For the Glory KC - A Sporting KC Podcast

Chad and Sheena Smith
  • 4.3 (28)
  • Soccer
  • Updated Weekly

A Kansas City Soccer podcast covering Sporting Kansas City, the KC Current, SKC II and more! Hosted by Chad and Sheena and co-published on KCSoccerJournal.com.

  1. 5d ago

    Andre Arrives, Streak Dies, and the Spoon Can Wait (Hopefully)

    For the Glory KC is back with the 195th episode of the show! Before we get to the podcast, if you'd like to support us, we talked at the start of the episode about Upside. It's an app you can use to buy gas, eat out and in some cities buy groceries and get cash back for buying what you are going to buy anyways. If you want to support the podcast by doing what you are already doing, join Upside with our affiliate link. *** Sporting Kansas City break their post-World Cup winless streak with a big 3-1 victory over LAFC. The move pulls them within three points of CF Montreal as they attempt to avoid 'winning' the Wooden Spoon. The KC Soccer Journal asked Wicky and Taylor Calheira about their attempts to avoid the spoon and we'll get into those responses during the episode. Plus, we talked through all the action from the game. The arrival of Andre Luiz as a potential star shone brightly in his improved play and particularly in his opening goal last night. It was an absolute banger, but it wasn't all Andre did. He drew fouls. He combined with teammates. He generally looked like the guy we hoped he'd be. And according to Wicky he's still not fully fit. There should be more to come! Beyond Andre, Stefan Cleveland, Taylor Calheira, Stephen Afrifa, Moises Mosquera, Emir Karic and Wyatt Meyer all got some love. And let's not leave out the clinical finish by substitute Jacob Bartlett. Besides the goal, he honored Or Blorian who will be out for the rest of the season after a surprise surgery this week. The whole team in fact honored him before the game. And Sheena brought back the casual hair takes for the first time in a hot minute. On the other side of town, the KC Current fought back valiantly against the Orlando Pride after falling behind 2-0. They maintain their two-plus year regular season unbeaten run at CPKC Stadium. However, they still have to find a way to climb the table with results worth more than a point. The Current also had honors bestowed upon Temwa Chawing and Lorena and former Current player, Meila Brewer, landed in Dallas. In the Digital Crawl, we hit one more topic: NWSL Relocation: Louisville to Cincy? Here is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 11:04KC Current - 1:00:11Digital Crawl - 1:11:51Upcoming Games KC Current @ San Diego Wave, FRI, Sept 18th at 9:00PM CSTSporting KC vs. Philadelphia Union, SAT, Sept 19th at 7:30PMSKC II @ Dynamo 2, SUN, Sept 20th at 4:00PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  2. Sep 8

    Sporting KC’s Transfer Hangover and the Shocking Vlatko Departure

    For the Glory KC is back with the 194th episode of the show! Before we get to the podcast, if you'd like to support us, we talked at the very end of the episode about Upside. It's an app you can use to buy gas, eat out and in some cities buy groceries and get cash back for buying what you are going to buy anyways. If you want to support the podcast by doing what you are already doing, join Upside with our affiliate link. *** Sporting Kansas City played soccer this week, but the focus was mostly on the transfer window. Sadly, it was more about what didn't get done than what did. Can we take back what we said last week about how the transfer rumors were more fun than the games? When it all falls through, it's quite disappointing. Sheena and I talked about what did get done (two loans for teenagers within MLS) and what didn't (Yann Gboho and Paulos Abraham, among others). Plus, the fallout and the press conference from David Lee. It was a robust discussion about the state of the team with a real mix of casual perspective and deeper analysis. Sporting KC also played a thrilling 4-3 game against FC Dallas that was unfortunately a loss. Taylor Calheira had a breakout performance and Capita found new life on the left side of the attack. There was lots to like, including a statistically dominant performance and a lot to dislike with four goals going into SKC's net. Is it he defense? Is it goalkeeping? Sporting KC just taking their foot off the gas of their attack and press? Something else? We also work through the long list of injured players for Sporting KC, which now includes Jake Davis, Zorhan Bassong, Ian James, Calvin Harris and a positive update for Owen Wolff. In more positive news, the KC Current won another game! 2-1 over Bay FC on the road. The trouble is no one is talking about that since the team "mutually parted ways" with Vlatko Andonovski. What does it mean? Is he getting a new job? (Does he want to coach Sporting KC?) Sheena and I work through all the possibilities. In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: MLS is back in the US Open Cup in full!Here is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 4:36KC Current - 50:12Digital Crawl - 1:36:43Upcoming Games KC Current vs. Orlando Pride, FRI, Sept 11 at 7:00PM CSTSporting KC vs. LAFC, SAT, Sept 12 at 7:30PM CSTSKC II vs. LAFC 2, SUN, Sept 13 at 7:00PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  3. Aug 31

    Sporting KC’s Transfer Plans are More Fun than the Games

    For the Glory KC is back with the 193rd episode of the show! Sporting Kansas City had another eventful week and maybe they'll do a lot more business in the next three days before the transfer window closes. We start off the podcast with the record U22 Initiative signing of Owen Wolff from Austin FC. The 21-year-old midfielder/left winger/forward will hopefully help what ails Sporting KC. As soon as he recovers from his ankle injury. SKC have one remaining U22 spot they can fill and it'll be intriguing to see if they spend big again. Then we found out the details around Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia's departures. Why sell Dejan in conference? Why buyout Manu instead of selling him if Aris made an offer? Sheena and I break down the details and then spend a lot of time on the state of the team. We work in some David Lee press conference news of adding two more DPs, hopefully sooner than later. Also, there was the rumor of the 24-year-old Swedish striker, Paulos Abraham and a lot of national attention to Sporting KC's recent player movement and promises of future transactions. It's going to be an interesting close to the transfer window, hopefully. Unfortunately, Sporting KC played two soccer games too. For Sheena's birthday I joined her and watched the Vancouver Whitecaps win 3-0 over SKC. There were lots of missing players for injury (Jake Davis and Zorhan Bassong) and perhaps another injury in game to Capita Capemba. There was a new captain (Lasse Berg Johnsen) and the debut of Sporting KC's newest Designated Player, Andre Luiz. They also played and lost to Atlanta United a week ago, right after our emergency Dejan Joveljic podcast. There was news for Zamir Loyo Reynaga, Andreu Fontas and Jaylin Lindsey also this week! In more positive news, the KC Current won a game! It was their first win in August, just in time for the month to end. They absolutely dominated the North Carolina Courage but only managed a 3-2 win. We get into the big moments taken and missed. In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: St. Louis City SC rumored transferMLS Next Pro schedule changeHere is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 6:00KC Current - 1:27:40Digital Crawl - 1:32:31Upcoming Games KC Current @ Bay FC, FRI, Sept 4th at 9:00PM CSTSKC II vs. St. Louis City SC 2, SAT, Sept 5th at 7:00PMSporting KC @ FC Dallas, SAT, Sept 5th at 7:30PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  4. Aug 23

    Emergency Pod: Dejan Joveljic Being Sold?

    For the Glory KC is back with the 192nd episode of the show! Sporting Kansas City have had an incredibly busy week. The last six days has seen the departure of fan favorite and Designated Player, Manu Garcia. The arrival of the fourth most expensive player in MLS history in Andre Luiz. A rumored even more expensive transfer of Nico Fernandez Mercau. But Saturday night may be the biggest news yet. Fabrizio Romano and Tom Bogert are reporting that Dejan Joveljic is moving within the conference to the Seattle Sounders! You'd think it'd be a massive transfer fee, but instead it's only $6 million for one of the best goal scorers in Major League Soccer. Yes, it's a 50 percent profit after only 18 months, but it's a stunner. We go through all the reasons this could be happening and try to make sense of the news. Did Dejan want out? Did he not like how the Manu saga went down this week? Sheena did live sleuthing on the podcast and noticed he'd been absent from their social media all week. When David Lee told us midweek that teams are calling about their players, it seems clear Dejan was always the answer, and he may have already been negotiating at that time. Beyond that, is Dejan just not a system fit for Lee and Rapha Wicky? Or perhaps Lee just wants his guys. The typical starting lineup only has two players that were around more than 11 months ago in Jake Davis and Zorhan Bassong. Is the General Allocation Money (GAM) just too much to pass up? We go through all the permutations. And we talk about what comes next. More Designated Players have to be arriving, right? We also went through all the big points from David Lee's press conference and tried to figure out what DPs Lee could sign. I threw out Cucho Hernandez as a former player who did great in MLS and Sheena went a lot more out of left field with USA-loving Erling Haaland. It's nonsense, but it least it was fun nonsense. Speaking of DPs, we talk about new signing Andre Luiz, the rumored transfer for Nico Fernandez and all the other fallout of the week for Sporting KC. It's weird to record a day before a game, but the news just became too much. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, who knows when we'll have to record again with the transfer window closing in 11 days on September 2nd. We also talked about the game against St. Louis City SC, that SKC dominated but only got a draw out of. Taylor Calheira was one of the stars of the night and I guess is this team's starting striker now? What a wild week! The KC Current also earned a draw, but it felt more disappointing considering the quality of the two teams. Kansas City seemed to have all the advantages on the Seattle Reign but their comeback, like Sporting's, ended with only a tie. In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: SKC IIMLS Playoff Expansion... again?!?!UEFA, Concacaf and InfantinoArgentina punishedHere is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 2:03KC Current - 1:23:46Digital Crawl - 1:33:07Upcoming Games Sporting KC @ Atlanta United, SUN, August 23rd at 6:00PM CST (Wooden Spoon Battle)SKC II @ Tacoma Defiance, MON, August 24th at 9:00PMKC Current vs. North Carolina Courage, SAT, August 29th at 5:30PMSporting KC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, SAT, August 29th at 7:30PMSKC II @ Whitecaps 2, SUN, August 30th at 6:00PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  5. Aug 17

    Manu Garcia's Rumored Departure, Sporting KC Lose Again

    For the Glory KC is back with the 191st episode of the show! Sporting Kansas City had another terrible weekend, but before we get to the on-field shenanigans, we have to talk about Manu Garcia. After the loss to the Colorado Rapids, the KC Soccer Journal got a surprisingly candid quote out of manager Rapha Wicky on why Manu Garcia wasn't playing. “Manu was available for selection, but we had some discussions with him about his future in recent days, and so I decided it was best not to involve him in the game tonight,” said Wicky. “That’s all I can say. Everything else I refer to David [Lee].” Sheena and I work through all the feelings around this move. Plus, some fan reactions. Does it make sense? Could it actually be a good thing? We talk through all the sides. And not only is he potentially leaving, but a landing spot has emerged overnight in Greece at his old club Aris. Of course, we also had to talk about the 2-0 loss to the Rapids. As well as some more positive news around Graham Zusi's return, an Andre Luiz update and a potentially big front office hire for Sporting KC. Sheena also picks on poor Ethan Bartlow as he heads out the door. Nobody tell him! The KC Current continued their road struggles on Friday night in a 2-1 loss to Gotham FC. After taking an early lead, the team fell apart. They had a moment or two, but the New Jersey side was the better team. Sheena and I discuss how VAR handled key moments, lineup choices, including Lorena not starting, team health and more. Plus, Temwa Chawinga and Malawi's amazing World Cup qualification! In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: SKC IIBig MLS movesMessi and Ronaldo both retiring?Here is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 4:45KC Current - 1:06:53Digital Crawl - 1:21:52Upcoming Games Sporting KC vs. St. Louis City, WED, August 19th at 7:00PM CSTSKC II @ LAFC 2, THUR, August 20th at 9:00PMKC Current vs. Seattle Reign, SAT, August 22nd at 5:30PMSporting KC @ Atlanta United, SUN, August 23rd at 6:00PM (Wooden Spoon Battle)SKC II @ Tacoma Defiance, MON, August 24th at 9:00PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  6. Aug 9

    Ted Lasso, Sporting KC Rumors and a KC Current Draw

    For the Glory KC is back with the 190th episode of the show! Ted Lasso's "love letter to Kansas City" leads the podcast this week. The first episode of season four was filled with KC easter eggs and has a lot of the world talking about Kansas City. We talked about what we loved and what it could mean for the world's understanding of KC. Sporting Kansas City had the week off, but there is plenty swirling around the team still. Mo Salah officially spurned Sporting KC in favor of signing in Turkiye. Andre Luiz didn't sign with SKC this week, at least not officially. But there are more clues that move is on the horizon. And Manu Garcia posted to Instagram in a way that was misinterpreted by some as a goodbye. Luckily Manu cleared it up for us. The KC Current hit the road and earned a draw that felt like a loss after they led for a great deal of their game against the Houston Dash. It felt like a tactical failure of Chris Armas and his coaching staff to go into a shell for the entire second half. A semi-controversial penalty call on Elizabeth Ball let Houston tie it up and that's how it ended, 1-1. In happier news, Debinha broke the all-time NWSL goal scoring record. Croix Bethune was honored on the NWSL team of the month and there were several positive injury updates for the depleted Current. Plus, Malawi and Temwa Chawinga are on the verge of history. In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: All that FIFA dramaRacing Louisville could be relocatedNew MLS Commissioner and his inherited projectsHere is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Ted Lasso - 3:31Sporting KC - 16:04KC Current - 35:48Digital Crawl - 51:41Upcoming Games SKC II @ Austin FC II, SUN, Aug 9th at 7:30PM CSTKC Current @ Gotham, FRI, Aug 14th at 7:00PMSKC II vs. Rapids 2, SAT, Aug 15th at 7:00PMSporting KC @ Colorado Rapids, SAT, Aug 15th at 8:30PMAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  7. Aug 3

    Critical Mistakes and a Potential GK Change for Sporting KC

    For the Glory KC is back with the 189th episode of the show! Sporting Kansas City returned home only to have a handful of mistakes derail any sort of opportunity to bounce back. They welcomed the Houston Dynamo to town and changed up their gameplan to some positive effect before Lasse Berg Johnsen got a red card and fumbled the plan. From there, Stefan Cleveland and Calvin Harris mistakes took away any chance to claw out some points in the MLS standings. It left us questioning if it's time for John Pulskamp to take back over in goal. Along with Rapha Wicky's job security a mere 18 games into the season. Also, what's up with Manu Garcia not starting? But there were bright spots. The defense looked good in this back four's first start together and the mistakes could hardly be pinned on them. Moises Mosquera got his first start, and Jake Davis had a good night. Plus, it was Harry Potter night, so that brought some interesting conversation. And there were injury updates on Zorhan Bassong, Taylor Calheira, Justin Reynolds and Diego Borges. In other Sporting KC news, there were rumor updates on Andre Luiz and Mo Salah, as well as a loan for Cielo Tschantret and Tim Leibold finds a new home. In news that came out after recording, another rumor, with even more detail, that the Andre Luiz deal is just pending a medical. The KC Current knocked out two home games and came away with four points. First, a 5-1 win over Racing Louisville followed by a 1-1 draw against Angel City FC. Why doesn't it feel like enough? Are we just super spoiled from the 2025 Kansas City Current's regular season? Probably. We talk through Haley Hopkins finally slotting in at center forward and going off for three goals and an assist over two games. Plus, all the missing players and the news that Michelle Cooper and Lorena are still "a few weeks away." In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: FIFA tries and fails to sell the World CupSKC II resultsMLS rule changesSave the Caps!NWSL 2027 calendarHere is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 10:25KC Current - 49:31Digital Crawl - 1:08:41Upcoming Games KC Current @ Houston Dash, SAT, Aug. 8th at 7:45PM CSTSKC II @ Austin FC II, SUN, Aug 9th at 7:30PMNo Sporting KC -- it's the Leagues Cup and they aren't in itAs a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

  8. Jul 28

    Sporting KC Rumors, Results and Wicky's Job Security

    For the Glory KC is back with the 188th episode of the show! Sporting Kansas City had a very busy week. They played two more games, which we'll get to, but they also were much more firmly linked to Brazilian winger Andre Luiz (sorry for calling him David on the podcast over and over before getting my act together). Tom Bogert is reporting the deal isn't done yet, but "it is getting closer." He and Globo (Brazil) are both reporting an $18 million transfer fee with up to $4m in add-ons. Other outlets have it even higher. Sheena and I work through all the feelings on this. Is it too much money? Does it matter if Peter Mallouk will keep spending? Will he make this team better? And we can't forget to talk about Mo Salah more as well and if that deal remains a possibility. Then we work our way through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in a week. Sporting KC played their first home game in two months and defeated Minnesota United. But then they went on the road and laid an egg in a 4-0 loss to LAFC. It had quite a few people calling for Raphael Wicky's job, just 17 games into the season. With 17 to go, is it too early to pull the plug? Plus, we talk briefly about the blown call that PRO admitted to around the St. Louis City SC game and some big Gianluca Busio news. In KC Current news, they lost. Again. They are an abysmal 1-3-1 since returning from their World Cup break. It makes that world's best team slogan come off really silly. This time they lost to the Boston Legacy, who are way down the table. In the Digital Crawl, we hit a few more topics: Kansas City World Cup ratings (we're #1 baby!)Casemiro's deal with Inter MiamiAnd a huge transfer fee for a 15-year-old, Benji Flowers, out of FC DallasHere is a rundown of sections and start times: Intro - 0:00Sporting KC - 7:07KC Current - 1:07:48Digital Crawl - 1:19:51Upcoming Games KC Current vs. Racing Louisville - WED, July 29th at 7:00PM CSTKC Current vs. Angel City FC - SAT, Aug. 1st at 5:30PM Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo - SAT, Aug. 1st at 7:30PM As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled.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.

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A Kansas City Soccer podcast covering Sporting Kansas City, the KC Current, SKC II and more! Hosted by Chad and Sheena and co-published on KCSoccerJournal.com.

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