Most of the biggest rivalries in MLS are based on geography. But one that is not defined by location is set to resume in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Top seed Sporting Kansas City will take on lowest seed Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Semifinals, beginning with Leg 1 on Sunday at Rio Tinto Stadium (10 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes, TVAS, TSN5).
RSL head coach Mike Petke, only around the rivalry the last two seasons, spoke of the potential for more fireworks following his team's "statement win" over Sporting on July 4.
“It’s huge. It means a lot,” he said. “It’s a new rivalry to me, you see the passion and the fight. We’re still behind KC quite a bit, so it means three points for us tonight and we kept them at their current level.”
The teams may have a history that dates back to 2005, but the real history, if you get our drift, began in 2011 with a preseason dust-up between the teams that resulted in punches being thrown and a bench-clearing brawl, followed by subsequent sniping in the press that year.
It got turned all the way up to 11 in 2013, when a wild and physical regular-season game ended in a 2-1 win for Sporting, which had implications for hosting rights in the 2013 MLS Cup.
Sporting hosted that title game between the teams, and won a memorable 2013 MLS Cup in a penalty shootout on a frozen day.
But that wasn't quite the end of it, as the bad blood continued to bubble up, with then-Sporting midfielder Benny Feilhaberrifling off comments about how RSL was the team he hated the most, in 2015.
Three years later, many of the principals, including Feilhaber, have moved on from Sporting and RSL. But with players like Roger Espinoza, Graham Zusi, Matt Besler, Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando still around, there's always potential for some fireworks.
