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A Perfect KC Soccer Weekend and Front Office Movement

A weekend full of winning and two big front office moves aimed at winning at lot more at Sporting Kansas City.

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Credit: Thad Bell

For the Glory KC is back with the 91st episode of the show!

Sporting Kansas City got themselves back in the win column this week for just the fourth time this season. On Saturday night, they shut out Austin FC 2-0, just their second shutout in 21 tries this season. The victory was picked up by quality finishing and even better defense.

It also feels like someone over at Sporting KC in the technical staff may be listening to the podcast. Last week, we put out a loose plan for going forward in 2024. Stop playing guys that’ll be gone after the year, unless you are trying to see if you need to bring them back. It wasn’t perfect, as Andreu Fontas found the bench, but Johnny Russell and Tim Melia still started. Russell played lights out and Melia had very little to do since Austin only mustered two shots.

SKC also played the midfield trio of Nemanja Radoja, Erik Thommy and Jake Davis, a group I’ve personally been clamoring to see together more. Davis did well to make up that ground coverage that Remi Walter supplies and a touch of physicality in the midfield this team doesn’t have outside of Memo Rodriguez. The game also saw the return of Alan Pulido and Tim Leibold from injury, with Leibold scoring the game winner.

Walter, Daniel Salloi and Robert Castellanos were all listed as questionable, but they all sat out the game.

Speaking of physicality, it reminds us immediately of the retirement of Roger Espinoza. He was honored before the game and spoke to the media at halftime and a little in the locker room.

The conversation wouldn’t be complete without all the front office movement from the week. Brian Bliss is out, and Mike Burns is in, though not in exactly the same job. We’ll have a better understanding of Burns’ role after the Tuesday press conference as Peter Vermes asked we avoid asking about Burns in the post-game presser. Sheena and I give our initial impressions on the hiring and firing, knowing more information is coming down the line.

Mixed in is a bit of talk around the increase in season ticket member prices. It feels like a really tough time to ask fans for more money, since it literally happened after the worst loss of the season against Columbus.

The Kansas City Current continue to set records and hold back the opposition. In the past week they went to the Portland Thorns and won 4-1 and then returned home for a 2-0 win over the Houston Dash. We share our thoughts on those games, Temwa Chawinga, the river ‘goal’ and so much more.

In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few other topics, including:

  • Two NWSL coaching firings, both with KC ties
  • A Memo Rodriguez transfer rumor
  • The USMNT’s up and down week at Copa America
  • USWNT Olympic Roster is out
  • and Kamron Habibullah is midseason MLS Next Pro MVP

Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):

  • Sporting KC win! – 6:44
  • SKC do some hiring and firing in the front office – 45:58
  • KC Current win twice! – 1:14:15
  • Digital Crawl – 1:31:18

Upcoming Schedule:

  • SKC II vs. Austin FC II – Sunday, June 30th @ 6:00 PM CDT
  • USMNT vs. Uruguay – Monday, July 1st @ 8:00 PM
  • Sporting KC at Colorado Rapids – Thursday, July 4th @ 8:30 PM
  • KC Current vs. Orlando Pride – Saturday, July 6th @ 6:30 PM
  • Sporting KC vs. FC Dallas – Sunday, July 7th @ 7:30 PM
  • SKC II at Tacoma Defiance – Sunday, July 7th @ 9:00 PM

We recently turned on “Listener Support.” Don’t feel obligated, but if you have a few spare bucks and are a fan of the pod, we’d appreciate your donation.

As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they’ll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!

Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.


You can find For the Glory KC wherever you get your podcasts. Search “For the Glory KC” and be sure to subscribe! Here are some helpful links:

Spotify | Apple | Amazon | iHeartRadio | Castbox |

Be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast. Five-star ratings and reviews will help others find the pod. On Spotify you can review on the mobile app by clicking the three dots. On Apple Podcasts, it’s much easier. If it’s not quite five-star worthy yet, feel free to let us know in the comments or on Twitter (@PlayFor90 or @ForTheGloryKC). Sheena essentially runs our FTG Twitter, so that’s a great way to get her takes.

Also, you can find the podcast on all the social media platforms: @ForTheGloryKC on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook or you can email us at ForTheGloryKC at Gmail.


Transcript from Revoldiv available after about 24 hours. Click the link, then search “For the Glory KC” for a free transcription (or you can transcribe any podcast you’d like).

I've been covering Kansas City soccer since 2014, including Sporting Kansas City, the KC Current, SKC II and more. I'm based out of Kansas City, MO, but got my start covering SKC while writing from Phoenix, AZ.

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