Benny Feilhaber was in the middle of his bachelor party when he learned of his trade to Sporting Kansas City in late 2012. After receiving the phone call in his hotel in Las Vegas, he referred to the move as the beginning of a career resurgence.

Indeed, it was.

Nearly six years later, ahead of an anticipated return to Kansas City, Feilhaber has yet to deviate from that perspective. Except now it’s a thing of the past, transferred down a line on his resume.

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“Kansas City is where I enjoyed the best five years of my career,” he said in a phone interview with The Star. “So, yeah, I’ve thought about this for as long as the schedule has been out. It’s going to be pretty special to come back.”

Feilhaber will return with his new club, Los Angeles FC, to face Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. On the final day of the MLS regular season — “Decision Day,” the league dubs it — the two fast-charging teams will play for the No. 1 playoff seed in the Western Conference. The loser could fall as far as fourth place.

As soon as the league released its schedules, Feilhaber scanned LAFC’s calendar, in search of the trip to his former home. He spent five years in Kansas City, scoring 29 goals and recording 41 assists in MLS play. He won the 2013 MLS Cup and a pair of U.S. Open Cup tournaments. In 2015, he broke a franchise record with 20 assists across all competitions and was a finalist for the league MVP.





But Sporting KC traded him to his home state in the offseason, receiving $400,000 in allocation money to re-invest in the roster. Partially with those funds, it acquired designated player Felipe Gutierrez in Feilhaber’s old position.

In Los Angeles, Feilhaber wears No. 33, symbolic of his age. He’s set career highs in games, starts and minutes.

The final date on the schedule comes in a familiar spot. And it’s for the top spot in the West.

“It’s almost as if the schedule-maker did this on purpose,” Feilhaber joked. “I’m sure they didn’t, but that’s what I like to think about it. It’s been so far away that it’s been a long time anticipating it. It’s funny how it’s all come together. It’s either going to be us, or it’s going to be my ex-team and my ex-teammates. It’s something I’m excited about.”

He keeps in touch with several of his former teammates. He texts almost every day with defender Ike Opara. He exchanges messages with Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, Tim Melia and Roger Espinoza, he said.

And that’s the gist of what makes Sunday’s match unusual. At least for Feilhaber. He’s well-traveled, with six stops in his career. After acquiring him from New England, Sporting KC finally offered stability, a place that felt a perfect match.







So Sunday’s game will mark the the first return he has looked forward to making a return.

“When I went back to play New England, I never thought about anything other than wanting to crush my old team,” Feilhaber said. “With this, it’s different. There’s the competitive side of me — of course I want to win and finish in first place, and if that means potentially putting them in fourth place, that’s what it means.

“But parallel to that is the feeling of coming back to where I spent the best five years of my career and playing in front of those fans. I’ve never had that in my career, so it’s going to be special and surreal.”

He expects some chants from the crowd, specifically The Cauldron, occupying the north end of Children’s Mercy Park. “Whether the chants are positive or negative, I know how they feel about me,” he says.

Feilhaber has been a key piece of expansion side LAFC’s success. Nobody has been on the field more.

But he’s occupying a new role on the West Coast, moving back in the midfield to the No. 6, a position held in Kansas City by Ilie Sanchez. Feilhaber said he watches Sanchez play in hopes of learning something about the position. In fact, he watches nearly Sporting KC match. It can make for an awkward viewing experience.

“It’s hard to describe,” he said. “Because on one hand, I want my ex-teammates to do well. But you don’t want them to do as well as you’re doing. It’s part of that competitive rivalry. It’s hard to describe. I have so many friends on the team and I care for them, but I still want to get the better of them.”