Kansas City (0-0-0, 0 pts) vs D.C. United (0-0-0, 0 pts)
Saturday, March 29 - Kansas City, Kan.
CommunityAmerica Ballpark - 7 p.m. CT
English TV: Metro Sports
Spanish TV: Time Warner Cable Channel 5
English Radio: La Playa 1480 AM
Spanish Radio: La Gran D 1340 AM
Broadcast Details: Metro Sports
KU BAND
Galaxy 11, Tr. 22D
D/L: 12153.5(V)
For full game notes:
http://kc.wizards.mlsnet.com/pdf/mls/2008/gameguides/03/329kcdc.pdf
The Kansas City Wizards open the 2008 regular season Saturday at 7 p.m. CT against D.C. United at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. The game is a rematch of the 2007 season opener, when Kansas City opened the season with a 4-2 road win against United. Kansas City will play a regular-season home match outside of Arrowhead Stadium for the first time. CommunityAmerica Ballpark will offer the opportunity for fans to experience a more intimate environment than was possible in 79,000-seat Arrowhead; the game is expected to be a sellout. The Wizards will be the first team from a top-flight league to play a home game in Kansas.
Saturday's match will feature the two biggest names signed to MLS in the off-season in Argentine forward Claudio Lopez of Kansas City and Argentine playmaker Marcelo Gallardo of D.C. United. Both entered under the League's Designated Player rule and will be available for the first match. The pair were teammates on the Argentina National Team during the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals. In total, each team boasts three Argentine players. Lopez, forward Eloy Colombano and midfielder Carlos Marinelli of the Wizards all come from Argentina, as do Gallardo, forward Franco Niell and defender Gonzalo Peralta of D.C. United.
Kansas City is looking to achieve even more than last season when the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in two years and reached the Western Conference Finals. The Wizards will boast several new faces, including Lopez, 1st overall SuperDraft selection Chance Myers and Colombian forward Ivan Trujillo.
The Wizards enjoyed a strong preseason that included a 1-1 tie against D.C. and a trip to Argentina on which the team went 5-1-2. Kansas City concluded its exhibition schedule last Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in Norman, Oklahoma in the Saturn Challenge Cup. Trujillo showed well in limited preseason action, scoring 4 goals in 4 games.
