A look at MLS managerial debuts

Sporting Kansas City hosts Toronto FC on Saturday at 7:30pm at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in a rare circumstance as Paul Mariner coaches his first game with Toronto FC, now ten games into the 2012 season. Mariner succeeded Aron Winter last week after Winter was dismissed following Toronto FC's 1-9-0 start to the season.

So how many times has Sporting KC faced a coach making his MLS managerial debut? Only three times in the past 16 years and Sporting KC is 2-0-1 all-time in those matches.

The first time Kansas City played against a team whose coach was making their debut was on April 13, 1996, when Bob Houghton and the Colorado Rapids fell to Kansas City 3-0. The match, held at Arrowhead Stadium, marked Houghton's first of 20 losses that season (11-20-0) and Houghton was fired at the conclusion of the 1996 campaign.

The second occasion was on June 1, 2005 at the Home Depot Center when Javier Ledesma led Chivas USA to a 1-1 draw. The game was Ledesma’s first and last in MLS as he was just serving in the interim after Thomas Rongen accepted the head coaching position at the New England Revolution.

On January 4, 2011, Robin Fraser was hired as head coach for Chivas USA and in his first MLS match as a head coach on March 19th, Chivas USA lost to Sporting KC on a 3-2 decision. Fraser is the only active coach in the group as he is in the midst of his second season and maintains a record of 12-20-15 all-time.

Note: If the set was expanded to include Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition, one more instance could be added to the mix. Roy Wegerle served as a player/coach for the Colorado Rapids in a 3-2 victory over Kansas City on Septermber 16, 1996. Wegerle started and played 66 minutes in the contest which took place at Arrowhead Stadium. Talk about a 'jack of all trades.'

On the reverse side, we also take a look at how Toronto FC has fared in their first game under their previous six coaches. Not so hot. They're 1-4-1 all-time in the opening match under a new manager.