The start of a new season means Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler is back on The Border Patrol.
Besler joined Sports Radio 810 WHB on Tuesday morning for his first radio appearance of 2019, catchup up with Border Patrol hosts Nate Bukaty and Steven St. John ahead of Thursday's colossal matchup with Deportivo Toluca FC in the Concacaf Champions League Round of 16.
Entering his 11th season with his hometown club, Besler shed insight on a meticulous and accelerated preseason campaign and shared his thoughts on the challenge of facing Toluca.
"In a way we were forced to speed up the process and push through things quicker from a fitness and tactical standpoint," Besler said. "But we didn't really have a ton of (player) turnover, and that's definitely a good thing. We were already getting into full-squad scrimmages after the first week. We're further along than we've ever been at this point, but we have to be."
Besler and Sporting are aiming to become the first MLS club to win the Concacaf Champions League during the modern era of the tournament, which began in 2008-09. Mexican teams have won each of the last 10 titles.
"Everyone on our team believes that we are on par with (Liga MX) in terms of quality. Now it's our turn to prove that and to show that. This is exciting for us because it's something we don't get to do every year."
Tickets for Thursday's first-leg encounter against Toluca remain available at SeatGeek.com. Sporting hasn't hosted a Mexican opponent at Children's Mercy Park since beating eventual champion Cruz Azul in the 2013-14 Champions League quarterfinals.
Listen to the full podcast below.
