11.02.2012 - Con goles de Ruben Castro (´10) y Nelson (´91), Betis venció (2-1) al Athletic (Martinez ´21) como local y lo bajó de posiciones europeas.
Mucho, demasiado frío en Europa. Unos 35.000 espectadores llegaron al (estadio) Benito Villamarin en la noche de 5º.

A year ago, the Seattle Sounders opened their season on March 15. This year, they will essentially do so eight days earlier. On paper that might not seem like a huge difference.

But unlike last year when they opened against a LA Galaxy team that was in the same stage of its season, the Sounders' first opponent will be Santos Laguna, a Mexican Primera side that will have already played nine matches.

One of the most hotly debated roster topics this off season has been whether the Seattle Sounders need to upgrade or add tactical depth to the roster at the more attack-oriented central midfield position. The discussion has often gotten bogged down in traditional soccer semantics. Many of us have expressed our desire for a more creative player by suggesting that perhaps the team needs to find a CAM.

The New York Yankees needed pitching help. What do they do? In a trade with the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees stole one of the best, young pitching prospects in all of baseball. Michael Pineda, who showed dynamite stuff as a rookie last season, heads to New York, while Jesus Montero was sent to Seattle.

With roster competition and depth chart talk occupying the pre-training camp conversation online, we thought it would be good to give a visual after the most recent additions to the team (Christian Sivebaek, Andrew Duran and Babayele Sodade) being highly unknown we're not going to guess at their flexibility.

So this year the Sounders had the best draft in the history of MLS - again. The thing is, our player scouting efforts are so far above that of the average team, we really should be considered a separate case. As an example, did you see me lamenting the loss of Mo Johnston? Remember when I stripped him for Danny O'Rourke and Will Hesmer for a partial allocation?

Quite simply forwards need to score. Obviously one guy is. But for Seattle Sounders FC he did not have a regular partner up top. This has led some to think that this means that they need a new player. Still returning forwards scored 13 goals in all competitions adding 10 assists as well. Of course that Montero guy was the star of the bunch with his 17 and 11.

17.12.2011 - Con goles de Susaeta (´6) y Toquero (´85), Athletic de Bilbao venció (2-1) a Zaragoza (Ponzio´21 penal) en San Mamés por la 17º jornada de la Liga española, para terminar el año en la 8º posición (22 puntos).
Si bien los equipos modestos son los que más problemas traen a los de Bielsa, este partido parecía apuntar a goleada.

Seattle Sounders players vote to recognize their vision of the MVP and Defender of the Year. This differs slightly from recognition given by Sounder at Heart in that here there are awards for Offensive, Defensive and Young Players of a given season. Still there is a certain overlap.

Osvaldo Alonso's performance in 2011 earned him recognition from both his teammates and readers here.

Montero leading scorer across all competitions

DeRosario may have won the Golden Boot, but he was not the leading scorer across all competitions involving MLS players. Montero won that distinction. According to MLS this is only the fourth time this has happened.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Move to the front page for the sake of discussion on this rather dull weekend. - Jeremiah

Very simple question: who will replace Kasey Keller as captain of the Sounders this season?

Some thought it might be Riley: it clearly won't now. I've included some likely possibilities, as well as an 'other' option.

Outside of Fredy Montero getting another long run of 75% or more of available minutes the Seattle Sounders FC have no clear favorite as to which of their remaining three forwards will get the most playing time. The declined options of Nate Jaqua and Pat Noonan do open minutes for the remaining three most used forward.

Finally, we've come to the end of my rather lengthy interview with former Seattle Sounders play-by-play voice Arlo White. In the first two parts, he dealt with some of the big picture stuff both about his time here and what led to his departure. In the final installment of the interview, many of the questions were generated by our readers.

The last few weeks have been pretty brutal for Seattle Sounders fans. Finally, it appears as if some good news is on the way. Multiple sources have confirmed that Mauro Rosales' extension has essentially been finalized and that it could be announced very soon. The contract is expected to pay Rosales somewhere in the neighborhood of Alvaro Fernandez and Fredy Montero, but it is unclear whether or not he will count as a Designated Player.

Ask 10 Seattle Sounders fans who they would like to see protected in the upcoming MLS Expansion Draft and you're probably going to get 10 slightly different answers. Just about everyone can agree that Mauro Rosales, Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso should be protected, but beyond those three there seems to be at least some level of decent.

Montero 4th, Rosales 5th in SBN MVP Voting - Brad Davis Wins

Voting came down to defining "value" not the "best" player.

The people have spoken, and they've chosen Darlington Nagbe.

The Portland Timbers rookie won MLS Goal of the Year honors on Wednesday, beating out Vancouver Whitecaps striker Eric Hassli for the award. Both players, suiting up for expansion teams, delivered goals that were among the best MLS has ever seen in their first years in the league.

Wow! I mean, I knew it was a great goal but I figured the Eric Hassli goal was going to be the goal of the year simply based on the circumstances surrounding it. I mean, it was a great goal against a primary rival coming from behind in the late minutes. Really, it had a lot of emotional support.

But never count out a Portland Timbers I always say.

Not too many people had heard of Mauro Rosales when it was announced the Seattle Sounders had signed the former River Plate, Ajax and Newell's Old Boys midfielder. After posting five goals and 13 assists in his first MLS season, though, that's clearly no longer the case as he was named Major League Soccer's Newcomer of the Year.

In a season of excitement, disappointment and passion it is difficult to figure out which moment is most memorable. For 2009 there was a scene in the early hours when hundreds of fans met the team to celebrate their first trophy. In 2010 another US Open Cup win was highlighted by Sanna Nyassi's brace.

Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez were a big part of the Seattle offense in 2011. (Getty Images)

I had every intention of doing this revisit sooner but things happen as you know. Today, we'll finally wrap up this positional rankings revisit with a look at the forwards.

To recap, here the midfield, defense and keepers.

Fina Round Voting For Goal Of Year

More evidence to fuel the "Cascadia soccer rules the internet" theory. All four goals by Cascadia players. Both games between Seattle and Vancouver feature a finalist - Fredy Montero there and Eric Hassli here. Darlington Nagbe's juggling long range shot makes the cut.

MLS announced today their Best XI today in a teleconference where Don Garber read the names. MLS Reserves had similar names on the list, but not quite an exact match. The MLS Reserves set up its own criteria and considered all players under it.
Considered these selections was the effect these players had on their team, their individual efforts, statistical prowess, presence in the locker room and ultimately how good they were throughout the season.

Sources exclusive to Fake Sigi have revealed that the new Sounders jersey that was revealed online yesterday will only be the first step in a radical new makeover of the team's look for 2012. It is being said that, while not 100% final, Seattle players will wear clown makeup as part of their third uniform for 2012.

MLS announced the finalists for individual awards today. Three Seattle Sounders graced the lists. Coach Sigi Schmid will battle the only coach with a better regular season record (Bruce Arena) and a worst to first performance by Peter Vermes in Kansas City. There is no surprise to see Kasey Keller on the keeper short list with Kevin Hartman and Faryd Mondragon (maybe surprising).

Dave: Bumped to front page for general awesomeness. Though I've disagreed with the author on this subject our conclusions are the same.

On several recent occasions in SounderAtHeart comment threads I have found myself buried in discussions over the relative passing abilities of Brad Evans and Erik Friberg.

Last year we started a little awards series. Rather than an "MVP" we separated that into "Offensive" and "Defensive" Player of Year. Unlike the official awards of MLS these are to recognize play in all competitive matches. Both by vote (2010 - 69%) and proclamation (2009) Fredy Montero won the award.

During Wednesday's post-game press-conference, a reporter asked Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid about the taste that game left in his mouth. While far from dismissive of the question, Schmid corrected the reporter a little.

"I don't know if it's in our mouths," he said. "It's definitely a very empty, hallow feeling in our stomachs at this stage.

No Olave, No BorchersReal Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders squared off in what had to be one of the more exciting playoff matches in recent years. Those on the east coast who stayed up and those on around the country who watched bore witness to a near astounding comeback by Seattle that fell just short of triumphant.

Our various writers here had a little discussion about what lineup changes we'd want to see. The thought was to make a lineup card for you that would show a Sounder at Heart preferred lineup and a Real Salt Lake likely lineup due to the injuries to Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers. With Jason Kreis not sharing the status of those two besides the decision being held until tonight their side of the card would be incomplete.

Maybe the most shocking development from the Seattle Sounders' 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday was the play of Osvaldo Alonso. Throughout his three-year MLS career, he has been the most reliable Sounders player. Fredy Montero is prone to hot and cold streaks; Kasey Keller has allowed a soft goal or two; the defense has looked shaky at various times.

Fredy Montero throws it all at the ball during Seattle Sounders' unsuccessful trip to Real Salt Lake. It worked out pretty well for us, though. Image: George Frey/Getty Images North America.

All the pictorial action from the first legs of the MLS playoffs is right here, cupcakes. The decisive second leg games commence tomorrow (exciting bracket thingy here for information purposes) so lap it while you can because on Friday we will be hungover as all hell and unprepared for another recap.

mad?Yes. Sad?Yes. angry?Yes. The thing is we need to believe we can do it , @soundersfc can score 3 or more goals at home !

Fredy Montero on Twitter

He isn't taking the loss well. He isn't giving up. Neither should you. btw - Roger Levesque was on an MLS squad that was down 2 goals going into the 2nd leg and then scored 5 to advance.

Two of the top three teams in Major League Soccer during the regular season square off in the opening match of the MLS conference semifinals (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel).

The No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake will look to win at Rio Tinto Stadium in game one of the two-game series to put pressure on the No.

Two leg aggregate series in the MLS Playoffs favor the team with fewer games played. This has become known around MLS media circles as the "Curse of the CCL." But Real Salt Lake shouldn't take any solace in the fact that they've played fewer games. Their First XI has played in 313 more minutes than the likely lineup put forward by the Seattle Sounders.

The biggest lineup news is that Mauro Rosales will not travel for the match at Real Salt Lake. That basically assures that the Seattle Sounders will have Lamar Neagle on the left and Alvaro Fernandez on the right. That move will of course shift the substitution plan a bit. Something that is already adjusted because of the higher elevation in Sandy, Utah.

After Sammy Ochoa's Pemco goal against Chivas USA last week it seems like the Seattle Sounders have a bit of a battle for that second forward role. Just a week ago the case was made that their roles are different enough that the start v sub decision should be more about tactical options than one player being "better.

The much awaited results of Mauro Rosales' MRI were reported on Tuesday and they aren't so great. Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid called Rosales' availability for Saturday's MLS Cup playoff game at Real Salt Lake "iffy" and didn't exactly sound optimistic that Rosales would even be ready for the return leg next Wednesday.

Sometime this afternoon, the Seattle Sounders should find out whether or not Mauro Rosales will be available for some or part of their Western Conference semifinal against Real Salt Lake. Their right midfielder was, of course, hurt early in Saturday's match against Chivas USA. It was his first start since spraining his MCL on Sept.

ESPN's top 10 goals

Montero and Wahl both appear for the Sounders. Hassli comes in at #1 against.