Hello again KC Wizards fans in India. Over the last couple of weeks there has been some exciting news centered around the Sunil Chhetri's team - the Kansas City Wizards.
First and foremost, as many of you have probably heard the team is no longer called the Kansas City Wizards, they are now called Sporting Kansas City which has been met with mix reactions by fans. The name change according to our team owners represents something new in Major League Soccer which is the concept of not only having a soccer team playing under this logo or crest but maybe a rugby team, or a lacrosse team, thus truly designing a sports club.
As any true soccer fan can tell this name also has a very traditional European sound to it, which also has been met with some mix emotions. I myself am OK with the change as I tend to like a more traditional name. I also enjoy our new team colors, but I am not a big fan of our new crest. I encourage all of you read some articles on the Internet about the name change and voice your opinions and ideas on the facebook page or anywhere else.
Other exciting news is the upcoming Major League Soccer expansion draft. This may seem a bit confusing for those of you who are not completely familiar with how the MLS works, so please allow me a few minutes to explain this process to you. Every year that a new team is brought into the league there is an expansion draft, this year the league is introducing two new teams, the Vancouver White Caps (Canada) where Indian keeper Subrata Pal had a trial and the Portland Timbers (Portland, Oregon, USA). When expansion draft time comes around, teams are only allowed to save 11 players from the draft, not including recently signed players or designated players. This means that every other player besides those 11 have to be placed in the draft for the two new teams to chose from, this helps give the new teams a fighting chance in the upcoming season.
As any good soccer fan would know teams tend to make their 11 players they are keeping players who start, this is why Sunil's name was placed on the draft list. This does not mean Sporting Kansas City wants to get rid of him or does not think he is good enough he was just not in the "saved 11." Sunil has a very good chance of staying right here in the Kansas City area, which is something all Sporting fans want to see happen, but we also realize he may get drafted by another team if that is the case we will all wish him the best of luck, and hope you all will continue to support his new team, and Sporting.
As mentioned before several players go into this draft and end up with their original team, with the MLS being so young it is just the way it has to be done right now. The expansion draft is scheduled for Wednesday November 24, 2010, as soon as it is known if Sunil is playing for a different team or the same team I will let everyone know. Here in Kansas City we realize that Sunil has not gotten the playing time he has probably wanted, my hope is that he will continue to play well in the Asian games and come back even stronger and more competitive than before.
If he is chosen by a different team than we will wish him the best of luck, and I am honored I got to see him play a few times. These are exciting times for the game of soccer in the Kansas City area I hope that you all will join us in the excitement.
Kory Buys writes for FootballKerala.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Tuesday 23 November 2010, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.
Comments · 3
There are a few points of conflict in the article.
(1) The headline for the article is WRONG. Being exposed on the MLS Expansion Draft does not necessarily mean "being transfer listed".
(2) Designated players are not protected by default. Fredrik Ljungburg, Juna Pablo Angel, et al are designated players who are exposed in the Expansion Draft. Only designated players with a "no-trade clause" are protected by default. Else, they should be placed on the protected list by their respective franchise.
(3) Regarding recently signed players being not exposed, the author has contradicted himself - Sunil Chetri was signed recently but has been exposed in the Expansion Draft.
(4) However, besides the protected 11 players, "Generation Adidas and Homegrown" players are automatically protected whether the franchise desires to protect them or not!
(5) Also, franchises usually DO NOT protect their best 11 players based on "starting 11". This is evident from the number of designated players exposed in the Expansion Draft. Moreover, take the case of Sporting Kansas City, regulars like Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff are not protected!
(6) Now, regarding Sunil Chetri being wanted by Sporting Kansas City or not - highly debatable! It remains to be seen if he will ever get a game for them (even if he was not loaned out to the Indian National Team)...
Anyways, Good Luck to Sunil (hopefully he gets drafted by either Vancouver or Portland who will give him quality playing time).
if there is no chetri,what is the need of kansas and MLS in india???
Without Sunil MLS will be of no interest,infact if Kansas doesn't give hive playing team he should be transferred to some other team may be even to the Europe leagues.