KC Soccer Journal: A Sporting KC Podcast

Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal is joined by Daniel Sperry from the KC Star for a new episode of keeping Current with Kansas City. The Current played well in the Challenge Cup, finishing first in the Central Division, and earning the second seed in the Challenge Cup knockout round. The hope was that the Current would come out strong in the last part of the regular season but they onl...

Sporting KC smashed San Jose with a three-goal shutout and get a massive confidence boost. Which they need badly with St. Louis City coming to town this weekend. Plus we talk KC Current and the increasingly gross situation with the Royal Spanish Football Federation. When Johnny Russell officially becomes a Sporting KC Legend, that spot of the wall should have nothing more than three letters emblaz...

Back at it again with another Shades of Blue! This time, Thad, Robert, and David are joined by special guest (and hometown hero), Seth Sinovic. Seth, along with a number of former teammates, are back in town to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the 2013 MLS Cup trophy. The guys ask Seth all the crucial questions from that 2013 run: did the MLS Cup get him any dates? Who complained the most abou...

Lionel Messi has already won a trophy with Inter Miami after a 10-round, penalty kick thriller over Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup Final. This show had a lot of animosity towards this tournament, but it officially won us over. There are ways to improve this going forward, but with the help of the best player of all time, the Leagues Cup was a massive hit. Sporting KC has nine games left to right...

Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal is joined by Daniel Sperry from the KC Star to talk about the Kansas City Current. The Current finished first in the Central Division and they are the second seed in the Challenge Cup knockout round. While the Current have performed well in the Challenge Cup, they have a tough road to make the playoffs. Will the new players make a difference? Will they...

If the reporting is to be trusted, Alan Pulido is set to sign a new deal to return with Sporting KC. The deal would double his current salary $4.4 million. A hefty price to pay for an aging, injury prone player. On this episode of Shades of Blue, we look at the logic of bringing back the Mexican striker. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," is essentially what they're going with. Pulido...

After the US Women's National Team crashed out of the World Cup by way of penalty kicks, it's become clear PK's are stupid. How do we fix it? Old school MLS style shootouts? Set pieces? The Americans dominated Sweden in regulation. The first shot on goal from the Swedish side was in the 85th minute. But they let us down with some ugly kicks from the spot and a heartbreaking goal-line technology wi...

Whoever doubted the Leagues Cup!? Sporting KC advanced out of a very difficult group featuring the two current best teams in MLS and Liga MX. And they did it with a very impressive 1-0 win over Chivas, while missing their start striker. We hear all the accents with postgame audio from Johnny Russell, Remi Walter, Peter Vermes, and our favorite soundbite of the year from Chivas head coach Veljko Pa...

Huw Williams joins Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal to review the US Women's National team's draw with the Netherlands at the 2023 World Cup. After a 3-0 win versus Vietnam in the first match of the group stage, Vlatko Andonovski's team played to a 1-1 draw. It was a rematch of the 2019 final against a very good team. The US did not have a good first half but they were definitely bett...

The loss that was a draw against FC Cincinnati on Sunday was yet another painful result after being in a winning position. It's a trend for Sporting KC for years now, but it's hitting harder this season. SKC has dropped more points from winning positions than anyone in Major League Soccer. Where are you pointing the finger after the latest disappointment? Messimania has taken over MLS. Is it too m...

Huw Williams joins Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal to review the US Women's National team's win over Vietnam at the 2023 World Cup. The first match of the group stage was a 3-0 win for Vlatko Andonovski's team. Sophia Smith led the US Women's National Team with two goals and an assist but was she the best player in the game? Was it a good result or just good enough? A different lineu...

Huw Williams joins Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal to preview the US Women's National team at the 2023 World Cup. The first segment is focused on the group stage games and some of the other teams in the World Cup. The second segment was recorded shortly after the World Cup roster was announced. The US is coached by Kansas City resident Vlatko Andonovski. Williams and Andonovski worke...

Everyone survived the media game last week without too many bruised egos. David breaks it all down and gives us in-depth analysis for each of us. Sporting KC dropped points that night against RSL. That was before losing 2-1 in Austin on Saturday. Peter Vermes was pretty open with his post-game comments, openly calling out the shot stopping and defense. Is this the end of Kendall McIntosh? A roster...

Grab a coffee and get your quick Wednesday morning update from Thad and Cody with the first ever 3 Midweek Points! Each week we're dropping a bite-sized update for you to quickly get all your soccer news in one spot. Justice is served - Ferreira gets fined & suspended The Yanks are coming - Women's World Cup kicks of for USWNT on Friday vs Vietnam. USMNT take on Panama in the Gold Cup Semifinal on...

Sporting Kansas City twice had the lead and twice gave up the equalizer late in each half. David Greenwald, Robert Rusert and Thad Bell talk about the draw with the Houston Dynamo. The lack of offense from anyone not named Gadi or Alan is a topic and the defensive lapses in stoppage time that robbed KC of 3 points. While not affecting the score, the fact that Ferreira escapes with a yellow after a...

With the usual Shades of Blue team scattered with vacations and family obligations, Thad Bell hosted fellow KC Soccer Journal member (and KC soccer historian) Mike Kuhn as well as Daniel Sperry from the Kansas City Star. With Sporting Kansas City bringing Felipe Gutierrez back and the Kansas City Current signing Stine Ballisager Pedersen, we chat about how they will affect their respective teams....

We figure out what went wrong in Sporting KC's 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire. KC has come back down to earth with a 1-2-2 record in the June. Dany Rosero's absence made a big impact in the physical battle on set pieces, as well as with our old friend Kei Kamara. Daniel Salloi has gone quiet the past couple games, and we need more from our star player. It's time to switch back to Pulskamp in goal. I...

Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal is back with three guests in three segments. Jillian Carroll Letrinko from the KC Current broadcast team is up first with her observations. New contributor Keaton Coad brings her thoughts in the second segment and Daniel Sperry from the KC Star in the third segment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sporting KC fell 2-1 at the hands of the defending champs, LAFC, on Saturday night to end a four-game unbeaten run. We start off our conversation on the topic of diving and referees. Daniel Salloi was denied a penalty for staying on his feet. Are referees incentivizing players to dive? We look at the tactics, what went wrong, and Khiry Shelton at right back. Additionally, Erik Thommy was deployed...

We're reflecting on a big week in the world of soccer after the Champions League Final, the Messi news, and a statement performance from Sporting KC to climb back above the MLS playoff line. Robert Castellanos turned in his best ever performance after Cody said he was terrible. Also Tim Leibold: hot or not? Alan Pulido has clicked into gear just at the right time. With Chivas sniffing and rumors s...

The long transfer saga of Lionel Messi, el mejor del mundo, has come to an end. Messi made the announcement himself on Mundo Deportivo, he is coming to Inter Miami and Major League Soccer! A historic day for the beautiful game in our country. Messi turned down a reported $1.6 billion, with a 'b', from Saudi Arabia. MLS had to get "creative" with the contract. We dive into the crazy, intricate worl...

The boys picked up another point on the road with a draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps, while the KC Current snap a losing streak with a 1-0 win. It was a draw that felt like a win, with SKC playing nearly a second string lineup. While there is some question about depth on the backline, the defense kept a very dangerous Vancouver attack at bay. Should Kendall McIntosh keep starting in goal? We d...

Sporting KC finished with the best record in the MLS Western Conference over the month of May. But many questions remain. Is this defense good enough? Has Peter Vermes changed his ways this month? Is Dany Rosero that dude? Is Nemanja Radoja the unsung hero? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal is back with a new voice on the pod. Keaton Coad has joined the Journal. Keaton helps break down what the Current did wrong and could have done better. Kansas City's struggles continued with another 2-0 loss, this time to the Houston Dash. The Current were expected to be far better than their record so far and are on a five-game losing streak, four reg...

Thad Bell from the Kansas City Soccer Journal is joined by three members of Sunflower State FC @SunflowerStFC, co-vice president Sal Sesti, Director of coaching and NPSL head coach Nick Mcdonald, and WPSL head coach Jose Ramos. Sunflower State FC is one of several lower-division teams providing places for players to continue their careers and maybe even make it to the pro level. Learn more about y...