Sporting KC’s media day features talk of expectations, a jersey unveiling & introductions
After struggling through the 2024 Major League Soccer season, Sporting Kansas City has had an eventful offseason.
The club rebuilt its roster with eight new players and hopes to have opened a new competitive window.
With three marquee signings and a date with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami looming Tuesday, Sporting KC held its annual media day on Friday.
Here are five things we learned:
Balanced expectations
Sporting has long been known for its competitive approach. After missing the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, the club has embarked on a rebuild.
Sporting director Mike Burns and manager Peter Vermes have been using that very term — rebuild — since November.
But rebuilding requires at least some measure of patience, which presents a dichotomy for this club that has been hellbent on winning trophies for the past 15 years. This club intends to win now, too.
“If our goal every single year is not to win MLS Cup — like, I don’t say this sarcastically — what are we doing this for?” Burns said.
Making the postseason should be the bare minimum for MLS teams. There are 15 teams in each conference, and nine of them qualify for the playoffs. That’s 60% of the league.
It’s not unrealistic for Sporting KC to return to the playoffs this season.
“We’re trying to construct a roster that is capable of first making the playoffs, competing for a championship and then ultimately winning a championship,” Burns said. “That’ll never change from year to year.”
The realistic caveat: This a team with eight new players, and two of the biggest signings have barely arrived. Manu Garcia participated in his first training session at media day and Shapi Suleymanov wasn’t due in town until Saturday.
Vermes wants to see progress as the months of the season wear on.
“The team that we’ll have on Tuesday night, and even the way that we’re playing, it should be different a month from (now),” Vermes said. “And it should just get better as time goes on.”
Draft pick signed; What’s next?
Sporting announced the signing of its first-round draft pick, Jansen Miller, on Thursday. The 23-year-old St. Louis native was selected with the eighth pick in this year’s MLS SuperDraft.
He showed out in the preseason, earning a roster spot with the first team. His contract will run through the 2025 season with options for ‘26, ‘27 and ‘28.
With most of Sporting’s additions coming on the front-line so far, any more would likely be for the back-line or midfield. Kansas City did not sign trialist Sebastian Cruz to a first-team deal; Jan Jurcec is still with the squad but is yet to sign a contract.
It’s safe to expect a few more players will be on the way to KC, as five open roster spots remain.
“We will certainly add players this window if we feel they’re appropriate,” Burns said.
New threads
As media day got started on Friday, Sporting KC unveiled its new home kit for the 2025 season.
A play on the “state line” theme meshes to create another edition of the team’s “hoops” tradition.
A large-scale kit leak gave fans a sneak-peek at the concept some weeks ago. But in person, the new kit is a strikingly good look: The familiar Sporting Blue is accented by the bars of a repeated Missouri and Kansas “state-line” pattern, similar to past kits. Compass Minerals is still the primary kit logo sponsor.
Apple TV continues this season as the primary broadcast partner for MLS, and each of the league’s clubs was allowed to customize the Apple TV logo with a localized design.
How about a captain?
The departure of Johnny Russell and a few other veterans means a new captain is needed. Vermes wasn’t quite ready to name a captain on Friday, but he did note that a few players have stepped up in the preseason.
“I think we do have some guys in the team that are incredibly professional in the way that they go about their business every day,” Vermes said. “And those guys are really good examples within the team.”
Players on the roster who have worn the armband for the club before: Jake Davis, Erik Thommy, Daniel Salloi and Nemanja Radoja. This season’s captain will likely be named before Tuesday’s home match against Inter Miami.
Apple TV is back
Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass is one of the only ways fans can watch every match in 2025.
MLS Season Pass is also now offered through Comcast Xfinity and Direct TV. MLS 360, the league’s match-day whip-around show, will be available for free to all Xfinity users.
In addition, beginning Feb. 18, T-Mobile users will be able to get MLS Season Pass for free for a limited time through the T-Life app and T-Mobile Tuesdays.
The price for MLS Season pass remains the same this year: $14.99 a month or $99 annually. For Apple TV+ subscribers, those prices are $12.99 monthly or $79 annually.
All of Sporting KC’s CONCACAF Champions Cup games will be available on Fox Sports 2, including the club’s highly anticipated matchup with Lionel Messi on Tuesday evening.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.