2009 MLS Preview: Kansas City Wizards

By: travis | March 11th, 2009

Starting March 4, and continuing up until March 19, I’ll be previewing every team prior to the First Kick of the 2009 season. I’m going in alphabetical order, with a final season prediction coming at the end of everything. My goal? To make sure that every team is covered here at MLS Offside, with each team blog going into much further detail than I will.

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Kansas City blogger needed! Our Kansas City blog is currently unmanned and looking for love. This is an unpaid position, but a lot of fun and a way to share the love of your team. If you worship Kansas City and like to write about soccer, please email Daryl, daryl[at]theoffside[dot]com.

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There’s a lot to be excited about in KC heading into 2009. Even off the pitch, as the work begins on the Wizards on SSS should start soon. But along with that, they’ve brought back the majority of a playoff team, adding one or two very exciting players along the way. I think there should be a set of raised expectations for the Wizards, and provided that they stay healthy, an even deeper playoff run in 2009 should be on the cards.

2008: 11-10-9, 42 pts, fourth in the Eastern Conference. Lost to Columbus Crew in first round.

Services acquired: Santiago Hirsig, Adam Cristman, Matt Besler

Left the building: Tyson Wahl, Carlos Marinelli, Kerry Zavagnin

Coach: Did you know that Curt Onalfo was born in Brazil? Me neither. He’s entering his third season in charge of the Wizards.

All Eyes on Me: I can’t help but put anyone here aside but Jimmy Conrad. Aside from being one of the most entertaining players off the pitch, with hilarious interviews, blog posts, or whatever, he’s a key to the Wizards defense, even more so this season. With a number of younger players in support, Conrad will need to continue to provide steady leadership of the backline in front of solid keeper Kevin Hartman. The defense isn’t really

Player(s) to Watch: Up front, goals have always been a premium for KC, and in order to progress far this year, they’ll need forwards Herculez Gomez, Abe Thompson, and Adam Cristman to find the net early and often. Without a consistent threat up front this team will definitely struggle to do anything but draw or lose games. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of creative, playmaking spark Santiago Hirsig brings to MLS. It’s exciting to me that a player like Hirsig would join up after getting what must have been a resounding endorsement of the league from compatriot Claudio Lopez. I wonder if the two can play together well on the field — it’ll certainly be a huge boost to the Wizards.

Young Guns: The team has two young and exciting defenders in Michael Harrington and Jonathan Leathers. Look for those two in the starting lineup early and often. Aaron Hohlbein will benefit from the departure of Tyson Wahl via the expansion draft. He competed with Wahl for a starting position last season, and one of the reasons they probably let Wahl go is they felt good having Hohlbein transition into a starting role. Not sure what kind of a role rookie Matt Besler will play — I would expect that he’s there to learn and to be nothing more than a backup. Second year player Roger Espinoza saw some time with the Honduran national team over the offseason, competing in the UNCAF Nations Cup.

Bottom Line: The Wizards are an interesting team. They’ve got a lot of the right players on paper, but questions remain. Can Onalfo find the right combination to secure the shutouts but also get a goal or two on the offensive end? Look out for a solid season from (hopefully) former USMNTer Josh Wolff who returned to KC last season after a European stint. They’ll be optimistic that Hartman hasn’t gotten any slower or older between the posts, as he’s been one of the best keepers in MLS history. I think between Gomez, Wolff, Davy Arnaud, and Cristman, they’ll find the back of the net to at least make their third consecutive trip to the playoffs. Whether they can make it any further than that and put up a legitimate title challenge remains to be seen.