{"id":41167,"date":"2022-02-25T21:15:01","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T02:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=41167"},"modified":"2022-02-25T21:22:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T02:22:13","slug":"2022-sporting-kc-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/02\/25\/2022-sporting-kc-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 Sporting KC Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>PREVIEW<\/strong> \u2013 Sporting Kansas City&#8217;s 2021 season had a little bit of everything. Daniel Salloi made a run at the MLS MVP award. Johnny Russell became the MLS leading scorer among Scottish players. PRO issued a statement saying they missed a penalty call on the last day of the season, costing Sporting KC second place (and the LA Galaxy the playoffs entirely). They even had to forfeit a game for their USL Championship club for using an ineligible player (he&#8217;d been suspended). Can Sporting KC hope for a little more normalcy in 2022? Let&#8217;s preview the 2022 season with three big questions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Sporting KC season preview<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Key Departures: Ilie Sanchez, Luis Martins, Alan Pulido (injury)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Key Arrivals: Ben Sweat, Logan Ndenbe, Nikola Vujnovic, Oriol Rossell<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Young Player To Watch: Logan Ndenbe<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Can Sporting KC maintain their offensive level of production without Alan Pulido?<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">That\u2019s the $64,000 question, isn\u2019t it? Pulido had potentially season-ending knee surgery in January. His eight goals and two assists ranked him third and sixth in the club, respectively. That\u2019s a lot of production to try to replace, but as Peter Vermes acknowledges, you can\u2019t clone the player. Anyone you bring in will bring something different to the table.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Vermes has attempted to fortify the attack by adding Cypriot winger Marinos Tzionis and Montenegrin forward Nikola Vujnovic. The 20-year-old Tzionis has earned 13 caps for the Cyprus national team and played in qualifying rounds for the UEFA Champions League. Vujnovic expects to join the club soon, after dealing with immigration issues.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NEWS: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SportingKC<\/a> sign free agent defender Ben Sweat.<\/p>\n<p>Details:<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportingKC\/status\/1472983293054402564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Something else that will help is the revamping of the left-back position after the exit of last year\u2019s starter, Luis Martins. Ndenbe and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2021\/12\/20\/sporting-kc-sign-ben-sweat-to-add-left-back-cover\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Sweat<\/a> have been added to the roster in recent weeks and as forward (and 2021 MLS MVP candidate) Salloi said Wednesday, he is forming a similar partnership on the left side with Ndenbe and Sweat to the one Johnny Russell and Graham Zusi have on the right side. That should put a little fear into the rest of the Western Conference.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Will Sporting KC\u2019s defense be able to clamp down on the counterattack better this season?<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">One would hope so. Vermes brought back defensive midfielder Oriol Rosell and added central defenders Robert Voloder and Kortne Ford, as well as left-backs Ndenbe and Sweat. Voloder, Ford, Sweat, and Ndenbe provide some much-needed youth for the backline.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">According to Vermes, Ndenbe and Sweat make up the best tandem at left-back he\u2019s had since he joined the club. Ndenbe, #5 on MLSsoccer.com\u2019s list of under-the-radar signings of the 2022 offseason, comes from EA Guingamp of France\u2019s Ligue 2. He\u2019s described as having serious wheels and can escape pressure very well. Sweat is recovering from ACL surgery, so I\u2019m sure Ndenbe will be getting most of the work early on.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sporting Kansas City acquires 20-year-old German youth international Robert Voloder.<\/p>\n<p>READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lPoSGpOrpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/lPoSGpOrpg<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SportingKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SportingKC<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Shift4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Shift4<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OABDeOvK1L\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/OABDeOvK1L<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportingKC\/status\/1483816401370591232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">German youth international Robert Voloder joins the Sporting KC backline from NK Maribor in the Slovenian first division, having played every minute of every match for the club since the season began in July. Ford spent the first five years of his professional career with the Colorado Rapids, joining them as a Homegrown Player in 2017. After missing the entire 2019 and 2020 seasons due to injury, he made his return to the field on loan with San Antonio FC, helping them reach the USL Western Conference Final.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Can Daniel Salloi maintain his performance level from 2021?<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">All indications point to \u201cYes.\u201d Vermes says Salloi\u2019s focus and attention to detail have been better than it was after his first \u201cbreakthrough\u201d campaign in 2018. He struggled in 2019 and 2020, getting only one goal and one assist in those two seasons combined.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Salloi arrived at the club when he was 18 (he turns 26 in July). He said Wednesday that last year felt like the first year he\u2019d played as an adult. He said 2018 felt like he was still a kid. Another factor that may provide Salloi with an incentive is that he is out of contract at the end of the season. He will want to either earn a new contract with Sporting KC or potentially a club in Europe.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The Last Word Sporting KC season preview: Can they end their trophy drought?<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">Champs! \ud83c\udfc6 \ud83c\udf86<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GottaHaveThatCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GottaHaveThatCup<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WeTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WeTogether<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rLgKn0fmE8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/rLgKn0fmE8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportingKC\/status\/910728017965649921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 21, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Sporting KC&#8217;s last trophy was the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, making this tied for the longest drought in club history. If everything comes together, this team could be very good. If they can\u2019t seem to clamp down on the counterattack and hold leads late, they could struggle. With Vermes\u2019 forceful personality and the way he stresses team over individual, getting players to buy into his vision of the way the team should play, I\u2019d be more likely to bet on the former rather than the latter. Sporting will finish high enough to get a home playoff game. Whether they get the first-round bye or not, will come down to their defense. As 2021 proved for Sporting KC, anything can happen, especially in the playoffs.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"ZzffY7P2T55XG3HTaLMrXw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/1359095400\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'ZzffY7P2T55XG3HTaLMrXw',sig:'OGdv9i6sVQY4wGE6qh1vDKisntTro7iCRQ97Zd6xpQ4=',w:'594px',h:'365px',items:'1359095400',caption: true ,tld:'ca',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PREVIEW \u2013 Sporting Kansas City&#8217;s 2021 season had a little bit of everything. Daniel Salloi made a run at the MLS MVP award. Johnny Russell became the MLS leading scorer among Scottish players. PRO issued a statement saying they missed a penalty call on the last day of the season, costing Sporting KC second place [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4089,"featured_media":41188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[119,19],"tags":[3685,1304,4811,248,4812],"class_list":["post-41167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mls","category-skc","tag-alan-pulido","tag-daniel-salloi","tag-logan-ndenbe","tag-peter-vermes","tag-robert-voloder"],"modified_by":"Raheem Bashir, Site Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}