When the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City compete at Avaya Stadium on Saturday night, the two teams will share the same field for 90 minutes. The history of the clubs, however, suggests they share much more than that.
The San Jose Clash and Kansas City Wiz began Major League Soccer play in the league’s inaugural season of 1996 as two of the original 10 clubs. Both teams reached the playoffs with 12 wins in their first season and were separated in the final regular season standings by just two points.
The Wiz became the Wizards after just one season in MLS and had a successful second year, with midfielder Preki claiming the MVP Award and leading the club to the best regular season record in the Western Conference.