The Kansas City Wizards looked poised for an exhibition defeat when defender Jimmy Conrad was sent off in the first half of the Wizards friendly against Manchester United. Rather than fold, the MLS club put together a strong performance to score a surprising 2-1 upset victory in a friendly at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kei Kamara delivered the game-winning header just before halftime to propel the Wizards to the victory in front of a crowd of 52,424, a record crowd for soccer in Kansas City.
Manchester United fielded plenty of stars, including Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani, but the Red Devils still couldn't find an equalizer as goalkeepers Jimmy Nielsen and Erik Kronberg combined to keep Manchester United at bay.
The loss comes before Manchester United is set to take part in the MLS All-Star Game in Houston on Wednesday.
Here are the highlights from Sunday's match, as well as some other stories to get your Monday going:
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BALOTELLI SET TO JOIN MANCHESTER CITY
Inter Milan has agreed to sell teenage striker Mario Balotelli and none other than Manchester City is ready to add to its already insane spending bill this summer.
City is set to add Balotelli for £24 million, a figure that could rise to £29 million if certain incentives are reached. The initial figure pushes Manchester City's spending this summer past the £100 million mark.
A hot-tempered and unpredictable player with a world of talent but discipline issues, Balotelli will be re-united with City manager Roberto Mancini, who managed Balotelli while manager of Inter Milan.
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Raul bid a sad farewell to Real Madrid and is ready to join Schalke 04.
Didier Drogba will miss the start of the Premier League season after groin surgery.
Rio Ferdinand will also miss the start of the Premier League as he continues to recover from knee surgery.
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What did you think of Kansas City's performance on Sunday? Surprised to see Manchester City spend so much for a hot-headed teenager like Balotelli, or think the gamble is worth it?
Share your thoughts below.
I don’t know that much about the situation in Italy, but I think people should be less judgmental about a young guy like Balotelli. Lets hope for him and for the game that he makes it, and leave the story there.
I think we agree more than you realize. His general attitude may be horrible and I don’t have a problem with calling him out on that. I don’t think he should be criticized for going at fans that cheer him after a good game and throws racist chants at him when he isn’t playing well.
If you don’t understand my logic Chicago Mike, then I’m not so sure you understand the etiquette and gamesmanship of the sport. SombraAla makes all the necessary points needed to be made on my logic.
it seems like your outlook is:
no one should speak bad of him bc we aren’t in his shoes and that he isnt necessarily a good person either. you dont have an opinion of him and no one else should either. in fact, we shouldn’t even talk about him. mario who?
The first post did mention how much “crap” Balotelli had to deal with from fans. I’m not saying hes an angel or even a good person. If he is a jerk to his teammates and coach then obviously I don’t condone that.
This is not american football. The entire ball needs to cross the line.
Not even close. It is hard for some of you to realize the talent in the EPL.
We weren’t talking about the fan’s behavior.
We were talking about Balotelli’s behavior.
If the fans are throwing bananas then it’s up to the clubs to deal with that. FIFA has been pretty vocal on this issue. Fans have been doing the banana thing here in the US and in Europe, allover the world, for many years and , in case you didn’t notice FIFA has a campaign going on against that , for al thegood it will do. If the fans are pissing off Balotelli, then he should take out his anger on them, not on his coach,teamates and any on other convenient person. That just reduces him to the fan’s level.
This article is about how Balotelli is acts like a jerk not about racist fans.
If it were a dirty foul, whatnot, then I would say Red every time. But this was DOGSO, Serious Foul Play, so it would’ve been nice if the ref didn’t kill the game like that.
I mean, sure, by the letter of the law, that was a red card… but according to Davy even the Man U players were telling him not to give a red and destroy the game. Nobody wanted to see that card being red, and it would’ve been nice if he’d given yellow instead… but what can you do. Wasn’t the wrong call, just an unfortunate and harsh one.
No argument with the fact that he has to deal with racial abuse from fans, but can you cite where Lippi ignored him due to skin color? Lippi messed up a lot and a case for Balotelli being in the squad could most definitely be made, but I think that is far from Lippi being a racist.
no one here is saying that it excuses fans to show racism, but it is certainly justified for people to have a poor opinion of him.
Ever been in KC in the summer?
If you like pro sports there ain’t much to see since the Royals went to hell and forgot to come back.
Ever been in the New York metro area in the summer? There is an awful lot of for the disposable entertainment dollar.
It isn’t a question of whether or not the NY fans are deserving. The point is all legitimate sports in the US have a viable franchise in the New York area. The MLS needs that.
I don’t know the situation with his coaches and his teammates. If a coach tells him he needs to hustle more obviously he shouldn’t then pout and blame it on racism. Balotelli could be a jerk but that doesn’t excuse fans for throwing bananas at him.
Yeah. so what? That “B-Squad” starts for about 75% of the teams in the EPL.
“I despise clubs who buy their talent instead of produce it. ”
Why? It’s within the established rules of the EPL. It’s not illegal.
If the EPL is concerned about this then they would meet and introduce some sort of salary cap or spending limits. It’s worth noting that the EPL has a vetting process for ownership so every owner was evaluated before hand and found “worthy”.
Why don’t you go to their next board meeting and address the owners regarding your concerns. If that doesn’t work why don’t you talk to Sepp Blatter?
I belive he was referring to Sicily 😉
You guys are all jumping on the race wagon just a little too soon.
No one here knows why Lippi left him off the Italian squad. Lippi may or may not be a racist but he is also very well known for not wanting to have “problem child” players no matter how talented ( see Antonio Cassano). The coach of Italy can afford to leave talented players out, no matter what color they are.
Balotelli can’t get along with his club coach, Mourinho. Whether that’s just because Mourinho is a jerk or because Mourinho is also a racist, we don’t know.
Is everyone who can’t get along with Balotelli or doesn’t want to deal with him a racist? Is it possible the kid is an insufferable jerk?
Italy, and Europe in general, has plenty of racism to go around for everyone. I’m sure Balotelli has had it tough. But Serie A is full of black players who, I’m sure have had it just as tough and they don’t get as crazy as Balotelli.
On the plus side he is a very talented footballer who, if he gets his act together , will soon be realizing his dream and will be making more money than any of us are likely to ever make. From what I have seen being uber rich is a helpful when dealing with racism.
So I’m not going to cry for him. But he’d better figure out how to deal with the racism which he will encounter in England and the rest of the world.
I’m not making excuses for him… That’s why I said “Not excusing his actions”
i’m really trying not to compare myself but you insist on making it personal. i think most people would say being a student and dealing with racist people on the street in your face is tougher than being a millionaire football player with racist people chanting at you. now don’t start giving me specific situation stuff bc that is not what you started out with. you attacked me for not being through something “like that.”
and well said ives. sums up exactly how i feel in a paragraph. i guess this is why you’re paid to write lol.
better than nothing I guess…
Yep its true even Italians discriminate among themselves (north vs south). I remember watching some game where the hosting team (Milan?) allowed banners from their fans to be hung saying “Benvenuti Africani” to welcome the Napoli fans. LOL
I said if you haven’t gone through what he has (professional footballer at a big club dealing with racist fans) then you shouldn’t judge him.
(SBI-What Balotelli has gone through does NOT absolve him of immature and disrespectful behavior toward coaches and teammates. The kid is a loose cannon and all your “You can’t judge him because he’s been through a lot” talk is weak. Keep making excuses for bad behavior if you want, but the fact remains the kid has self-control issues. He’s got all the talent in the world, but until he can grow up and control himself better he will remain a risky player to have.)
no reason* not no problem
I don’t get this logic. So how about if he elbowed him in the face?? Should that be only a yellow because it’s a friendly. If a foul that deserves a red card is committed, one should be given.
One could even make the argument that red cards could be given for softer fouls, given that there is no problem to commit dangerous fouls in a game that doesn’t mean anything.
yeah and in the process, you ended up looking like a hypocrite by judging me. i’m just going off of what the people around him say. you’re going at me based off.. what, again? where are your facts?
The announced attendance was 23,228 for the doubleheader, capacity at the arena is supposed to be 25,000. It did not seem like there were actually 23,000+ in the seats at all times but the place was never deserted during either game. People may have stayed away because of the heat followed by the rain, but the stadium was pretty full once RBNY/Man City started. It was a good atmosphere. They may not fill the place every night but they are probably doing a lot better overall, with ticket sales & concessions and the whole shebang, then when they were in the Meadowlands.
What’s your point? No one who comes up through Man U’s youth system is ever proimised they’ll ahve a career like Giggs or Scholes. They’re either auditioning for buyers or a long term spot with the club. Either way they’ll be playing at the highest level for someone who needs them.
Yea, I thought the ref was an idiot (as per usual MLS standards). It’s a friendly with Manchester United with a large crowd and good atmosphere for KC. You give Conrad a yellow and let both teams continue to compete at full strength. That ref had d-bag written all over him. He clearly didn’t seem to know anything about situational game management. Very poor.
Great performance by the Wizards. Conrad didn’t deserve a red card. MU was not playing their best, obviously.
I agree about the 2nd KC goal. Didn’t look like it crossed the line to me. The other thing I noticed in the highlights (which I didn’t agree with) was one of the commentators complaining about Conrad being sent off. I understand that it’s a friendly and both teams are better off with 11 vs 11, but that was a red card. I don’t think the ref should have called it any other way.
Still, I’m happy for KC. It looks/sounds like they deserved the victory.
Disappointed in the United performance yesterday… but I’m glad that KC put on such a good display, as well as NYRB and the Barclays tournament as a whole. It’s been a solid week or so of competition/friendlies in the U.S. I think we only need to look at the performance of MLS teams against international sides this year and last year to realize that the league is growing well. It’s gradual, but it’s very positive. Five years ago, we wouldn’t have seen such results and attendance/buzz. Job well done MLS and USA.
As far as United, I have to comment that there shouldn’t be any excuses made. Preseason or not, when you’re part of the top 3 clubs in the world, you’re supposed to perform. Passing and possession were erratic and they couldn’t handle this physicality at times. Gibson was awful, the back four were not in sync and Diouf pooped his pants. But an entertaining game for the fans and job well done KC.
My point is that you really don’t know what he goes through. Not excusing his actions but I don’t think you should be judging him when you don’t know all the facts.
Well, we should trade Guiseppe Rossi for Ballotelli. I would take him.
Sunil, get him a green card and speed up his citizenship.
The ball over the line. Just barely, but it was over.