If you are a sports fan who often wonders if this player or that player is Jewish, read on. You’ll want to add Sporting Kansas City’s Benny Feilhaber to the list of who’s who among Jewish athletes. Feilhaber, a midfielder, joined the soccer team in the offseason and has helped the team to a 3-1-2 start this season and second place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference standings. You can see him and all the other Sporting KC stars play at Sporting Kansas City’s fourth annual Jewish Heritage Day at Sporting Park on Sunday, May 5.
The 28-year-old Feilhaber was acquired by Sporting KC in December 2012 in a trade from the New England Revolution. Prior to Wednesday’s game (April 10) versus New York Red Bulls in New York, he had played in all six games this season. He is among the team leaders in several statistical categories, including leading the team with two assists (tied with Graham Zusi) on the season. He’s also fourth on the team in shots with nine and tied for fourth, with Paula Nagamura, on the team with shots on goal.
The 5-feet-9-inches, 160-pound midfielder describes his job on the field as being “a little more attack minded.” While it’s difficult to compare his position on the soccer field to any other in sports, if he had to do it, he’d describe it as similar to a basketball point guard who sets up other players to score.
“I’m an offensive midfielder. Most of my job is to create scoring opportunities. When I get the ball I’m looking to either find passes to the forwards where they can get shots on goal or to create shots for myself to score goals,” he said.
Feilhaber, who started playing soccer when he was about 4 years old, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but his father’s job took the family to the United States when he was 6. His family lived in Scarsdale, N.Y., while his father commuted to work in New York City.
“When the company wanted to move him back to Brazil, my father got another job with another oil company,” Feilhaber said.
Over the years the Feilhaber family moved to Houston and Connecticut before settling in California when he was 14.
Before he attended college, Feilhaber’s really didn’t dream of becoming a professional soccer player. He had some opportunities for soccer scholarships on the “other side of the country,” but decided he would rather stay close to home. The University of California-Los Angeles had the academics he wanted and a good soccer team, so he chose to join the team as a walk-on.
“That allowed me to stay somewhat close to home but not really in my backyard,” said Feilhaber, whose family lives in Orange County, Calif., which is located about an hour south of Los Angeles. “It became a pretty easy choice for me.”
He said the mindset of the soccer players at UCLA helped change his attitude toward professional soccer as well.
“The attitude there with all the soccer players was everybody really wanted to go pro,” he said. “I strove to get back better and I think what I did in those two years of college really helped me become a professional soccer player.”
He played well enough as a freshman to earn a small scholarship the following year. As a sophomore year he played in every game and became a starter.
After just two years in college, he was invited to join the U.S. Under-20 National Team, which Feilhaber explained is a group of players made up of some professional and some college players. The team played in the 2005 World Cup in Holland.
“I played really well in that tournament, which is an international tournament where all kinds of coaches from all over the world are watching. That’s how I got a chance to go play in Germany,” said Feilhaber, who has played in 39 games with the U.S. National Team during his career. He was on the rosters of the U.S. 2010 FIFA World Cup squad and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the 2011 Gold Cup. He’s also been invited to attend the 2013 USMNT January Camp.
Feilhaber began his pro career in Germany. He played there for two seasons, next in Darby County in England for one season and three seasons in Denmark before returning to the States.
He played his first two seasons in the MISL for the New England Revolution before joining Sporting KC. He is enjoying his time with this team.
“I really love it here. The team is extremely competitive. It’s a team that’s made up of really quality players,” he said.
One of the things he likes is Coach Peter Vermes, who was an assistant coach on the Under-20 National Team on which he played.
“He knows me from a really long time ago and I know him. It’s nice to be working with him again. I really like his style of coaching so that helps me be a better player out there on the field,” he said.
Feilhaber also likes Sporting Park, which opened in 2011 and seats 18,467 for soccer.
“The stadium and the fans are really second to none in the MLS. It’s unbelievable to play at home and have that support. I’m just really glad to be in this kind of position to play at my best and compete for a national title,” he said.
Feilhaber, who holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the United States, said he enjoys playing on a team with men from so many different countries. Within the starting 11, there are only five players who were born in America. The roster is filled with players who hail from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Haiti, Kenya and Spain.
“I think once you are on the field it kind of evolves into one thing, which is soccer,” he said. “I think it’s nice to have a lot of different cultures and styles and ethnic mixes on the field and it helps us a little bit.”
As for his Jewishness, he doesn’t consider himself too religious.
“I consider myself more Jewish by tradition and as a people,” said Feilhaber, who did become a Bar Mitzvah when he was 13.
The team plays in Kansas City, Kan., trains at Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo., and he lives in the Westport area. He likes being here and being a part of the team.
“The team is doing really well this year. We actually had a slow start the first three games and now things are starting to fall into place,” he said. “We feel like our team is definitely strong enough to compete for an MLS cup and I think that’s everybody’s goal on the team.”