Sporting Kansas City strengthens its roster with acquisition of defender from Germany
Sporting Kansas City on Thursday announced the acquisition of German defender Tim Leibold on a free transfer from Hamburg SV in the 2. Bundesliga.
The 29-year-old left-back has accumulated more than 60 combined goals and assists in over 300 games in the top divisions in Germany.
Leibold is under contract through the 2025 season with an option for 2026. He will require an international slot on the Sporting KC roster.
He joins Robert Voloder and Erik Thommy as the third German player that Sporting KC has acquired in the last calendar year.
For the last four-plus years, Leibold has manned the left side of the defense at Hamburg, notching 16 assists during the 2019-20 season and captaining the team the following year. He amassed five goals and 22 assists in 83 games with Hamburg. He missed most of last season with a ligament tear in his knee and struggled to return to his regular playing time this season.
Before his stint with Hamburg, Leibold spent five seasons with FC Nürnberg, aiding the club in its promotion to the Bundesliga in 2018. In 113 games with Nürnberg, he notched 10 goals and 14 assists.
He has 148 career appearances in the 2. Bundesliga, and appeared in 32 games for Nürnberg during their one-year stint in the Bundesliga.
Sporting KC currently has three left-backs on the roster, but none is known for being able to play other positions. All three are on the senior roster, which is now full with the acquisition of Leibold. Just three supplemental slots are open on the roster now.
One of the three unsigned center-backs in camp is second-round draft pick Chris Rindov. The other two are trialists. Rindov would be on the team’s supplemental roster, if signed. Sporting KC typically carries four center-backs out of preseason camp.
If Sporting KC was to acquire another starter-level center-back, the club would need to clear a senior roster spot for him. International slots shouldn’t be much of a concern, either. A source tells The Star that players who need them are working on acquiring their green cards, which would remove the international-player designation.
The good thing for Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes is that he has more than a month to determine an opening day roster. The league’s roster-compliance date is Feb. 24; Sporting opens the season in Portland one day later.
Sporting KC departed for Arizona on Monday for the first portion of preseason camp. Along with members of the current roster, Sporting is training with nine non-roster invitees.
Three players have joined Sporting KC as trialists: Yeison Mejía, a 24-year-old forward who has played with Real Española of Honduras’ top flight; Nassim Mekideche, an Algerian defender who played for Valour FC of the Canadian Premier League; and Mo Abualnadi, a defender who spent time with Sporting KC’s academy and played college soccer at Pitt. Abualnadi made four appearances for Sporting KC II in 2019.
Here is Sporting KC’s full list of non-roster invitees:
Chris Rindov, defender: Round 2 draft pick
Mo Abualnadi, defender: trialist
Yeison Mejia, forward: trialist
Nassim Mekideche, defender: trialist
Jacob Bartlett, defender: academy
Carlito Saylon, goalkeeper: academy
Jacob Molinaro, goalkeeper: academy
Ethan Bandre, goalkeeper: SKC II
Diedie Traore, defender: SKC II
Note: first-round draft pick Stephen Afrifa has decided to complete the spring season of his senior year at Florida International. Sporting KC has placed him on the college-protected list, and he will join the team later in the MLS season, once his time at FIU is complete.
This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 12:54 PM.