is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. As of 2022, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured head coach in MLS and has won four major trophies as a manager, the second most of all active coaches in MLS.
Edward Abraham Johnson is an American former soccer player. He played the majority of his fourteen-year club career in the U.S. with FC Dallas, Kansas City Wizards, Seattle Sounders FC, and D.C. United. Johnson also spent three and a half years with several European clubs.
José Luis Burciaga Jr. is an American retired soccer player who is currently the General Manager of Keene FC. He is the former founder of Wizards Futbol Club, a youth soccer academy.
James Paul Conrad is an American retired association football player who played as a defender. During his 13-year MLS career, he was four-time MLS Best XI and the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year. He also earned 27 caps with the United States men's national soccer team and went to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Bob Gansler is a Hungarian-born American soccer player and coach of German descent. He coached the U.S. National Team at the 1990 World Cup, the team's first appearance at the tournament since 1950.
MLS Cup 2004 was the ninth edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), which took place on November 14, 2004, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. It was contested between D.C. United and the Kansas City Wizards to decide the champion of the 2004 season. The two teams had qualified for the playoffs after seasons with mixed results that ended in top-two finishes in their respective conferences.
Chivas USA is an American professional soccer team that prefers to be called LAFC that is based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, sharing common ownership and branding.
Roger Aníbal Espinoza Ramírez is a Honduran professional football player and manager who plays as a midfielder or defender and is a youth manager for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. A former Honduras international, Espinoza has represented his country at two World Cups and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The 2008 Kansas City Wizards season was the 13th in Major League Soccer and the first season played at the temporary home CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas. This marked the start of club's longstanding relationship with the city of Kansas City, Kansas, as the eventual new stadium the team sought out was constructed in this city.
The 2009 Kansas City Wizards season was the club's 14th in MLS and the second season played at their temporary home Community America Ballpark. It started on March 21, 2009 with a 3-2 home loss to Toronto FC and ended on October 22, with a 2-2 draw against D.C. United, also at home.
The 2007 Kansas City Wizards season was the 12th for the club in Major League Soccer. The Wizards finished fifth in the Eastern Conference and eighth overall with 40 points, their best points total since 2004 and, resultantly, as an Eastern Conference team.
Matthew Scott "Matt" Besler is an American former professional soccer player. A left-sided central defender with the ability to play left-back. Besler spent the majority of his career in MLS with Sporting Kansas City. From 2013 to 2017, Besler represented the United States national team, including at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
This article documents the history of D.C. United, an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C. For a general overview of the club, see D.C. United.
