Could this be it for Johnny Russell? How Sporting KC is viewing MLS home finale

Sporting Kansas City has its final home game of the 2024 Major League Soccer season on Saturday against LAFC, but — for just the third time in 14 years — there’s not much left to play for at this point.

That’s because Sporting KC was eliminated from postseason contention two weeks ago. Eighteen of 29 MLS clubs made the playoffs.

In Kansas City, fans have been assured that a roster makeover is coming. Four Sporting players are out of contract, and 12 more have contract options. Saturday very well could be the last match in KC for some of them.

One of them is captain Johnny Russell, who is out of contract at the end of the year. Russell was asked Thursday, during a news conference, if he wants to return to Kansas City. His answer was yes, but …

“As of right now it’s not happening,” he said.

Russell, 34, has been a fixture with the team since his arrival in 2018. He was named captain in 2021. He ranks 10th all time in appearances for the club (231) and third in goals scored (67).

He says there have been no talks about a contract extension yet.

“I’m well aware of my situation,” Russell said. “I still want to be here. This has been a bad year for us. I want to be part of the team that fixes that, I want to be part of the solution. But I’ve been in this game long enough. I get it if it’s not to be.”

“So as of right now, I’m sort of treating (Saturday) as my last game(s) for the club.”

Saturday night’s penultimate game, and the one to follow, might typically be a time to “play the kids” and give a turn to rising talent within the organization. Not so for Sporting KC, which has already rotated its players a lot this season.

“You know me, I’m very consistent lineup to lineup,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said. “Unfortunately, we never got that consistency because we weren’t good enough.”

Sporting KC has 19 players who have made more than 10 MLS appearances this season, and 16 have accrued a minimum of 1,000 minutes.

Vermes’ line will be that his team is constantly evaluating players, and that is fair. He’s also not going to give a player a starting spot unless it’s earned.

“I’m not handing out free passes to go and play,” he said. “You can play because you deserve to play, and you’re gonna help us win.”

Vermes said he’s never just gifted anyone a start.

“I’ve just never done that, and I’m not gonna start doing that now,” he said. “Being in this spot (out of playoff contention) is not normal for our club. But I’m not changing the way we go about picking the team and getting ready for a game. We still have two games to play … and we want to win.”

Some players are taking the approach of pride. After all, Sporting KC has an opportunity for some minor revenge on Saturday, when LAFC visits Children’s Mercy Park at 7 p.m. Saturday, just a little more than a week after defeating KC for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship.

“It’s our last game at home against the team we just lost to in the final,” Sporting KC midfielder Jake Davis said. “Why not give everything we’ve got to beat them and leave our fans with something special until next season?”

Davis thinks a complacent attitude about the final two games would do Sporting a disservice heading into next season.

“I think it’s the small things that matter,” Davis said. “It’ll help us in the next season and it can definitely give us a confidence boost and give us information about our team that we can take to the next season and improve.”

“It would be a waste to waste two professional soccer games just because the season is done.’

Bassong called to international duty

Sporting KC’s Zorhan Bassong has been summoned to the Canadian National Team for an upcoming friendly match against Panama (Oct. 15).

The left-back-turned-midfielder his bulldog-like mentality. And clearly Canada coach Jesse Marsch has taken notice. Bassong made two appearances with the Canadian National team in January 2020.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.