Sporting KC: Spoiling Zlatan a win for American soccer

Sporting KC got off to a sputtering start to the season, but their most recent exploit, which sees them first in the West, makes them the darlings of MLS.

Sporting KC did something pretty cool. They traveled to the city of angels, into the Stubhub Center, and after shutting down the LA Galaxy for 60 minutes, shut them down for an additional half hour, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic was on the pitch.

It was something that I think everyone not attached to the Galaxy was hoping for, whether they care to admit it or not.

Every single media outlet was drooling all over themselves when Zlatan was announced with the LA Galaxy. Sportscaster from Europe mocked MLS, considering it dominated by Zlatan, who announced that MLS had not become MLZ.

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As always, Zlatan compared himself to God. Can’t really set the standards any higher than that. And just like that, the table was set for Zlatan to “conquer” another league, and a league that has a less-than-positive aura among the “elite” soccer circles in Europe.

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This righteous crusade to silence Zlatan began across the league as the LA Galaxy essentially became the villains. We all love Zlatan for what he is able to do, and because we love the game. But as lovers of other teams, we love to see him flustered.

That failed masterfully when LAFC succumbed to the heroics of Zlatan, who scored a worldy against his LA rivals to tie the game, then headed home to send the Galaxy home the victors. He had seemingly conquered American soccer in one fell swoop.

And then Sporting KC came to town. Caught in between having the best defense last year and trading out that solidity for one of the best offenses this year, Sporting KC were tasked with shutting down the larger than life Swede.

They did. Thanks largely to Tim Melia and his career-high 10 saves. Tim Vermes highlighted how much of a threat Zlatan was, which is always going to be the case, but the story here is how beautiful it is that a homely, Midwestern team with very little star power was able to silence the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles and the most eccentric man to play the game since Ronaldinho.

And they did it all in Los Angeles.

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I’m no lover of Sporting KC. In fact, I’m a St. Louisan by birth and I hate that other Missouri city and all of its teams. But what they did to the Galaxy was beautiful, and it struck a chord that MLS is bigger than any one man or any one market. And that makes it a win for all of American soccer.