As Sporting Kansas City prepares for its 26th season as a charter member of Major League Soccer, SportingKC.com is rolling out a 26-day countdown to the start of the 2021 campaign. A mouthwatering opening weekend of MLS action will see Sporting Kansas City visit the New York Red Bulls at 7 p.m. CT on April 17, giving supporters their first look at Manager Peter Vermes’ side since last December.
The 2021 Preseason Countdown, presented by Children’s Mercy, serves as the comprehensive, go-to preview of everything that awaits Sporting Kansas City in the weeks and months to come. From key storylines and bold predictions to statistical breakdowns and players to watch, the 2021 Preseason Countdown highlights the many reasons to be excited for what’s ahead. To visit the series homepage as it expands, head to SportingKC.com/2021countdown.
In yesterday's edition of our daily countdown to the 2021 season, we examined how Sporting's current roster was constructed. The squad boasts a slew of Homegrown signings, acquisitions from abroad and even a few MLS SuperDraft selections.
This time around, we're taking a similar albeit distinctly different approach by listing every professional stop each player has made in his respective career. Like yesterday, we'll divide Sporting's roster into three groups for the exercise: Homegrown Players, MLS SuperDraft picks and general signings.
Take note that Homegrown Players with asterisks are players who have gone on loan to Sporting KC II while under MLS contract with the first team.
Homegrown Players
- Daniel Salloi: Sporting (2016-present), loan spells at Vasas SC in Hungary (2016), Gyirmot in Hungary (2016)
- Gianluca Busio: Sporting (2017-present)
- Jaylin Lindsey: Sporting (2018-present)
- Tyler Freeman: Sporting (2019-present)
- Cam Duke: Sporting (2019-present)
- Felipe Hernandez: Sporting (2019-present)
- John Pulskamp: Sporting KC II (2019), Sporting (2020-present)
- Wilson Harris: Sporting KC II (2018-2020), Sporting (2020-present)
- Grayson Barber: Sporting (2021-present)
- Ozzie Cisneros: Sporting (2021-present)
- Brooks Thompson: Sporting KC II (2019-2020), Sporting (2021-present)
- Kaveh Rad (2021): Sporting KC II (2018-2020), Sporting (2021-present)
MLS Super Draft Picks
- Graham Zusi: Sporting (2009-present)
- Graham Smith: Sporting (2018-present)
Signings
- Tim Melia: Rochester Rhinos (2008-2009), Real Salt Lake (2010-2011), loaned to Charleston Battery (2010) and FC New York (2011), Chivas USA (2012-2014), MLS League Pool Goalkeeper (2014), Sporting (2015-present)
- Roger Espinoza: Sporting (2008-2012), Wigan Athletic in England (2013-2014), Sporting (2015-present)
- Ilie Sanchez: Barcelona B in Spain (2009-2014), 1860 Munich (2014-2016), loaned to Elche in Spain (2015-2016), Sporting (2017-present).
- Johnny Russell: Dundee United in Scotland (2007-2013), loaned to Forfar Athletic in Scotland(2008-2009), loaned to Raith Rovers in Scotland (2009-2010), Derby County in England (2013-2018), Sporting (2018-present)
- Andreu Fontas: Barcelona B in Spain (2008-2011), FC Barcelona in Spain (2009-2013), loaned to Mallorca (2012-2013), Celta Vigo in Spain (2013-2018), Sporting (2018-present)
- Luis Martins: Benfica in Portugal (2011-2012), Gil Vicente in Portugal (2013-2014), Granada in Spain (2014-2018), loaned to Osasuna in Spain (2015-2016), loaned to Maritimo in Portugal (2017-2018), Chaves in Portugal (2018-2019), Sporting (2019-present)
- Roberto Puncec: Varazdin in Croatia (2008-2011), Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel (2011-2013), loaned to Union Berlin in Germany (2012-2013), Union Berlin in Germany (2013-2017), Rijeka in Croatia (2017-2019), Sporting (2020-present)
- Khiry Shelton: New York City FC (2015-2017), Sporting (2018), SC Paderborn in Germany (2019), Sporting (2020-present)
- Alan Pulido: Tigres UANL in Mexico (2010-2014), Levadiakos in Greece (2014-2015), Olympiacos in Greece (2015-2016), Chivas de Guadalajara in Mexico (2016-2019), Sporting (2020-present)
- Amadou Dia: Sporting (2015-2016), Montreal Impact (2016), Phoenix Rising FC (2017-2019), Sporting (2020-present)
- Gadi Kinda: Ashdod in Israel (2011-2019), Beitar Jerusalem in Israel (2019), Sporting (2020-present)
- Remi Walter: Nancy in France (2012-2016), Nice in France (2016-2020), loaned to Troyes in France (2018), Yeni Malatyaspor in Turkey (2020), Sporting (2021-present)
- Kendall McIntosh: Portland Timbers 2 (2016), Portland Timbers (2017-2019), New York Red Bulls (2020), Sporting (2021-present)
- Nicolas Isimat-Mirin: Valenciennes in France (2010-2013), Monaco in France (2013-2015), loaned to PSV in Netherlands (2014-2015), PSV in Netherlands (2015-2019), Besiktas in Turkey (2019-2021), loaned to Toulouse in France (2019-2020), Sporting (2021-present)
