Sporting Kansas City resumed training on Tuesday at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson. The team will play the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday (9pm CT; Watch on SportingKC.com) in the Desert Diamond Cup before playing the final match of the tournament on Saturday against an opponent to be determined. As the team prepares for the first game of the 2016 MLS season on March 6, here are a few news and notes from preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy.
Cooper in Camp
Sporting Kansas City welcomed a new face to preseason on Monday as veteran forward Kenny Cooper joined the team in Tucson. Cooper spent last season with the Montreal Impact and was most recently in camp with the New York Red Bulls. The 31-year-old striker has scored 75 career regular season goals. Cooper has played all over the world including stints in England with Manchester United and in Germany with 1860 Munich.
James Released
Sporting Kansas City released 2016 MLS SuperDraft third round pick Ryan James this week. James spent the bulk of preseason training with the Swope Park Rangers and played 115 minutes in the team’s two Desert Diamond Cup matches against the Colorado Rapids and Arizona United. Sporting KC’s fourth round draft pick Faik Hajderovik is still in Tucson training with the club.
Injury Update
Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer (ankle) and winger Justin Mapp (turf toe) have missed the first two games of the Desert Diamond Cup due to injury. Dwyer returned to training last Thursday and is available for selection for tomorrow night’s match against Colorado. Mapp has not yet trained as he recovers from his foot injury.
Credit Card Roulette Anyone?
It’s a rite of passage for any rookie. Not only do you need to pick up the balls and cones after training, but you are almost always the butt of team jokes. Homegrown forward Daniel Salloi learned that the hard way at the team dinner on Sunday. Watch the video below to see what happens when Daniel’s card was picked in a (rigged) game of credit card roulette.
