Can Sounders Write History vs Tigres

12 03 2013

Tigres UANLWhen was the last time you heard of fans celebrating a loss?

That could happen Tuesday night if Sounders FC defeat Tigres UANL at CenturyLink Field in the second leg of the CONCACAF Quarterfinal series. With Tigres leading 1-nil after the first leg last Wednesday in Monterrey, Mexico, Sounders FC will need two goals to make the near impossible become strange reality.

Seattle was outshot 18-3. But a veteran defensive effort from Leo Gonzalez and Djimi Traore, along with a stand-on-his-head effort by Keeper, Micheal Gspurning, kept the final score close.

Djimi Traore is the Sounders most recent acquisition. Most noted for his European Champions League title in 2005 with Liverpool.

The first leg was hard-fought. In the end, right back, Leo Gonzalez simply couldn’t make enough spectacular goal line clearances. None more notable than his third minute kick save on the line.

The lone goal for Tigres came in the 73rd minute. Alberto Acosta placed a set piece over Seattle’s defense to Lucas Lobos. His strike on frame was again knocked away by Gspurning. Unfortunately, Alan Pulido was able to push forward and head home the first leg winner.

The Sounders came home only a goal down. Facing Tigres in the second leg Tuesday, they have everything to play for. A pair of goals, OT miracle, or PK (Penalty Kick) glory are all possible.

If the Sounders win Tuesday night against Tigres, pulling off the undisputed upset of the 2013 CONCACAF Champions League, then last weeks first leg loss could go down in sports lore as one of the greatest, most celebrated losses.

If a publisher is reading, and the Sounders win Tuesday, we can discuss a deal for the book,

“The time we went to Mexico, fought to a loss, and came home a champion”

© 2013 Sales on Sounders by Ryan J Sales


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And the journey begins, Champions League 2012; Sounders vs Caledonia AIA

2 08 2012

Caledonia AIA play in Trinidad and Tobago’s TT Pro League

Seattle Sounders FC return to Champions League Thursday at CenturyLink Field. Starting their third consecutive campaign in our regions international tournament. The Sounders host the Caribbean Football Union’s Club Champion, Caledonia AIA of Trinidad and Tobago’s TT Pro League.

The Sounders have reached Champions League three consecutive years. Winning the US Open Cup the previous three seasons qualified them for CONCACAF Champions League.

Our international soccer (football) region is the wonky acronym, CONCACAF. (The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football). Fortunately their website is easier to remember than their name.

Sounders in Champions League 2010:

The Sounders first plunge into Champions League was in 2010. The major accomplishment in their first international campaign was qualifying for Champions League on their first attempt. Joining MLS in 2009, they won the US Open Cup in their inaugural season. That first Open Cup title punched their Champions League ticket.

If reaching international competition in their first attempt was their high, the disappointing low was failing to advance beyond the group stages. They went 2-wins, 3-losses, and 1-draw. Their first campaign could be summed up in one match.

A long way to Mexico. In the Sounders home match with Monterrey they lost 2-nil. In the away-leg in Mexico, Sounders sought revenge. They held a surprising 2-nil lead going into the 70th minute. No MLS club had won in Mexico. Monterrey scored in the 74th minute rattling the Sounders excited nerves. Seattle proceeded to allow two more goals in less than five minutes. Suffering a disappointing 3-2 loss. But it prepared them for 2011.

Monterrey went on to defeat Real Salt Lake to win the 2010 Champions League.

Sounders in Champions League 2011:

Group stage ready, the Sounders didn’t simply hope to do well. They made advancing from group stage a priority. The Sounders improved to 4-wins, 2-losses, and 1-draw. Again, the big moment came in Monterrey.

A week before Sounders played Monterrey, FC Dallas defeated Pumas to become the first MLS club to win in Mexico. Sounders didn’t waste any time being second.

Thirty-eight minutes into the away match, Alvaro Fernandez scored the decisive goal. This time the Sounders stood tall. Earning their most prominent international victory to date. They defeated the reigning CONCACAF Champion, halted their thirteen match Champions League undefeated streak, and did it in Mexico. More importantly, the win helped propel the Sounders to the quarterfinal knock-out round.

2011 Quarterfinals vs Santos Laguna:

Club Santos Laguna, Primera División, Mexico

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Advancing from group stages for the first time the Sounders again faced a formidable Mexican club in a two-leg, knockout quarterfinal.

For the first leg in Seattle, David Estrada wasted no time giving the Sounders fans a chilling, March-madness goal in the twelfth minute. Santos equalized in the sixty-first minute with a goal from US National Team’s striker, Hercules Gomez. On a free kick two minutes later, Mauro Rosales sent a soaring kick dangerously into the box, where Brad Evans headed the ball over Santos outstretched and airborne goalkeeper into the right corner of his net.

The two-leg series is aggregate. Sounders traveled to Santos one goal to the good (2-1).

The Sounders were always up against it. They knew defeating Santos would take more than a one goal advantage. But giving up two goals in the opening ten minutes was more than eloquent foreshadowing. Sounders got one goal back in the thirty-seventh minute. At halftime of the second leg the aggregate score sat knotted at 3-3. But Santos put away four second half goals. The Sounders took home their worse competitive loss to date 6-1 for the night, and 7-3 aggregate.

“Why so serious”?  Joker asks Batman. With every MLS team struggling to keep players healthy without US Open Cup and Champions League matches, why take Champions League seriously? Doesn’t that potentially weaken your chances for winning an MLS Cup?

You can’t avoid answering “yes”. But stopping there, you’d never see one of the beautiful, unique aspects of the game. The best teams, and only the best teams play in multiple leagues at one time. Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and AC Milan do this year in, year out.

These matches are not added to a clubs schedule for punishment. They add pedigree. They distinguish the elite champions from a regular list of the rest.

Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid took a moment recently and gave some good insight into the importance of playing in, and taking our regions Champions League so seriously.

“It’s important because it’s our international tournament. It’s our Champions League. It’s our opportunity to show how good we are within our region. It gives us the opportunity to go to the World Club Championship”.

“I think you look at last year when we played against Santos, certainly the win at home was a big confidence booster for us, and the game down there was a big learning experience for us as well. But if we could have gotten past that game, matched up with Toronto, got into the final, it would have been a huge thing for our club. So, this is the beginning of that journey, and being recognized within your region I think is very important for our league as well. Because it’s definitely, I can say it’s a power struggle between Mexico and the US, as to who’s the dominant country in our region. That power struggle gets played out at the national team level, and then it gets played out at the club level as well, and the only place it gets played at the club level is in the Champions League”.

The group stage format is revised for 2012. In previous years each group, like the World Cup, had four clubs. The top two advancing. This year each group has three clubs, with only one advancing.

Winning the first match becomes more critical. In the past, clubs had wiggle room. They could settle for a couple draws advancing to the second round without exercising their full effort to win their group. This format change forces clubs to compete from the start.

To make other clubs want to reach Champions League, the new format offers some advantages over past formats. Two fewer games, which means less travel. But having less wiggle room means if you want to be a champion you have to win, or go home.

© 2012 Sales on Sounders by Ryan J Sales


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Winter of Intent – Toronto FC at Sounders FC

17 03 2012

Initially, the Sounders warmed one step closer to playing for a first ever Champions League title.  Then the Sounders were hit with a cold blast of reality in Torreón, Mexico on Wednesday.

After winning their first leg in CONCACAF Champions League on March 7th, 2-1 over Santos Laguna of Mexico, the Sounders looked to be in good shape for advancing from the two leg series.  A win in Mexico and it was on to the Semifinals vs the winner of LA Galaxy vs Toronto FC.

At half time of the second leg, 135 of the 180 minutes completed in the 2 leg series, Sounders and Santos were level 3-3 on aggregate.  But a cold blast of Mexican soccer superiority chilled the Sounders into letting 4 goals slide through in the final 45 minutes, putting their current Champions League run into icy extinction

Up North a bizarre soccer climate-change took place for Toronto.  After their first leg with the LA Galaxy, the 2011 MLS Cup Champions, the score was level 2-2.  But LA had scored two away goals.  So, playing at home in their California warmth, a 0-0 second leg would advance the Galaxy.  With all the big $ money signings by LA, Juninho, Beckham, Donovan, Edson Buddle, and Irish international striker Robbie Keane, Toronto was sure to be schooled.  Galaxy ownership even went so far as to make it clear that now is the time for their “international branding”.

Aron Winter, the Toronto FC manager didn’t get the LA superiority memo.  He employed a 3-6-1 (three fullbacks, stacked six in midfield, and 1 up top) formation vs Bruce Arena’s Galaxy.  That further made people certain, that with only three questionable quality backs, Toronto was doomed. LA offensive power was penciled in for a certain 3 goals netted on the night.

Toronto frustrated LA.  The Galaxy never found their decisive and dominant scoring touch.  Even when Irish sensation, Keane got in on goal one v one with Toronto keeper, Milos Kocic, Keane’s touch was turned away cold.

The Dutch are known for their famous “total football” history.  They are the best soccer country in the world to never win a world cup.  Their football is Barcelona football.  No country has shaped the tactics of international football more than the Dutch.  Short on international glory, they are high on understanding, creativity, and confidence.  They are “Total Football”.

Aron Winter used his tactical Dutch background, and what appeared to be a misty, potent-less 3-6-1 formation into LA and walked out 2-1 victors (4-3 aggregate).  They move on to face Santos Laguna in the semifinals.

Has Toronto suddenly risen as a power?.  Are they the hidden Yetti from the North?  A warm and cuddly exterior, but monstrous ability to rip apart the best of MLS?

Crushed, the Sounders have to recover quickly. They host their MLS season opener tonight at CenturyLink against that same ecstatic Toronto FC.

The 7pm match will be weather effected from showers, to near freezing, to wind, to snow, or some mix of all.  Usually a sure Sounders advantage.  But Aron Winter has his squad warmed to the intent of quietly knocking any opponent aside.  His overachieving Toronto squad is already adjusted to the Pacific timezone and their heart-of-champions mentality is unshaken and warmed to anything the Sounders throw at them.

They knocked off the MLS Cup Champions, LA Galaxy.  They smashed the Galaxy brass international branding attempts.  They turned Canada on top of US in boasting MLS Champions League success for now.  So, knocking out Seattle on opening day in front of 40,000, probably sounds like a fun Disney theme ride to Aron’s Dutch thinking Canadian Club.

The pressure will be on heavily favored, and heavily tasked Sounders Manager, Sigi Schmid to once again find an answer.  He has precedence here. He’s found those answers before.  An impossibly packed August, 2011 schedule was turned into the Sounders most successful month with 7-wins, 0-losses, 1-draw.  But Sigi has also been at the helm of the Sounders three disappointing MLS Playoff runs, and an opening day loss to LA Galaxy 1-nil last year.

Can the Sounders warm to Toronto’s winter blast?  Or is Toronto the surprise of MLS 2012?

© 2012 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales


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Who’s Pairing With Fredy Montero – Sounders vs Santos Champions League Second Leg

14 03 2012

Seattle Sounders FC had a creative cast of players making exits and entrances the entire offseason.  There were retirements, trades, drafts, all kinds of

Club Santos Laguna - Mexican Primera División

movement that asks key questions of both veterans and newcomers.  Have these role changes improved the club?  Are the new players difference makers?

When Mike Fucito was traded to MLS club newcomer,  Montreal Impact, it felt like a blow to Sounders fans.  Fucito may not have been the most critical piece to measure success or failure, but he certainly rated high as a fan favorite.

Partnering with Montero up front, Fucito didn’t posses size, but his speed would run havoc over opposing defenses.  Gone, who will Montero’s partner be?.

Sounders brass put scouting antennas on once again.  The same radar precise accuracy they deployed previously to find Osvaldo Alonso, and Mauro Rosales.  This time there was no new player-discovery located.  Instead, they rediscovered a player well known to many familiar with US Soccer, Eddie Johnson.  In short, Johnson’s time in Europe had a falling out, which effectively played him off the US National Team.  That said, his talent and potential have never been doubted.  So, Sounders scouting has gone from radar precise discovery to now taking on its first re-discovery project.

I will soon be following this piece with one recounting the Sounders off-season transactions.  This season can’t go on long without noting it.  Dramatic changes from pitch to commentator booth.  The Sounders have been quiet but dramatic.

With Mike Fucito’s exit and Eddie Johnson’s entrance the question seems answered who the Sounders want paired with Montero up front.  But Johnson’s fitness and preparation may take a few weeks before he will be ready to go from bench to starting.

So, how does the Montero-pairing question get answered in the meantime.  David Estrada.  Sounders first round pick from the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

Still developing, and not having seen much playing time, especially as a starter, it came as a surprise when he made a starting appearance last week for the Sounders first ever Quarterfinal Knock-Out Champions League match vs Santos Laguna.  It came as a much larger than life surprise when Estrada scored his first Sounders goal in the 12th minute.

Sounders lead the aggregate goals series 2-1.  They lead on the strength of goals from David Estrada and Brad Evans.  US National Team prospect Herculez Gomez scored the lone Santos goal.

Eddie Johnson made an appearance in the 78th minute, but I’ll step out and say that’s not enough to justify a start in the second leg.  For now, Estrada has earned and proven his opportunity to pair with Montero.  What he may lack in strength he makes up for in finesse.  Now that Estrada is a proven threat, Santos will track him more diligently.  Freeing Montero some to distribute to other players, or choose the appropriate moments to be selfish, put the ball on target and prove his DP (Designated Player) salary.

While the final decision is still in process for determining Montero’s partner, it seems Estrada has given coach, Sigi Schmid an unexpected, and pleasing option.  The Sounders radar-precise scouting worked when it found Estrada in 2010.  Maybe Estrada will lend a valuable assist to the Sounders Scouting re-discovery decision in selecting Eddie Johnson.  If the Sounders needed a little time for Johnson to get his fitness and find his way around Schmid’s formations, then Estrada may have given Johnson and coaches that time, while challenging for valuable playing time himself.

For Sounders fans, the loss of Fucito fades more easily as hopes of Johnson and Estrada shine more brightly.

Sounders face Santos Laguna in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.  Match is 5:00pm PST on FSC (Fox Soccer Channel).  It can also be found on the CONCACAF Champions League site.

Photo from Sounders FC Photo Gallery – Visit www.soundersfc.com

© 2012 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales


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Going for Three – US Open Cup Final – Chicago Fire vs Sounders FC

4 10 2011

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - Sounders FC 2009, 2010

Two time defending Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Champions, Seattle Sounders FC  are hosting their second consecutive US Open Cup final with hopes of winning their third in a row. A statement for claiming sporting dynasty.

CenturyLink attendance for Tuesday’s Championship match is expected to exceed the record-breaking crowd at previously named Qwest Field, which held 31,311 in last years final.

It is no Super Bowl. Not even a Major League Soccer Championship. It is a quirky tournament mixing professional and amateur soccer clubs. Featuring competition formatting that includes unique functions, like play-in matches, and bids to host the final. It’s also filled with varying club names like Kitsap, Bethlehem, Greek-Americans, Maccabi, and Pancyprian-Freedoms. All oddities aside, it is 98 years of the best of American soccer.

The Sounders could lay claim to a US Open Cup Dynasty.

Having played in the semifinal five consecutive years, and defending the title for the past two, a third consecutive trophy would place them among the best of the Cup’s history. The accumulative achievement over three years would earn merit that sports-teams in more popular sports leagues gain from winning as few as one championship.

A Major League Soccer Championship would earn that type of merit. But until that time the difficult challenge of budget-caps and parity in league play make the US Open Cup a more reasonable accomplishment for newer MLS clubs to aim for. It also provides a door to exposure in Champions League play.

A Sounders win would be the first three-peat since the New York Greek-Americans from 1967-1969. Not to be outdone, the Chicago Fire could win their fifth ever US Open Cup. Joining only Bethlehem Steel and Maccabi Los Angeles to accomplish the feat.

It is an unusual type of tournament formatting that allows clubs who make the semifinals to bid on hosting the final. Some feel this formatting is overly biased and have gone as far as saying Sounders have bought the cup. Yet, no one blinks when advertisers shell out millions to bid for brand-placement and TV-ad spots during Super Bowl programming. My response is to defer nay-sayers to the Chicago Fire. Don’t say stuff like that to Chicago Fire’s Goalkeeper, Sean Johnson.  And don’t be surprised if one day he follows in the footsteps of Sounders retiring legendary Goalkeeper, Kasey Keller.

US Open Cup - Sounders FC Defending '09 & '10 Champions

The Chicago Fire have rested players, arrived in Seattle two days early, and adapted to time-zone change. They will come out tomorrow feeling like a strong young boxer with an unexpected knockout punch.

Finding success in Major League Soccer’s playoffs has eluded the Sounders in their first two seasons. Hoisting US Open Cups in both seasons has successfully launched them into the thick of CONCACAF Champions League. Winning the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup earns a birth in the Champions League Play-In round. The Sounders advanced from that into Group Stage play both years. Last year they fell far short of advancing further  This year they have advanced to the Quarterfinals with one Group Stage match remaining.

Winning the 2010 Lamar Hunt, US Open Cup 2-1 over Columbus Crew, Seattle became the first club to qualify for the 2011 Champions League. Last week during a Champions League match with Comunicaciones from Guatemala, Sounders fell behind twice. Then played like champions to level both deficits and earn a hard-fought draw. The point earned from that draw in Guatemala gave the Sounders FC enough points to become the first team to advance to the Quarterfinals of Champions League.

As quirky as the Open Cup is, nothing replaces winning. The confidence in being a champion comes from playing like a champion in matches where stakes are highest.

More efforts are needed to endorse the Cup’s unique American sporting history. Sounders winning a third cup would put an exclamation point on their emphasis to use the US Open Cup competition as a spring-board to Champions League. No better competitive endorsement could be given. For new franchises, and young inexperienced clubs, all these extra added matches help define what it takes to be a champion. Seattle has a shot at turning a funny championship into an inspiring dynasty.

For more on the US Open Cup, be sure to visit thecup.us

© 2011 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales


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Sounders on Champions Tour to Vancouver and Guatemala City – Sounders at CSD Comunicaciones

27 09 2011

Sounders '09-'10 US Open Cup Titles lead to '10-'11 Champions League

After an impressive start in Champions League with three consecutive wins, Herediano brought Sounders strong start to a halt in Seattle last Tuesday. Losing 1-nil the Sounders missed a chance to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.  The road to secure that spot in the last two Group Stage matches becomes more challenging.

New places and enemy faces.

Sounders travel Tuesday to Guatemala City, to face CSC Comunicaciones for the second time in Champions League this year. Comunicaciones are familiar faces to Sounders FC, after making easy work of them in a 4-1 trouncing in Seattle in their first Group Stage meeting. Facing them in Guatemala will prove a new challenge all together. Last year’s Champions League experience has helped the Sounders. But Comunicaciones will be on its home pitch with their fans. Playing at new stadiums, often with less than pristine pitches, always presents opportunities for unlucky ball bounces.

Sounders have done well on the road this year. Including the thrilling defeat over Monterrey in Mexico. Experience played a key roll in holding off Monterrey’s late charge. But unlike any Champions League team the Sounders face this year, Monterrey know the Sounders and they know Seattle.  They traveled to Seattle last year, and before Portland, they had the best and loudest away fan support the Sounders have dealt with at home. Monterrey defeated Seattle twice in Champions League last year, and went on to defeat Real Salt Lake to win the 2010 CONCACAF Champions League.

Club Social y Deportivo Comunicaciones

If Seattle fails to defeat, or at least draw with Comunicaciones on Tuesday, then they may as well buy lottery tickets. Leaving their chances of advancement in Champions League to a win over Monterrey in October, two weeks before MLS playoffs is about as likely as winning the lottery. Needing to defeat the defending Champions League cup holders here, there, or anywhere is as tough a professional club-level challenge as you could face in North American soccer.

Calling tomorrow’s match a must win, or must draw, is an understatement. A win means Sounders don’t have to play with mood-swinging lineup changes and desperation when Monterrey visits Seattle for the second year in a row in October.

Lineup changes and rested players.

Sounder’s Coach, Sigi Schmid will be tested the rest of the way. With Champions League, US Open Cup Final, and MLS Playoff-significant matches crammed into a compact schedule, players will have to be shuffled each match. Injuries to Mauro Rosales on top of others add to that challenge.

Seattle Sketcher, Gabi Campanario

Sales on Sounders by Gabi Campanario - 8/5/09 at Barcelona Friendly

Carrying momentum over from being crowned Champions of Cascadia after the weekend’s 3-1 victory over Vancouver, may prove for the Sounders their best chance of advancing in Champions League against Comunicaciones tomorrow. Vancouver is not as challenging an away destination as Guatemala City, but it shows experienced development of a young team when it finds success on the road.  The Sounders are an outstanding 7-wins, 3-losses, and 5-draws on the road in MLS this season. They are a young team that plays like veterans. Their experience gained from added US Open Cup and Champions League matches over their first three seasons is showing. Tuesday is a chance to put that acquired experience on display to the broader footballing world.

© 2011 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales


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Champions of Infinite Space – CS Herediano vs Sounders FC

20 09 2011

Champions League is appropriately named.  You have to be a champion to play with champions.  ”If you ain’t first, you’re last”.  As Will Ferrell said, playing Ricky Bobby, in Talladega Nights.  The Winners League doesn’t have that same, ah yes, “joie de vivre”.  It’s called Champions League, ‘cuz it’s only for teams that raise trophies.

In soccer, when you win a trophy in any significant competition, you earn the right to celebrate with pride.  Fans can be certain there will be time and place to be pompous and boast their clubs achievements.  For Sounders FC’s faithful, a win tomorrow over Herediano means a chance to put that braggadocio on an espresso train, and punch their ticket to the Champions League Quarterfinals.

Sounders '09-'10 US Open Cup Titles lead to '10-'11 Champions League

When in Seattle. Opportunities for Sounders FC boasting, like rainy fall days are coming in quick succession. Victories in upcoming matches may bring pouring buckets of loud celebration. Sounders are one win from clinching a third consecutive US Open Cup. One win from clinching a third consecutive Major League Soccer playoff appearance. One win from clinching a first ever appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals.

Two consecutive US Open Cup championships have placed Seattle in the think of their FIFA global soccer region’s Champions League over the last two years. (CONCACAF – Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football)

Wining once in all six Champions League Group Stage matches last year, who would have thought Sounders FC would be the only club with three wins in three matches in this years Champions League. A fourth win tomorrow advances them to the Quarterfinals in only their third year in Major League Soccer.  No trophy is given for that accomplishment, but it’s a great opportunity to boast about.

Tomorrow will be the second time Sounders FC and CS Herediano have faced off in six days.  Last Wednesday, Sounders traveled to Costa Rica, and on the strength of two Montero goals they outlasted Herediano 2-1.

Three significant lineup changes for tomorrow will force Sounders coach, Sigi Schmid to be creative with his choices. Depth should give the Sounders the fill-in pieces needed to keep their winning chances from dropping off. Mauro Rosales, will miss due to a knee injury suffered in last Saturday’s 3-nil win over DC United. His MRI results should be known by weeks end. Alvaro Fernandez, will miss due to yellow-card accumulation. With games coming quickly and little time to recuperate in between, Kasey Keller will rest tomorrow. Normally, his spot would be covered by Terry Boss. Boss suffered a second concussion during recent international play, allowing for the Sounders third Keeper, Joshua Ford to make his first appearance. To keep their depth chart at three for the Keeper position, the Sounders have brought in Bryan Meredith from the Kitsap Pumas.

CONCACAF Champions League

Club Sport Herediano, Primera División, Costa Rica

Any team that has reached a championship and hoisted a trophy, has had to overcome diverse challenges. Mauro Rosales’s injury will be a big one for Sounders FC.  Already without Steve Zakuani and O’Brian White for the rest of the season, the loss of Rosales presents another difficult obstacle for Seattle. The extent of his injury is yet to be determined. In the meantime, Sounders FC will have to prove their roster’s quality and depth.

One thing is certain, a victory tomorrow, and Sounders will prove their poise even above experience.  A measure of a clubs grit and determination for becoming a champion.  A champion worth boasting about loudly, and for a long time.

© 2011 Sales on Sounders by Ryan J Sales


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Baseball Payback – DC United at Sounders FC

17 09 2011

DC United - Black and Red - MLS Champions '96, '97, '99, '04

Payback!

This is a payback match for Sounders FC.

Important playoff positioning is at stake, but players don’t always have that on their minds against teams they owe some payback to.

On May 4th, Sounders sojourned to the nation’s capitol and came away rejected as a proposal for finance reform.  Losing 2-1 to DC United.  A disappointing effort.  A match where no less than a draw seemed certain.  With playoff fever circling their heads, this becomes Sounders FC payback day.

Think baseball.

A playoff contender approaches their schedule broken up into “season series”, rather than each game.  The more series you win, the more likely your chances of playing playoff ball in October.  At worst, teams hope to split season series and stay at or above .500.  At .500 in baseball you always feel like a season has been a successful effort, and your prospects for playoff contention next season seem only a trade or two away.

Same for Major League Soccer.  We just don’t say it enough.

One man does.  Sigi Shmid.

There are 6 points for a season series.  Three for a win at home, and three for a win on the road.  Come away with two points, and it means you drew both matches.  In soccer with 1-point for a draw and 3-points for a win, drawing both matches is actually below .500.  You are better to win one and lose one than draw both.  (3-points for splitting a season series.  2-points for drawing both matches)

DC United took the first match picking up three points at home.  Win or draw, they win the season series.  Sounders win, and they go .500 for the season series.  More importantly, it tightens their grip on a playoff spot.

The Sounders have fared well in most of their season series during their 2011 Major League Soccer schedule.  They have only lost two season series, while splitting three others.  LA Galaxy and Houston are the only two clubs to take season series from Seattle.  Red Bulls, FC Dallas, and Real Salt Lake all won once, but Seattle took one back from each, splitting those series.

A glance at teams the Sounders have lost to once in 2011.
To date no team has taken both matches from Sounders FC.

LA Galaxy:  Lose, Draw
Houston Dynamo:  Lose, Draw
New York Red Bulls:  Split
FC Dallas:  Split
Real Salt Lake:  Split
DC United:  Lost in DC, ? (To Be Determined)

Seattle Sketcher, Gabi Campanario

Sales on Sounders by Gabi Campanario - 8/5/09 at Barcelona Friendly

The Sounders played to an exhilarating mid-week CONCACAF Champions League win over Herediano.  Exhaustion could play against them.  On DC’s side they lost star Chris Pontius to an unfortunate season ending injury. Suffering a broken leg in their match last weekend.  Something Sounders FC are all too familiar and empathetic for. His injury will challenge DC United. Nonetheless, they arrive to Seattle with confidence and momentum.  Dwayne De Rosario, since being traded from New York has been a great spark and their playoff chances have increased with him.

Chris Pontius scored the first Major League Soccer hat-trick in Seattle during their 3-2 win last year.  Since Seattle’s 2009 inaugural season, DC United have been one of Seattle’s toughest home opponents.  They drew Seattle 3-3 in 2009, and on the strength of Pontius’s hat-trick last year, won 3-2.  Chris Pontius has scored 4 goals in Seattle.

Payback and playoffs.

Sounders FC will put exhaustion aside for a chance at payback.  DC United will put a tough injury behind then, knowing this is a match to keep them in the playoffs.  Whose mustard is hotter?

Today’s match in Seattle is what every sports fan wants. Both teams have purpose.  Both teams have likable character.  Both teams have their eyes on post season play.

© 2011 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales


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Salty, Peanutty, Chocolatey – Sounders CONCACAF Dessert vs Herediano

14 09 2011
CONCACAF Champions League

Club Sport Herediano, PrimeraDivisión, Costa Rica

Being a sports fan has its moments of dessert like bliss.  Chocolatey chunks, crunchy bits of salty, peanutty delight, swirled in a sweet cream of lush vanilla bliss. Yes, that good. That is the Sounders in the thick of their third season.

US Open Cup trophies in the Sounders first two seasons have turned domestic success into international delight.  Both cup titles opened the door for Champions League Group Stage matches in the Sounders second and now third seasons. Last year the Sounders left something to be desired.  Finishing with 1-win and 5-losses in Champions League Group Stage.

Two highlights stick out from the Sounders’ 2010 Champions League campaign.  Mike Fucito’s two goal performance, and breathtaking free kick against CD Marathon was arguably the sweetest highlight.  While barely a pat-on-the-back for a near-win in Mexico to eventual CONCACAF Champion, Monterrey was the only other

August 16th – August 23rd.  A week Sounders will want to highlight in their history books.  Comunicaciones, from Guatemala visited Seattle on August 16th and were ushered back home with a 4-1 trouncing.  Seattle headed South, stopping square in the heat of Texas.  A state they had yet to find their step.  Saturday, August 20th, they knocked Dallas out of second place with a slim but well-earned 1-nil win. Sounders finally got their groove in Texas.  Then turned and headed further South to Monterrey, Mexico.  A country US clubs had no previous success.  FC Dallas finally became the first MLS team to celebrate on Mexican soil defeating Pumas, just one week earlier.  No sooner had word traveled to the Sounders camp, and they too tasted success by defeating their 2010 CONCACAF Group Stage foe, and Champions League winner, Monterrey, on August 23rd.

It’s remarkable that the Sounders have achieved this level of competition before completing their third year of Major League Soccer.  Champions League, mixed with Major League Soccer regular season, and US Open Cup matches make for crowded scheduling.  With two wins the Sounders have already doubled their 2010 Champions League win total.

Seattle Sketcher, Gabi Campanario

Sales on Sounders by Gabi Campanario - 8/5/09 @ Barca Friendly

The Sounders go into Wednesday’s match at the top of their group.  Four matches to go, and everything to play for in terms of international significance.  The top two teams in each group advance to the Quarterfinals.

Last weekend’s wakeup call loss to Real Salt Lake reminds sports-fans how quickly teams rise and fall from the top. The Everest like ascent the Sounders pulled off in August, undefeated with seven wins and one draw, was quickly tempered with a 2-1 home loss to the men from Salt Lake City.

The short turn around in preparation time for Wednesday’s match in Costa Rica, against Club Sport Herediano, usually makes bruises feel more swollen.  But short-term memory loss in sports sometimes offers sweet reprise from dwelling on frustration.  A draw with Herdiano, or pleasant win would quickly boost the Sounders momentum.  Both for payback with next Saturday’s MLS foe, DC United, and to give a strong finish in regular season standings heading into November’s playoffs.

The Sounders suffered a dismal road loss to DC United, 2-1 in May.  Payback would even the season series and place the Sounders in the driver’s seat for second place in Major League Soccer heading towards season ending playoff positioning.  A home win over DC United could also clinch a playoff spot for the Sounders third consecutive year.

Club Sport Herediano, PrimeraDivisión, Costa Rica face Sounders FC at 7:00 PST on Fox Soccer Channel.

 

© 2011 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales

 


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Threshold of a Dynasty – US Open Cup Semi Final – FC Dallas vs Sounders FC

30 08 2011

US Open Cup - Sounders FC 2009, 2010 Champions

The Sounders have not completed three seasons as a modern-era, Major League Soccer version of their thirty-seven year old franchise, yet they stand on the doorway of a dynasty. Defeating FC Dallas on Tuesday, places them one step closer to making that dream become reality.

A perfect way for the US Open Cup to attract more attention is for a team to turn a successful legacy into a historic dynasty. Tuesday at Starfire Sports Complex, in Tukwila, Washington, Sounders FC host FC Dallas for their fifth consecutive US Open Cup Semi-Final. A win puts them into the US Open Cup Final for the third consecutive year. Winning the final would firmly secure their place in US Soccer history.

Ninety-six years of history. The US Open Cup is barely a blip on the US Sports map. The Sounders are helping to change that. The US Open Cup winner earns a valuable shot at Champions League. Both FC Dallas and Seattle became the first US teams to defeat Mexican clubs on their home soil.  FC Dallas defeated Pumas 1-nil on August 17th. While Sounders FC traveled to Monterrey, winning by the same 1-nil score on August 23rd.  The two prestigious victories combined with Real Salt Lake reaching the CONCACAF Champions League Final last year, means Champions League stock is rising for MLS clubs. The US Open Cup should also rise in value as winning it earns no less than a play-in opportunity for Champions League.  The Sounders have made that a successful route to accomplishing their clubs highly valued goal of winning the CONCACAF Champions League.  They have made Champions League two consecutive years via the US Open Cup Champion play-in designation.

This will be the third time FC Dallas and Sounders FC meet this year.  Seattle lost on May 25th.  A tough 1-nil loss at home.  Dallas scored first and held off Seattle’s relentless pressure the rest of the way.  Sounders FC turned the table on FC Dallas, winning 1-nil in Texas on August 20th.  Both home teams deserved a result, but both stole a road victory surviving the others relentless attack.  The recent win by Sounders FC, in Frisco, Texas vaulted them into second place in the Western Conference behind the LA Galaxy.

Chicago Fire have won the US Open Cup four times, with Seattle winning the past two.  A win this year and Sounders FC becomes the first MLS team to win three consecutive, as well as first to accomplish the feat modern-era professional club since the New York Greek-American from 1967-69.  The US Open Cup is filled with a rich tradition and diverse mix of teams.  It is some of the most culturally rich and exciting sporting history in the US.  Only not as sexy as its pass and run football relative, or basketball.  A win for the Sounders over FC Dallas may be a win for the US Open Cup.  Both teams deserve a shot at the final.  But one could turn a dynasty into a selfless act of sporting good-will for a tournament long overdue for a high-profile sporting champion. 

*Please visit and support thecup.us 

© 2011 Sales on Sounders by Ryan Sales


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