The Full 90

Reports out of Argentina have seldom-used Wizards midfielder Santiago Hirsig is on his way back to Argentina to join Club Atlético Quilmes. If true, this shouldn't be surprising, as Hirsig is obviously not in the team's plans moving forward.

Hirsig was brought to the team at the beginning of last year and made 27 appearances overall. I liked Hirsig, he showed good poise over the ball and passed the ball well. Unfortunately, his role on the team was replaced by Stephane Auvray.

We're trying to track down some more information and we'll have updates if and when this is made official. There are rumors of yet another transaction in the pipeline and we'll be on that one if and when that develops too.

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CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/The Kansas City | \The Kansas City Star

Kansas City Wizards Michael Harrington (2) defends for the ball against Manchester United Ryan Giggs (11) in the first half during the 2010 International Friendly at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday July 25, 2010. CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/The Kansas City Star

Let’s do the time warp everyone. The date is April 24. It’s a cold and wet evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. The best teams (at the time) in Major League Soccer had just finished up a tightly-fought scoreless draw. Kansas City held the statistical edge over the Los Angeles Galaxy in terms of possession and scoring chances (remember, this was the Kei Kamara “miss of the century” night) and seemed on the verge of ascending to the top of the MLS table.

Flash forward to May 29. Real Salt Lake, the defending MLS champion, has just finished mopping the floor with an MLS has-been, delighting their teeming fans with four goals. In Kansas City, fans start to see reality: The entire month of May has elapsed and the team managed to pick up only 1 point. The top of the table is disappearing as the team descends into the dark and murky waters of irrelevance.

In that 35-day span, everything changed for the worse for the Kansas City Wizards. But where did it all go wrong? And, more importantly, have they figured out the way forward and repaired the cracks in their foundation?

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What a week for Kansas City’s soccer fans, a group that appears to be bigger than previously thought. An amazing 52,424 showed up at Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Wizards play the English giants Manchester United, the world’s richest sporting club. And those fans were rewarded with an excellent game ...

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Last night's MLS All-Star Game proved a few things to me. 1) Kansas City is obviously better than the MLS All-Stars (or, more likely, having a few weeks of unity in a soccer match is better than a few hours of unity) and 2) Tom Cleverley is, um, clever.

Cleverley's little flick to himself and crack at goal justifiably led SportsCenter's Top 10 today and is really worth its own post on any soccer blog worth a damn.

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Pat Sullivan | AP Photo

Manchester United's Federico Macheda, center, is congratulated by teammates Ryan Giggs (11), Nani (17) and Wes Brown (6) after scoring his second goal in the first half against the Major League Soccer All-Stars on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in Houston.

Manchester United, stinging after a 2-1 loss to Kansas City on Sunday, turned the Major League Soccer All-Star game into its own showcase of talent on Wednesday in Houston.

Federico Macheda had two early goals, Mexican star Javier Hernandez scored in his debut for the Red Devils, and Man U routed the All-Stars 5-2 in the final exhibition game of its North American tour.

Darron Gibson and Tom Cleverley added goals for the Red Devils.

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Indoor soccer has returned to the area after a year of work by local owners Mickey and Ed Scheetz and Brian Budzinski.

The Missouri Comets begin play in November in Independence. They will be part of the six-team Major Indoor Soccer League. Kansas City used to be home to the Kansas City Comets, which folded in September 2005.

“I think it’s a perfect time to bring it back,” Ed Scheetz said. “I think just because of the World Cup and because all the soccer leagues are doing fantastic. Within eastern Jackson County, there’s over 20,000 kids playing soccer. We think we have a good base to draw from.”

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CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/The Kansas City | \The Kansas City Star

Matt Staub, far left, cheers for the Kansas City Wizards, as they play against Manchester United in the first half during the 2010 International Friendly at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday July 25, 2010.

On Monday, the Kansas City Wizards sold more than 700 new season tickets for 2011. Today, that number climbed to 1,100. Behold, the power of a positive exhibition! The team made an exclusive block of 2,011 tickets available to new season ticket holders and doesn't include current season ticket holders.

From the Wizards press release:

"The demand for new 2011 season tickets is a testament to the momentum we have built through our 'Summer of Soccer' and the construction of our world class facility opening next June,” said Andrew Steinberg, Kansas City Wizards Executive Vice President. “The fan experience is a top priority for our organization and we look forward to showcasing that to all of our guests as we welcome our newest season ticket holders."

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I'm a little late to this party*, but apparently Wizards president Robb Heineman discussed the notion of rebranding the team in conjunction with the new stadium in a radio interview this week. Is that a good idea?

*My schedule (and my sensibilities) don't allow me to listen to Between the Lines on 810 Sports, so I missed this. But the always helpful Jake Gutierrez, co-host of the Kansas City Soccer Show on 810, has linked it up on their podcast site now.

Now, this shouldn't be a surprise move at all. The Wizards signed up with Kansas City-based marketing firm Barkley earlier this year.

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Nicolas Addlery scored two goals to lead the Puerto Rico Islanders to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions' League on Tuesday night.

David Foley and Josh Hansen also scored for the Islanders, a member of the United Soccer League's first division. The Galaxy scored on an own goal by Puerto Rico defender Richard Martinez.

Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette, who played for the Columbus Crew during the 2005-06 season, made seven saves.

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CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/The Kansas City | \The Kansas City Star

Manchester United's Fabio (20) defends for the ball against Kansas City Wizards striker Sunil Chhetri (19) in the second half during the 2010 International Friendly at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday July 25, 2010.

There have been a few reports that have come out this week about the apparent unhappiness of Kansas City’s Indian striker Sunil Chhetri. Press reports like this one and this one have stated that Chhetri is “frustrated at not getting enough opportunities to play in Major League Soccer” and “desperate to leave” Kansas City.

Is there any fire behind that smoke? Uh, not really.

According to the Kansas City Wizards and Chhetri’s agent, Yogesh Joshee, those are false alarms.*

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GARVEY SCOTT/Kansas City Star | The Kansas City Star 07222010

Fans Penny Wyse Thomas and her husband Jeff Thomas (left) had their shirts signed by Manchester United players during an autograph session prior to Manchester United having a brief workout on the practice field of the Kansas City Wizards Swope Park practice facility on Saturday afternoon, July 24, 2010.

Color me red.

My opinion of Manchester United shifted 180 degrees following this weekend’s activities.

Like many soccer fans, I looked upon Man U as another bloated sports franchise that was too big for its own good. There is a reason they are compared with the Yankees and Cowboys. Those teams spend money with reckless abandon and that fuels their success.

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Ajax, Besiktas and Fenerbahce have shown interest in acquiring Jozy Altidore from Villarreal in addition to Premier League clubs, and a loan and permanent transfer both are possibilities for the 20-year-old American forward.

A member of this year's U.S. World Cup team, Altidore spent last season on loan to Hull and scored two goals last season as the Tigers were relegated. He is due to start preseason training with Villarreal on Aug. 3.

"A lot of the top clubs around Europe have been in touch, and we're just looking at what's the best for Jozy's career at this point," his agent, Lyle Yorks, said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "It's important to find a home for himself where he's going to get games, continue to develop and really show his abilities."

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | Diego Maradona is out as Argentina's soccer coach.

The Argentine Football Association said Tuesday it would not renew his contract. He had spent an erratic 21 months in charge of a national team that was eliminated in the World Cup quarterfinals with a 4-0 loss to Germany.

The federation had offered Maradona a four-year contract to continue through the 2014 World Cup. But Maradona said he would stay only if his entire staff remained.

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CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/The Kansas City | \The Kansas City Star

Kansas City Wizards Jimmy Nielsen (1) defends the goal against Manchester United during the 2010 International Friendly at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday July 25, 2010.

Major League Soccer filled out it's 32-man All Star Game roster today by selecting seven players to the inactive list, and Kansas City's stellar goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen is amongst them. Being placed on the All-Star inactive list means they won't play against Manchester United on Wednesday night, but will get an All-Star bonus.

The players are:

Goalkeepers Jimmy Nielsen (Kansas City) and Kasey Keller (Seattle), midfielders Joel Lindpere (New York), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle), and forwards Fredy Montero (Seattle) and Conor Casey (Colorado).

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The Kansas City Wizards will distribute this Preki figurine to the first 4,000 fans at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday.

The first 4,000 fans to enter CommunityAmerica Ballpark this Saturday will get a special treat: A Preki figurine courtesy of Time Warner Cable.

The legendary player, who was part of the inaugural Wiz team in 1996 and played every year but one for Kansas City during his time in Major League Soccer, is returning to the city as the coach of Toronto FC. This year, MLS is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

During his time in Kansas City, Preki featured in 218 games scoring 71 goals and was a member of the 2000 team that won the Supporter's Shield and the MLS Cup. That was the last time a major Kansas City team won a league title.

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