Here’s how former teammate Ike Opara welcomed Benny Feilhaber to the Sporting KC staff

Benny Feilhaber’s introductory news conference as Sporting Kansas City’s newest technical-staff member was hijacked by an equally familiar face Tuesday afternoon.

Surprise: Former SKC defender and teammate Ike Opara was on the call to pose a couple of questions himself.

Opara, who now plays for Minnesota United, first asked Feilhaber: “Over/under 2.5 games you will realize you can still play and try to make a comeback?” That was quickly followed by, “Will you invest in real clothes now that you are a member of the technical staff?”

Feilhaber laughed off the first question, saying that unless the game of soccer has drastically changed “from having to run to standing in place,” his playing days are over. As for his wardrobe, he said that’s not changing much from his playing days.

Opara was on the call to collect material for the pair’s podcast, BSI: The Podcast, which the duo produced alongside former SKC player Sal Sizzo for multiple years.

Although the interchange was lighthearted, it indicated a serious hurdle Feilhaber must overcome: jumping from player to coach at such a young age, on a club for which he played just two seasons ago.

Feilhaber, 36, retired from professional soccer in March 2019 having spent 5 1/2 seasons with the club across two stints. After his retirement, he spent half a year on staff at his alma mater, UCLA, before the most recent Pac-12 season was postponed due to COVID-19. He was added to SKC’s technical staff Tuesday.

In returning to the club with which he won an MLS Cup and two U.S. Open Cups, not only will Feilhaber be coaching players of a similar vintage, he’ll be working with former teammates and close friends. Fourteen SKC players on the roster for 2021 were also here in some capacity during Feilhaber’s final season in KC, 2019.

“Really being able to maintain the good relationships that I have with a lot of those players and yet still be a good professional,” Feilhaber said, “I think that’s going to be something that I have to learn.

“I don’t anticipate it being a problem because I do think the relationships that I’ve built with those players are so solid and so strong that I wouldn’t anticipate any difficulties there.”

Feilhaber is just two years older than longtime teammates Tim Melia, Roger Espinoza and Graham Zusi, and just a handful of years older than numerous others. But finding himself on the coach’s sideline had been a goal since the moment he retired.

And ending up in Kansas City had been in the works for some time.

“In terms of when I started talking to Peter (Vermes), honestly, my first conversation was before I retired, before I had decided to retire, at the end of 2019,” Feilhaber said. “Peter said, ‘We’re not taking you as a player for 2020, but if and when you retire, let me know because I think you’d be an asset for this team.’”

Feilhaber said he put the offer in his back pocket, unsure at the time whether he was ready to step away as a player. But following his retirement in March 2020, serious conversations ensued.

The inevitable was delayed only because of the COVID pandemic.

“It was something that was ongoing, and I was hoping that something would become available,” Feilhaber said. “Peter was able to offer me something over the last 2-3 weeks and it was something that was a very easy decision to come onboard to this organization.”

As for Feilhaber’s role on staff, he described it as “evolving.” He’ll work with the first team on a regular basis, helping plan weekly training sessions and prepare for upcoming opponents.

But he also wants to follow in the footsteps of Vermes, whom Feilhaber credits with being one of the coaches who most shaped him as a player. As Vermes has done, he wants to learn and understand every job that makes the club tick.

“Something that Peter’s said to me that really resonated with me is it’s good to learn and understand what every facet of the club does,” Feilhaber said.

Feilhaber said he will focus not only on his own coaching, but what everyone else around him is doing — from the coaching and technical staffs to the equipment manager and medical staff.

As for his return to BSI: The Podcast?

“Don’t know what it means for the podcast yet. Probably a little bit of a hiatus, at least from my perspective,” he laughed. “I’m very excited about (coaching). And every day that I come in here and speak to the coaching staff, the technical staff, I just get more excited about the work that’s ahead.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Here’s how former teammate Ike Opara welcomed Benny Feilhaber to the Sporting KC staff."