Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler joined Sports Radio 810 WHB on Tuesday to preview a crucial Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal showdown with Panamanian side Independiente at Children’s Mercy Park.
After discussing his re-acclimation to home life after spending most of the last two months on the road, Besler looked ahead to the immediate task at hand with Border Patrol hosts Nate Bukaty and Steven St. John.
That task is overturning a 2-1 deficit and defeating Independiente to reach the Champions League Semifinals for the first time in club history. Sporting faces a must-win scenario, having lost the first leg last week in Panama, but Besler says the team is relishing the high-stakes challenge.
“We did enough to stay in the series and really give ourselves a good chance coming back home,” the defender said. “Now we get to play in our stadium, and I’m more than confident that we are going to come out absolutely flying and put this team under pressure.
“We’re down 2-1 as of now, so that forces us to come out on the front foot and be aggressive. That’s how we were going to play anyways, but we have to do so even more now with the scoreline the way it is.”
Besler also encouraged fans to show out in numbers as Sporting aims to end Independiente’s Cinderella story in the tournament. Tickets for Thursday’s contest are included in Season Ticket Member packages and remain available at SeatGeek.com.
“If you’re not doing anything on Thursday and want to see a big-time game early in the season, come out and support us," he said. "We need a full stadium and we need to make it tough for Independiente.”
Listen to the full podcast below.
