The turn of the century was a special time for supporters of Kansas City Wizards. The year 2000 was one of success in the American Midwest with the Wizards winning the MLS Supporters Shield and going on to lift the MLS Cup with a 1-0 victory over Chicago Fire at RFK Stadium in Washington. At that time, Toronto FC defender Nick Garcia was a 21-year-old defender still finding his way in the game, but early in his career he was able to taste success as part of that Championship winning squad which also included Mo Johnston and Preki.

Now Garcia is preparing to face his former team when the Wizards arrive at BMO Field to challenge Toronto FC’s unbeaten home record on Saturday.

“For me the 2000 cup winning team has been tough to duplicate,” says Garcia. “I was obviously very young at that time and it was great to play alongside players such as Mo, Preki, Tony Meola, Peter Vermes, Mike Burns, Chris Henderson and Uche Okafor who played with the Nigerian national team. I look back at those guys and they were the lynchpins for us and had a lot of experience.”

“Now I am one of the older statesmen here with Toronto FC and a lot of those guys who have finished playing are still very busy within other facets of Major League Soccer. It was a great experience and I still cherish those memories and am in contact with those guys.”

“I had just come out of college where we had won back-to-back national championships. Within six years I had won five championships at some level or another, so for me winning was one of those things that I was used to. Now that I haven’t been back in so long I do kind of cherish that and understand maybe a little bit more just how special it was.”

GARCIA FACTS AND FIGURES:
Won MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup with Wizards
Played six times for the United States national team
Moved to Toronto from San Jose in June 2009

Garcia was born in Plano, Texas in 1979 and was drafted by the Wizards ahead of the 2000 season. He went on to play with Kansas City for seven seasons and still owns a home there. “Kansas City will always be my home in the offseason because it was the first place I played at. It holds a special place in my heart and it always special to play against them,” he explains. “I still have a place back in K.C. that is rented out. In soccer you expect that you will have to move around but we love Toronto and it has been a good fit for us.”

The veteran defender still takes a keen interest in soccer in Kansas City and has been keeping a close watch on developments with the Wizards. “The new leadership is probably the biggest change there,” he says. “Not to take anything away from the Hunt family and what Lamar Hunt had done because they were a great ownership group, but things have changed and the ownership group has gone in a different direction. They are building a new stadium and pumping in more money to help bolster the image of the Wizards. From that standpoint I think they are appealing to more and more players. Their play has got more attractive, and they have revamped the old Kansas City Wizards into something special.”

To read a full length feature with Nick Garcia, check out Saturday’s Matchday Program, on sale at BMO Field for $5.