Matt Besler was an MLS Defender of the Year finalist for Sporting Kansas City in 2017.
The captain and Kansas City native started 26 games for SKC that season and tallied a career-high 4 assists. Besler also started Sporting Kansas City’s lone playoff match that season.
He was on the pitch for three matches in the US Open Cup en route to the 2017 US Open Cup title.
When Besler left the club after the 2020 season he was the club’s all-time leader in regular season appearances, starts, and minutes played. Those records have since been surpassed by Graham Zusi, but the legend and massive contribution from Matt Besler will not be forgotten.
This Sporting blue primary shirt was worn by Matt Besler in the second half of the 2017 season.
It features the “NEAL” patch that was worn in honor of owner Neal Patterson who passed away from complications from cancer on July 9th, 2017. Sporting Kansas City began wearing the “NEAL” patches on their jerseys on July 11th, 2017 in a US Open Cup match against FC Dallas and continued to wear them through the end of the season.
The shirt has some small signs of wear including a smudge on the front. It was discovered as a throw-in on a Fanatics auction and mislabeled as a 2016 match worn shirt. I’m not sure how the shirt hadn’t been sold or auctioned previously, but I’m glad it wasn’t!
These Sporting blue primary kits were unveiled prior to the 2017 season and remain one of my most favorite since the SKC rebrand.
They feature four vertical stripes and a white collar which does a lot to improve the look of the jerseys. On the right sleeve hem the phrase “No other club” is written in Matt Besler’s handwriting…which you may also recognize from the logo of this website.
For 2017, the club transitioned to a new Ivy Investments sponsorship logo and the sleeves had matching MLS badge patches.