The starting lineups aren’t revealed until an hour before every Major League Soccer match, but the classified information can usually be found on the Sporting Kansas City practice field. In the days leading up to a game, the club’s projected starters dress in uniquely colored pullover jerseys.
Over a two-year span, as Sporting KC climbed to the apex of the league, coach Peter Vermes didn’t feel the need to identify which four defenders would wear the pinnies. Chance Myers, Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin and Seth Sinovic combined to make 90 percent of the starts along the back line from 2012-13 — two seasons in which Sporting KC allowed the fewest goals in MLS.