Topeka ties run deep for U.S. defender Matt Besler

If you tune into Sunday’s FIFA World Cup soccer match between the United States and Portugal, be sure to take notice of No. 5 for the United States.

You may have heard his name. Sporting Kansas City star Matt Besler — the first Kansas City area-born player to play in the World Cup — starts at defender for the world’s 13th-ranked team.

Besler has made 15 appearances for the United States since debuting in January 2013. The U.S. is 10-1-3 with Besler in the starting lineup.

But what you may not know about the Overland Park native is he also has strong ties to the Topeka area.

His grandmother, Julie Besler Clark, is a resident of Tecumseh, while his late grandfather, Pete Besler, lived his entire life in the Topeka area, even playing semi-pro baseball in the capital city.

The pair had five athletic children, all Shawnee Heights graduates.

Matt’s father, Greg Besler, was a standout athlete for the T-Birds in football as a running back and defensive back in the 1970s, leading the city in rushing in 1977 and earning several honors, including All-City status, before walking on to the Kansas State football squad.

His uncle and godfather, Scott Besler, also walked on at Kansas State for football and still resides in Tecumseh.

And as part of a big Catholic family, Matt has countless cousins, aunts and uncles who still call the capital city home.

“We’re very, very, very proud,” Besler Clark said. “It’s been a special thing for us. His whole family is proud of him.”

So when the Americans play their second World Cup game at 5 p.m. Sunday in Manaus, Brazil, in the Amazon rain forest, you can bet Besler’s family from Topeka will be cheering him on.

Those who know Matt Besler — a soccer standout at both Blue Valley West and Notre Dame — call him sort of a country boy who is quiet, humble and down to earth. Relatives say the 27-year-old likes country music, wearing his boots and driving his truck — and when he comes to Topeka for family functions and holidays, you may find him shooting clay pigeons and trap, sitting at the pond and riding four-wheelers.

“That’s Matt Besler? He’s out shooting guns?” Scott Besler said, repeating the surprise reactions he has heard from people. “To us, it’s almost now just setting in. Because to us he’s just Matt. He’s enjoying the limelight, but it really hasn’t changed him any.”

Topekan Maureen Hillis, Matt’s first cousin once removed, said it has been enjoyable to follow Matt as he has progressed into the spotlight, whether it’s seeing him on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” or showcased on other national platforms and publications.

Hillis said the family got her mother (Pete’s sister) a shirt that says Besler in big letters.

“It was kind of funny because it’s not too often she gets to see her maiden name on a shirt,” Hillis said.

While Matt’s parents, brother and wife are in Brazil with Matt, the Topeka family had a watch party for United States’ game against Ghana on Monday at The Shack Bar and Grill. The U.S. won, but Besler suffered a mild hamstring injury that provided a scare to all U.S. soccer fans, including his family watching in Topeka.

“We knew something was wrong,” Besler Clark said. “It was kind of frightening.”

His replacement, John Brooks, ended up scoring the game-winning goal off a corner kick from Besler’s good friend and fellow Sporting KC teammate Graham Zusi. Since then, Besler has been cleared to start for Sunday’s momentous showdown with the world’s fourth-ranked team.

“I have a lot of people still give me trouble,” Scott Besler said of his recent soccer fandom. “ ‘Ohhh, soccer. You’re a football guy.’ And I tell them, ‘You kind have to watch it live. With soccer, there’s so much going on.’

“There’s a lot of guys that say, ‘I won’t ever watch soccer.’ But I tell you what, they’re athletic, especially in the World Cup. There’s just some incredible headers and scores, and their footwork.”

When game time comes around Sunday, a good group of Besler’s family will be watching at a relative’s house in Tecumseh.

“It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of this,” Hillis said. “To be honest, none of us really know soccer. We were all American football. Topeka has some soccer, but let’s face it, it’s not a big soccer town. To even be a part of something that is so big everywhere else is cool.”