Five Things, presented by Keith + Associates Dentistry, is a weekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights the top storylines, players to watch and matchday programming ahead of each game throughout the season.
After a long and winding road swing through the month of June, Sporting Kansas City (4-6-7, 19 points) finally returns home Wednesday to host MLS Supporters’ Shield leaders LAFC (11-2-4, 37 points) in an Americana showdown at Children’s Mercy Park. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT and tickets remain available at SeatGeek.com, with the first 5,000 fans through the stadium gates receiving a free fanny pack courtesy of Mainstreet Credit Union.
FOX Sports Kansas City Plus, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, FOX Sports GO, Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM will provide live coverage of the Western Conference clash as Sporting aim to begin their climb up the standings at the expense of an LAFC side that has enjoyed a historic first half of the 2019 campaign.
As a festive Fourth of July holiday beckons in the Heartland, let’s jump into five things you absolutely must know about the marquee matchup.
1. Americana
There will be fireworks, people. Shortly after Sporting and LAFC exit the field, fans in attendance will be treated to the premier fireworks display in Kansas City. Ticket holders with wristbands will be granted access to the pitch for the postgame showcase, while others will be invited to move to the north side of the stadium to take in the spectacle.
The Fourth of July theme will extend to SportingStyle, where fans can purchase the new adidas x Sporting KC Men’s Americana Top while supplies last. The new jersey will also be available via mobile ordering at SportingStyle.com beginning at midnight on Wednesday and lasting through halftime of the match.
2. Make a Move
Indeed, now is the time for Sporting to make a move up the Western Conference table. Seven of the club’s next 11 matches will take place at Children’s Mercy Park, affording Peter Vermes’ men an opportunity to gain ground and make up for recent struggles. Sporting currently occupy last place in the West but sit just five points below the playoff line. A victory against high-flying LAFC could go a very long way in restoring confidence and setting the tone for a successful summer run.
3. First Class
Simply put, LAFC have been sensational all year long. Head coach Bob Bradley’s side are on pace for 74 points, which would set an MLS record for a 34-game regular season. They lead the league in scoring offense, scoring defense, shots per game, fewest shots faced per game and chances created per game. And get this: LAFC’s plus-25 goal differential (39 GF, 14 GA) is 15 goals better than any other team in MLS.
As for individual standouts, Mexican star Carlos Vela seems to have one hand on the MLS MVP trophy. He leads the Golden Boot race with 16 goals and ranks second with 10 assists, having been involved in exactly two-thirds of LAFC’s 39 goals this year. Fellow forward Diego Rossi has eight goals of his own, while indefatigable midfielder Latif Blessing—who plied his trade for Sporting in 2017—places among the MLS leaders in duels won, tackles won and fouls suffered.
4. Player Reunions
As mentioned above, Blessing is set to make his return to the stadium where he scored in Sporting’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship victory over the New York Red Bulls almost two years ago. Meanwhile, Sporting midfielder Benny Feilhaber will face the team he suited up for last season. Feilhaber was a regular starter for LAFC in 2018, helping the side to one of the best expansion campaigns in MLS history.
5. Vermes Hits 400
Sporting’s long-time manager is on the brink of a major milestone. Peter Vermes, who took the managerial helm in 2009, will coach his 400th Sporting match in all competitions on Wednesday. To say a lot has changed since Vermes' first match in charge in August 2009 would be an understatement. At the time, Sporting still went by the Kansas City Wizards, home games took place at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, and the club's current trophy cabinet had four fewer titles than it does today.
Fast-forward over a decade, and Vermes has become the longest-tenured head coach in MLS and the fifth-winningest coach in MLS history. During his tenure in Kansas City, he has won four major trophies – the 2012, 2015 and 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups and the 2013 MLS Cup – and finished atop the conference standings in 2011, 2012 and 2018. He is the first coach in club history to lead Sporting to eight straight postseason appearances, as well as the only person to ever win the MLS Cup as both a player and a coach with the same team.
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