With the backdrop of opposing fans chanting “AARP,” a reference to the nonprofit once known as the American Association of Retired Persons, former U.S. men’s national team player Sacha Kljestan stepped up to take a penalty in the 57th minute for the Des Moines Menace, an amateur team taking part in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup.
By day, the 39-year-old is a prominent analyst for MLS on Apple TV, regularly discussing the weekend’s round of matches in the league he once starred in. By night, though, there was the former New York Red Bulls All-Star with a red-and-black kit, slotting the ball into the back of the net against Sporting Kansas City’s reserves, thereby giving his fourth-division club a 1-0 lead during a frigid March battle.
Kljestan, who would go on to score another penalty in an eventual 2-1 win, wasn’t the only eye-catching name for the Menace.
Of the starting XI that had eight retired pros, nine had extensive MLS experience. Including Kljestan, there were former All-Stars such as Matt Hedges, Ozzie Alonso, Benny Feilhaber, Dax McCarty and Bradley Wright-Phillips. Alonso, McCarty and Wright-Phillips, like Kljestan, are also recognizable fixtures in the soccer world as Apple TV MLS analysts.
And with those marquee players teaming up for an obscure team from USL League Two, Des Moines is now through to the second round of the country’s longest-running soccer tournament. Why the Menace, though?
In a script straight out of Hollywood, it’s appropriate that the story begins in Southern California.
In early 2024, Kljestan was working out at a gym in Newport Beach that’s co-owned by Matt Bourne, a former Des Moines player. One day a group of Bourne’s friends were in town from Iowa, which included the now-former general manager of the club that decided to take a chance.
“I’m sure he had this mad plan all along. I thought he was half joking when he said, ‘Come out of retirement, just play in the Open Cup with us,'” said Kljestan, who played two games for the Menace in last year’s tournament, along with a few other former pros. Although 2024’s run was a short one after losing 3-1 in the second round to Union Omaha, 2025’s plan brought Kljestan back — and some more friends.
“We decided to run it back this year, but we decided if we were going to do it, we were going to go all out.”
Pushed by Feilhaber, who was invited to join last year but couldn’t because of his coaching role with Sporting KC 2, the proposal was to call in a number of high-profile names. With Kljestan announced as the first reinforcement, Des Moines then suddenly became a talking point in American soccer after revealing its lengthy list of former MLS All-Stars.
For many watching from afar, there was excitement about the legends lacing up their boots once again, but also some confusion as to why they decided to do it.
“We get one more chance to play a real game with some stakes on the line,” Kljestan said. “Benny [Feilhaber] and I have known each other so long, but never really got to play so many games together in our careers because we were always kind of competing for a spot in the national team, and the same with Dax McCarty. The three of us were in national team camps together, but never really got on the field together.”
Through their connections, they got the ball rolling with the introduction of Alonso and Wright-Phillips, among others.
“I’ve been blessed with a bunch of former national team guys, a bunch of former pros … it’s been a really good experience for me as a manager, because for USL Two teams, we just don’t have the player availability at this time of year,” said head coach Charlie Latshaw III.
Because the 2025 USL League Two season won’t kick off until May, the often college-heavy roster for the amateur side would usually be a bare-bones setup at this point in the year. In stepped the MLS icons, but as unpaid amateurs.
“No contract at all,” said Kljestan, who stated that he has no plans to play beyond the U.S. Open Cup. “We are not paid. That was it, so the registration process was pretty easy.”
What hasn’t been as straightforward is getting together to train. Work and family obligations have made things challenging, let alone the fact that players are flying in from 15 different states. According to Latshaw, that meant just two full training sessions ahead of their first-round match against Sporting Kansas City 2 on March 19. Just one full training session is on the books ahead of Des Moines’ second Open Cup game on Wednesday.
“We fly in, we spend 36 to 48 hours together at a hotel and we kind of bond that way and we do some different things off the field,” Latshaw said. “But it’s definitely a sprint when we’re there, some of it is about the young guys learning the names of the old guys. I shouldn’t call them old guys, but yeah, I guess in footballing terms they are.”
As talented and experienced as his “old guys” are, many had gone a lengthy period of time without taking part in an official match.
“Oh, it’s not easy at all,” Feilhaber said. “Being stopped for a five-year period is going to be problematic … I definitely went on some runs and some interval runs and as much as I could to build up the fitness.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s game against Union Omaha, a rematch of last year’s exit for Des Moines, the expectation is for some of the younger players to take charge. For various reasons, former pros such as Justin Meram, A.J. DeLaGarza and Donny Toia won’t be available.
“We’re going to have a much more balanced team come this next game, and if we were to win and go further, I think it would become more and more balanced,” Feilhaber said. “We want [the young guys] to potentially impress someone that’s watching.”
That’s a message that has been reiterated.
While many of the retirees are playing for fun, or in Feilhaber’s case, so his kids could watch him play, a byproduct of this project is to guide and elevate the handful of non-pros on the team. Other names with MLS experience, like Hedges or the incoming Tommy Thompson, are also still seeking new professional contracts.
“One thing I was always told as a player, you never know who’s watching,” Kljestan said. “It would be really a dream come true for me if a player like Leroy [Enzugusi] or we had another kid who came into the game, Yoshi [Okawa], who was fantastic as well. They’re looking to be professionals, they’re waiting for their opportunity. They would like to go on trial somewhere and our goalkeeper, Enzo [Carvalho], who I believe just finished college as well, he had a fantastic game.”
Latshaw agreed with that sentiment and underlined the platform that those players now have.
“We still have five guys in the squad that are going to be involved [in the regular season], and that’s what people don’t talk about is that we do have some guys that we’re showcasing,” he said. “Whether it’s Cade Hagan, Yoshi Okawa, Kyle Owen, Enzo Carvalho or Leroy Enzugusi.”
For Enzugusi, who coaches local kids in Des Moines through his Tekkers Soccer program that he co-founded, the experience has been an invaluable one.
“It’s a pretty special moment for me with my role in the community just because I get to be personable with the players, I get to tell them like what [Kljestan]’s saying,” said Enzugusi, who was drafted by Nashville SC in 2021 but never made an appearance. “I get to tell them what it feels like to make a mistake, what it feels like to not make a mistake. Like, all this stuff are things that I wish I knew before I even went to Nashville. I wish I had this experience before I got drafted, I would’ve been a lot better for it.”
At Wednesday’s second-round Open Cup game, which Des Moines will host, Enzugusi expects that more than 100 of his players will attend the match. Latshaw believes that between 3,000 and 5,000 fans will show up, providing the club with an extra source of income. There is also the prospect of taking home $50,000, awarded to the club that advances the furthest from each lower division.
“If we can win that [prize money] for them, that would be awesome,” Kljestan said.
Whether that journey ends Wednesday, or continues through to the next round, all involved are soaking in the magic of being able to see these legends hit the field at least once more.
“First time I played with [Kljestan] and I was just, honestly, I was just shook. I was amazed. How is this guy so old, so slow, but yet he’s like miles better than everyone else on the pitch? Like, it doesn’t make sense,” Enzugusi said with a laugh. “Their smoothness and they look so effortless when they’re shooting and taking their first touches and passing the ball, and they’re so deceptive, unpredictable.”
And if those unpredictable moments lead to a win on Wednesday?
“We do have a few other names on the books that potentially want to make an appearance if we can get through round two and we’ll just kind of see how it goes,” Latshaw said. “It’s one of those things, it’s the wild west for the Open Cup for USL Two teams.”
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