Rebuilt in Blue

Aurelien Collin and C.J. Sapong are out. Roger Espinoza is back in. It’s been a busy offseason for Sporting Kansas City as they prepare their move to the Western Conference. With the opening night only two weeks away, Sporting is preparing for a turnaround after last year’s implosion in August.

After a season devastated by injuries, World Cup exhaustion and lack of depth in key places, the then-defending MLS Cup Champs watched their cracked season finally crumble in October in their first playoff game. A header from New York Red Bull’s star Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 89th minute put the Red Bulls up 2-1, and put a cap on Sporting’s season.

Since that night, Sporting has signed seven new players, including former Wizards draftee Roger Espinoza. They’ve dumped eight old ones, including two fan favorites Collin and Sapong. And with the addition of two new MLS clubs, they’ve been moved to the Western Conference. That’s going to mean new starters, possibly a new formation and new rivalries coming in March.

Sporting’s lost some of their main guys, and they’re going into the tougher Western Conference, but I believe Sporting is going to come back stronger and tougher than they ended last season. Here are three big reasons why:

Rest

A combination of playing from March to December in 2013, the World Cup using two of our best players and then international competition, our players tanked in the second half of the season. Up until August, we were neck and neck with Seattle and L.A. for the best record of the season. After August, we fell to fifth in the Eastern Conference where we barely snuck into a first round playoff exit. Exhaustion and a crazy amount of injuries left us without any depth in key positions and forced us to put in players who weren’t ready to start.

But that early playoff exit might be a key to success this season. Sporting will get key players back like defenders Ike Opara and Chance Myers back from injury to shore up strengthen our back line. Designated players Matt Besler and Graham Zusi won’t come back from the World Cup in the middle of the season again, a break that left both players exhausted and nearly led to a broken foot for Zusi. Without all of the matches and injuries this year, Sporting can focus on another MLS Cup run.

Krizstian Nemeth

Last year, we had the second best striker in the league with Dom Dwyer. Over the offseason, we brought in someone who might be even more dangerous. Krisztian Nemeth, a former Liverpool Under-21 team star and Hungarian national team member, he could be one of the most dangerous pickups in the MLS. The kid’s only 25 and he’s already had experience at a number of top-tier European clubs and for the Hungarian senior national team.

With a guy like Nemeth up alongside Dwyer, our attacking presence will definitely be bolstered. With the addition of Nemeth, it also opens up the possibility for Vermes to try some new formations.

Dom Dwyer

Dom Dwyer put away 23 goals in 35 matches last year. Throughout the season, even after Sporting fell off, he was able to find the back of the net. This year, with Sporting able to put their defensive back line back together, with their strong additions to their midfield core and with their new additions to the front line, expect Dwyer to have an even better year.

With Sporting’s defense returning to their former glory, the team won’t have to spend as much time scrambling to defend their goal and they’ll be on the attack more. With the return of Roger Espinoza, a combination of him, Benny Feilhaber and Zusi will set up dangerous plays for the striker. And with the addition of forwards Bernardo Anor and Nemeth, Sporting will be able to stretch opposing defenses much better, allowing Dwyer to get into space and slot the ball away.