A new plan in Kansas City

Four points from four MLS regular-season matches is a good start for Sporting Kansas City. It is progress after the last two seasons.

The club endured back-to-back horrendous campaigns. In 2024, Sporting finished 27th overall in the MLS regular season. With 29 teams in the league that year, that made Sporting Kansas City the third-worst team across the entire competition. 

Things didn’t improve much in 2025. Sporting Kansas City continued their poor performances on the pitch and once again finished 27th overall in the MLS regular season. This time, with 30 MLS clubs, Sporting were the fourth-worst team in the league.

The club missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Sporting Kansas City, under that name or any of its previous ones, has never missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. Part of that is due to the parity and financial mechanisms of MLS. A bad run in this league does not necessarily have to last long, and playoff qualification often buys coaches more time than their results might otherwise justify.

Just look at Ben Olsen. Okay, sorry Ben, you’ve won two U.S. Open Cups. Yet, somehow you have managed to remain an MLS head coach for more than a decade with a winning percentage below 38%. That is not meant purely as criticism, but rather as a reflection of how MLS works. The league’s structure and the importance of playoff qualification allow coaches to survive longer runs of mediocrity than they might in other leagues around the world.

Playoff qualification should be the bare minimum in MLS. Rather, it is seen as an accomplishment, keeping coaches and sporting directors in jobs for years without real progress. 

Sporting Kansas City have not been great in 2026, but they have been good. The biggest difference between this team and the versions we saw over the previous two seasons is that there finally appears to be a plan in place. Under former head coach Peter Vermes, a coach who was given the keys to the kingdom, Sporting often lacked tactical flexibility. There was little fluidity in the system, and if plan A failed to work, the team rarely had an alternative.

I questioned whether Raphael Wicky could improve Sporting Kansas City this season. Based on his previous coaching stops, I did not expect him to last particularly long in Kansas City. He has never completed two full seasons at any club he has managed, which made his appointment feel like a short-term gamble rather than a long-term solution.

So far, Wicky has Sporting Kansas City playing better than the sum of their individual parts. There is genuine fluidity within the system, and the team is capable of adjusting when matches demand it. If plan A does not work, there is a plan B, and a plan C. Wicky is willing to alter the tactical approach during matches when he feels the opportunity is there to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses or to shore up the team’s weakness.

His approach feels modern, which is something Sporting Kansas City desperately needed. Under Vermes, the tactical identity felt like something from a previous era. Coaching has evolved significantly over the last decade, not just in MLS but across world soccer. Tactical flexibility, in-game adjustments, and adaptable systems are now essential components of successful teams.

That said, Vermes accomplished great things in Kansas City and deserves recognition for that success. He delivered one MLS Cup and three U.S. Open Cups, while the club also finished as runners-up in another Open Cup final. Winning three U.S. Open Cup trophies is an impressive achievement and helped establish Sporting Kansas City as one of the more successful MLS clubs of that era.

However, the reality of modern MLS is that the U.S. Open Cup now sits lower on the list of priorities for clubs. For many teams, the U.S. Open Cup ranks behind the MLS Cup, the Supporters’ Shield, the Leagues Cup, and the CONCACAF Champions Cup when it comes to desired silverware.

The improvements Sporting Kansas City have made since MLS Week 1 are clear to anyone who has watched the team closely. The performances are not perfect, but there is visible progress in the team’s organization, the movement, and the overall approach.

Sporting director David Lee has not yet been able to assemble the squad depth and overall quality he would ideally want. That is not a surprise, because the job in front of him is enormous. In many ways, Lee is rebuilding the roster from scratch while also restructuring parts of the club behind the scenes. He has had to bring in new personnel to replace staff who departed or were no longer present after Vermes’ long tenure overseeing the organization.

Despite those challenges, Lee is handling the situation impressively. Sporting Kansas City have collected four points from four matches with a squad that currently includes just 23 contracted professionals. Four of those players are goalkeepers, meaning only 19 outfield players are under contract. That lack of depth would challenge any club in MLS, particularly during the early part of the season.

Lasse Berg Johnsen made his debut this past weekend and immediately made an impact. He scored against the LA Galaxy and provided the midfield with the stability that had been desperately lacking in previous matches. His presence alone helped the team look more balanced and controlled through the center of the pitch.

Another new signing, Capita, has yet to receive his visa. The forward remains a few matchdays away from making his Sporting Kansas City debut, but his arrival should add another attacking option to a squad that still lacks depth in several areas.

In previous articles, I said this team will make the playoffs in 2026, and I still believe that prediction is realistic. There are only 10 matches remaining before the 2026 FIFA World Cup break. That pause will give Sporting Kansas City valuable time to continue building the roster and further integrate Wicky’s tactical ideas.

By the time MLS resumes after the World Cup, Sporting Kansas City could look like a very different team. Additional signings will arrive, the squad could finally have the depth it currently lacks, and the tactical system should be far more embedded within the group.

For the first time in a while, Sporting Kansas City look like a club with direction. After the chaos and stagnation of the last two seasons, that alone represents meaningful progress.