KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It may be the greatest upset in Kansas City sports history — and it happened 15 years ago Friday.
The Kansas City Wizards, despite playing down a man for more than 50 minutes, toppled English superpower Manchester United 2-1 in front of a then-record crowd of 52,424 fans on July 25, 2010, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“Time flies,” Sporting Kansas City Legend Matt Besler, who subbed into the game late in the first half, said Monday at his Johnson County home. “Fifteen years ago — feels like five years ago.”
Manchester United was poised to win the English Premier League and reached the UEFA Champions League final during the 2010-11 season, while the Wizards, who were still away from rebranding as Sporting KC and opening Children’s Mercy Park, played their home games in a minor-league baseball stadium.
But a young core of players who’d become the foundation for the most successful generation in club history was eager for the test.
“We were all young, a very young team, but we were all hungry to succeed,” midfielder Roger Espinoza, who now serves as an assistant coach and professional development coach at Sporting KC, said. “We were going to go into the game trying to win, and I think that we believe in ourselves. For us, it was just a challenge to see where we are as players.”
Besler, a Blue Valley West graduate, recognized the moment as well.
“I was pumped,” he said. “Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get to play one against one of the biggest clubs in the world. ... It was an opportunity for us to prove who we were as a city, as a club, as individuals — just a great opportunity to be on the world stage.”
There were plenty of Wizards blue in the crowd, but there was no doubt the Red Devils were the draw with a star-studded lineup that featured names like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani among others.
Things changed dramatically in the 11th minute when Davy Arnaud delivered a shocking early lead off a slick through ball from Kei Kamara near midfield in the 11th minute.
“When Davy finished it and for us to go up 1-0, that's the moment it changed,” Besler said. “The whole energy in the stadium completely changed after we scored the goal. ... Everybody got behind us, even the people that were wearing the Manchester United jerseys that live in Kansas City, they were rooting us on, wanted to see us upset Manchester United.”
Veteran Jimmy Conrad’s red card in the 39th minute, which led to a Berbatov penalty kick that tied the game, left the Wizards down a man.
It also brought a young Besler into the game, but not until after Kamara leapt to meet a corner kick with a powerful header from the middle of the box off the underside of the crossbar for a 2-1 lead late in the first half.
“I actually didn't start that game,” Besler said. “For me, I was a young player in my second year, and I wasn't a regular starter at that time, so I was bummed out that I wasn't starting that game.”
But it made for the best of both worlds. Besler didn’t have any pregame jitters and had no choice but to lock in after entering in the 44th minute.
“That's why I think that I appreciated the moment, because I was basically just thrown into the fire,” he said. “We were a man down. We were under a lot of pressure. I didn't have time to think about it.”
The Wizards kept the Red Devils at bay in the second half, seeing out the 2-1 win with only 10 men for a seminal victory in Kansas City’s soccer history.
“That next day, we saw what we could potentially experience in the future,” Sporting KC Chief Communications Officer Rob Thomson said. “Our phones were ringing off the hook, and everyone wanted our merchandise, and everyone wanted to buy season tickets. That was a big beginning, a new start to us. From there, we had the rebrand, the stadium, championships — and now we've seen this incredible arc, kind of punctuated by the fact that we're getting a World Cup in our city. To me, that's the most amazing story of them all.”
FIFA awarded Kansas City six games, including a quarterfinal, in the 2026 World Cup next summer, a vision Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt shared 15 years ago ahead of Man U’s visit.
"Events like tonight's where we're going to have over 50,000 people in the building for a soccer game I think will be a big selling point for both FIFA and U.S. Soccer when it comes time to make the decision on which stadium to bring the World Cup to," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in 2010, according to The Associated Press.
The Wizards-Manchester United exhibition was the first event at Arrowhead after the completion of a $375 million renovation.
It remained the largest crowd for a soccer match in Kansas City’s history until April 13, 2024 — Lionel Messi’s first appearance with Inter Miami FC drew 72,610 to Arrowhead for a match against Sporting KC.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
