2006 Kansas City Wizards season

The 2006 Kansas City Wizards season was the 11th in Major League Soccer. Kansas City continued its decline in the Eastern Conference, finishing with 38 points (10W 14L 8D) and once again joining the Columbus Crew in missing out on post-season play. Despite this, attendance at the cavernous Arrowhead Stadium rose back to around 11,000.

Three Wizards, Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Johnson, and Josh Wolff, represented the United States men's national soccer team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. finished among the worst teams in the tournament, but Conrad and Johnson made substitute appearances in the tournament. An additional player, talented defender José Burciaga Jr., stood out as the top player at the club, making MLS Best XI and becoming the team MVP for the season.

On July 19, 2006, Bob Gansler departed his position as head coach; to that point, he was the most successful coach in Wizards history, winning every trophy the club had amassed to that point (one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Supporters' Shield). Fans were reportedly pleased with the move, with some having called the longtime coach "Bunker Bob."

This season also marked the final under the MLS multi-club ownership of Lamar Hunt and his sports properties, as a major shift occurred. First, Hunt sold the club to OnGoal, LLC in August (Hunt, a titan of U.S. sports including in MLS, died in December). Next, the new ownership actively looked out for land in the Kansas City area to build a new, soccer-specific stadium to house the club, kicking off a five-year, six-season and three-stadium process leading to an eventual rebrand in 2011.

Squad

Competitions

Major League Soccer

Overall

Conference

DateOpponentsH / AResultF – AScorersAttendanceApril 1, 2006Columbus CrewH3–1Arnaud Jewsbury JohnsonApril 8, 2006Houston DynamoA2–1Victorine Burciaga Jr.April 15, 2006New England RevolutionH1–0ConradApril 23, 2006FC DallasA1–2Zotinca April 29, 2006Columbus CrewA1–0WolffMay 6, 2006Chicago Fire S.C.H1–1JohnsonMay 13, 2006D.C. UnitedA1–2VictorineMay 20, 2006Real Salt LakeA1–2PoreMay 27, 2006D.C. UnitedH1–3SealyJune 3, 2006New York Red BullsH1–1Burciaga Jr.June 10, 2006Columbus CrewA1–0Burciaga Jr.June 17, 2006Chicago Fire S.C.H3–2Sealy 2 Burciaga Jr.June 24, 2006D.C. UnitedA0–1June 28, 2006D.C. UnitedH2–3Garcia Burciaga Jr.July 1, 2006Los Angeles GalaxyH0–2July 4, 2006Chicago Fire S.C.A0–1July 8, 2006Colorado RapidsA0–1July 15, 2006Houston DynamoH2–3Wolff ConradJuly 22, 2006New York Red BullsA0–1July 29, 2006New England RevolutionH1–1WolffAugust 9, 2006New England RevolutionA0–0August 12, 2006Columbus CrewH4–0Arnaud Sealy Victorine PoreAugust 16, 2006Chicago Fire S.C.A0–3August 19, 2006Chivas USAA1–1Burciaga Jr.August 27, 2006FC DallasH1–0SealyAugust 30, 2006New York Red BullsH2–2Sealy WolffSeptember 2, 2006Los Angeles GalaxyA1–2ThomasSeptember 9, 2006Colorado RapidsH4–1Sealy van den Bergh Arnaud 2September 23, 2006New England RevolutionA1–1SealySeptember 30, 2006Real Salt LakeH3–3Wolff Sealy Burciaga Jr.October 7, 2006Chivas USAH2–1van den Bergh Burciaga Jr.October 14, 2006New York Red BullsA2–3van den Bergh Sealy

U.S. Open Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF – AScorersAttendanceJuly 12, 2006Third RoundDes Moines MenaceH2–1Pore SealyAugust 14, 2006Fourth RoundChicago Fire S.C.A0–2

Squad statistics No.Pos.NameMLSUSOCTotalMinutesDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLeagueTotal22FW Davy Arnaud3240032427852785009MF Sasha Victorine3131032327012717006DF Jose Burciaga Jr.30800308259025900019FW Scott Sealy291011301117621852001GK Bo Oshoniyi2900029026102610003DF Nick Garcia29100291251925190014MF Jack Jewsbury2811029118171907004DF Shavar Thomas2611027121472237005MF Kerry Zavagnin25010260206921590023MF Alex Zotinca2410024113031303007FW Eddie Johnson19220212148015050025MF Matt Groenwald19020210122112870029FW Ryan Pore192212135637280015FW Josh Wolff19510205158716080012DF Jimmy Conrad15200152125212520011MF Dave van den Bergh133001329919910021MF Lance Watson110101204505300017FW Yura Movsisyan100201202213350020DF Tyson Wahl100101106076970026MF Ryan Raybould8010905836730018GK Will Hesmer3020502704500016DF Brian Roberts102030171970013FW Will John10203031380033MF Sergei Raad102030221360028-- Stephen Shirley00202001800035MF Ryan McMahen00202001640027MF Jermaine Hue200020515100 Final Statistics

References