It’s a new era in different ways for both clubs as Sporting Kansas City host the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night in Kansas City, Kan.
Sporting KC begin the 2025 season with many of their stars from the past no longer with the team, while San Jose welcomes veteran coach Bruce Arena behind the bench for his first season with the club.
Arena has the most coaching victories in MLS history at 263 with five different teams. That’s 23 more than second-place Sigi Schmid and 60 more than Peter Vermes in third, whose 203 wins have all come in his 17 seasons with SKC.
San Jose (1-0-0, 3 points) is coming off a resounding 4-0 win on Sunday over Real Salt Lake. The Quakes got on the board in the 28th minute against RSL when Jamar Ricketts pounded a crossing pass from Beau Leroux into the back of the net. San Jose then scored three goals in 13 minutes in the second half to turn a close match into a blowout.
Arena was not satisfied with the production, thinking there is more to come.
“I think our attacking group is going to get better,” he said after the match. “It’s the hardest thing in this sport. That’s why they pay these guys that score goals a lot of money around the world. In time, we’ll hopefully have a good attacking team.”
Sporting KC (0-1-0, 0 points) could use some of that moxie. In three games so far, including two against Miami in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Kansas City has yet to lead. Memo Rodriguez has scored the team’s only goal, as it lost 4-1 on aggregate against Miami and 1-0 against Austin FC in the MLS opener last Saturday.
But Vermes is optimistic, about the season and about Saturday.
“Our team is trending in a good way,” he said Friday. “When you’re a competitor you want to win. All the guys on our team are competitors, as are the coaches. At the same time, we also have to look at (the fact) that we’re building as a team. You’re assessing players based on results and on their performances. Every time we walk on the field, we’re going to have winning as our No. 1 goal.”
–Field Level Media
