By Kurt Austin, special KC Wizards correspondent and President, Mizzou Soccer Club
If Kansas City Wizards fans are feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, it’s with good reason. This week was a walk down memory lane a la last season for the Wizards and if history holds true, nothing good can come from it.
A brief look back at last season’s similarities and their outcomes:
• 2006: In the Wizards 5th regular season game they defeat the Columbus Crew 1-0. The win improves the team’s record to 4-1 and moves Kansas City into first place in the Eastern Conference.
• 2007: See above.
• 2006: The Wizards went winless in their next five games (0-3-2) in route to finishing one point shy of making the playoffs for the second year in a row. The team’s next win didn’t come until the sixth game in a rematch with the Crew.
• 2007? The Wizards next five games are going to be the true test of whether the Curt Onalfo, OnGoal LLC version Wizards are the real deal. As of today, all five games will be against opponents currently sitting in 1st or 2nd place and three of the five matches are on the road. The team’s sixth opponent? You guessed it, the Columbus Crew.
And it gets worse.
• 2006: Wizards captain Jimmy Conrad, finalist for Defender of the Year three years in a row and U.S. National Team regular, suffers a broken right jaw.
• 2007: See above.
• 2006: After surgery, a wired jaw, and a liquid diet, Conrad loses 12 pounds and misses 7 games and 85 minutes of the 8th before returning. The Wizards go 3-2-3 in his absence.
• 2007? As of Thursday, it was unclear whether or not the break would require surgery. Nevertheless, Conrad is listed as “out indefinitely.” 21-year-old rookie Aaron Holhbein will start in place of Conrad on Saturday.
Moral of the story – I hope the Wizards 2006 trials taught the team a lesson. They know they can weather the loss of Conrad; albeit last year they did so with much greater depth in defense in calling upon the services of senior international Shavar Thomas and veteran Alex Zotinca, both now playing for Chivas USA. Regardless, the team expected to lose Conrad to the National Team for this summer’s Copa America and/or Gold Cup already, so this merely accelerates the learning curve for his understudies. As for the misleading fast start of 2006, the Wizards now know better than ever that the MLS regular season is more marathon than sprint. Early points are encouraging, but consistency will be key.
Game Preview: The Wizards take on FC Dallas, 7 p.m. Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Metro Sports, Direct Kick, MLSLive.TV, and 1340 AM (Spanish). Early reports indicate the Hoops will be without Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz, two-time league leader in goals scored and 2002 Most Valuable Player. Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala will make his first start of the season after serving a 6-game suspension for an incident in last year’s playoffs.
Interview with Curt Onalfo, Head Coach by KC Star
An article on who might fill in for Conrad from MLSnet.com
Add to Google
Recent Comments